CEU and tech merger termed a success

EPHRAIM — The newly established and much-anticipated merger of the College of Eastern Utah and the Southeast Applied Technology College is "fully online," according to CEU's President Ryan L. Thomas.

"The enrollment for credit and non-credit programs is up across the board, and that is a delightful response," he said Friday at the Board of Regents meeting at Snow College.

The merger was intended to provide the region with a more robust workforce, with training not only from a college experience but hands-on applied technology training. Officials believe their plans to unite the two very different methods of teaching and learning are working.

"We have come up with an institution that can provide virtually anything that a comprehensive community college ought to and that's exactly what we expected and more," said Rich Kendell, commissioner of higher education in Utah. "We're moving exactly in the right direction."

CEU's primary responsibility has been to prepare students at their Price campus for both transfer to other institutions of higher learning as well as for the workforce, while SEATC's focus is to provide competency-based courses, workshops and training that is non-credit and designed to meet specific employment and training needs for surrounding industry.

"We anticipate no loss in the vigor and operation of these programs as they are working together nicely," Kendell said.

The idea to bring the college facilities together was hatched last year by regents, who asked the commissioner to study its viability. A statute reflecting the results of the study was enacted by 2007 Legislature and the merger resulted.

Thomas said the coalition received its first real test of strength when the federal government requested use of their facilities while a wildfire — which threatened to become the "most dangerous" classification in the nation this summer — burned not far from their campus.

"It was an opportunity for the newly joined forces to respond to a very immediate need," he said. Nearly 250 firefighters were supported by the facilities there and the result, Thomas said, was one that "determined they will work as one."

The merger gives CEU students and staff access to state and federal funding options previously available only to applied technology colleges.

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E-mail: wleonard@desnews.com