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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Over opposition from state education officials, a Nephi legislator is considering legislation that would let Snow College offer bachelor's degrees.
The bill is just one more case of "mission creep" among Utah schools trying to go beyond their purpose, Commissioner of Higher Education Rich Kendell said.
"The regents have given Snow College a mission and a role, which is two-year status, not four-year. That's our position," he said. "We feel that Snow is well-suited for a two-year program and we would not be agreeable to a four-year degree."
Board of Regents Chairman Nolan Karras said the bill skirts the authority of the board, taking the case for four-year general education degrees at Snow straight to the Legislature.
"If there are enough kids attracted to the program, we're willing to take the program to where the kids are," he said. "That makes more sense than having a legislative bill that says we hereby declare you a four-year school."
Bill sponsor Sen. Darin Peterson said he's aware of the resistance to a four-year program and doesn't plan to finalize the bill until he has talked further with Kendell.
The Nephi Republican said he knew legislative action in recent years to offer four-year degrees at Utah Valley State College and Dixie State College ruffled feathers among higher education officials, and he doesn't want to force a bill without regents' agreement.
"This becomes a pretty delicate thing because to some extent Dixie bypassed the regents several years ago, and I'm not sure the dust has settled and all the feelings have been mended," he said. "When you do things outside the box, it takes a while for everybody to get back in together."
Snow College President Mike Benson said he has been following regents' directives to pursue partnerships with Utah State University and the University of Utah before trying to turn Snow into a four-year school.
He said those partnerships take advantage of the systems already in place at four-year schools without stretching Snow to full university status.
"We have no aspirations to offer any four-year degrees instead of partnering elsewhere," he said.
But Peterson said his measure still has merit, particularly in addressing the issue of Snow College students who want to stay near their hometowns and get a degree.
"It's not like I'm trying to call out the regents, I just need to draw some attention to a problem," he said. "There's no four-year college between UVSC and Cedar City, and you have this whole central group of counties that are very limited."
Karras said schools seeking to enhance their course offerings beyond the intended scope puts the whole school system in a tight spot because funding and students would then be split among the universities.
He said that trend has pushed Weber State leaders to want to become a research university and Utah Valley State College to look into the possibility of becoming a full-fledged university.
The prestige of working for a university and teaching upper-level courses motivates many schools to push for four-year status, Karras said.
He said the costs of that are often overlooked and leave the state system facing bills for enhanced libraries, faculty members and buildings.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
