UVSC zeroing in on the future

Sederburg said the school's budget is "in good shape." Fall enrollment was up 4 percent. Spring enrollment count is expected to be announced in February. The college's full budget will be detailed in April after the Legislature is done and second-tier tuition is decided, he said.

In fall 2008, the school will welcome its first master's degree cohort in education. A master's degree in nursing is expected to follow in fall 2009, and a master of business administration degree sometime after that.

UVSC will have a new seal, athletic symbols and logo.

The school will continue to be committed to Career and Technical Education. Right now, UVSC provides 22 percent of the state's CTE credits. Salt Lake Community College does 33 percent, and Weber State University has 20 percent, he said.

By May, UVSC is expected to have NCAA certification and be preparing for conference affiliation. "You are going to see a lot of activity with that," he said.

A new library will open this summer, with 190,000 square feet. Huge events are slated for June 30 and July 1 to celebrate the library, as well as the university status.

Looking a decade down the road, Sederburg predicts the university will have 80 four-year degrees and 600 faculty. UVU will be accommodating an increase of 5,000 students by 2017.

"A tsunami of enrollment is headed our way in the next nine years," he said.

UVSC students are excited to soon be attending a university instead of a college.

"It will be a new everything," said Bradley Gelegonya, 18, of Orem, a freshman taking general classes. He pointed out a mural near the Ragan Theater is just one of hundreds of things that will have to be changed to say "university" instead of "college."

Kimberly Jorgensen, 18, of Orem, a freshman pre-nursing major, said she is thrilled that even though she entered a college, her diploma will say university.

"I feel pretty lucky," Jorgensen said. "And now UVSC has established a four-year program and is becoming one of the top nursing programs in the state."

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