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Home > Archive > Oct 3, 2007

DSC - U of U Affiliation Moving Forward
By Dixie Weekly News
  By Julia Campbell and Sharon May 

Not since “Montague” has a name seemed to stir such passion.
A college by any other name doesn’t seem the same for many longtime Dixie-area residents and alumni.
On Wednesday, Sept. 26, DSC invited the public to a town meeting in the Gardner Center Ballroom to ask questions about the school’s proposed expanded affiliation with the U. More than 100 people were in attendance, and during an hour and a half of public commentary following an introduction and brief history of the steps leading to the current proposal, more than a dozen people stepped behind the microphone with one basic and emotional concern: “Dixie.”
Support for the affiliation was overwhelming. But support for a possible name change to University of Utah, St. George (“The Dixie Experience”) was not as universally approved. Issues of heritage and history and the name’s connotation with the Confederate South – especially by those not from Utah’s Dixie – were discussed, with emotion running high on both sides of the issue.
In addition to U of U, St. George, another suggested name is University of Utah in Utah’s Dixie, said Dr. Shandon Gubler, chairman of the DSC Board of Trustees.
“Our heritage is much deeper than a pioneer name,” Brent Hansen, DSC faculty member, reminded those at the meeting. “They thought outside the box. They defied tradition. … Change is not to be feared. It’s the Dixie spirit, not a name. We hold it in trust and bequeath it to the future.”
Through Wednesday’s meeting and many other venues, the DSC Board of Trustees has received much public feedback on the name change and will weigh all in their decision of a new name.
The idea of expanding DSC’s affiliation with the U is not a new one. But on Sept. 7, the Board of Trustees of DSC formerly approved a resolution to begin discussions and research into extending and enhancing the two schools’ current affiliation.
“Southern Utah is undergoing change of monumental proportions,” Gubler, said. “We as trustees feel a sense of responsibility to govern this institution with wisdom and courage, no different than our ancestors did in the past.”
The U of U and DSC proposed and received approval and funding for an initial partnership in the 2007 Utah legislative session. The U of U would provide instruction in three master’s degree programs in special education, nursing, and an executive business administration (MBA) on the DSC campus.
DSC Board of Trustees met Oct. 1 to formally draft and approve the proposal, which will go on to the U of U Board of Trustees for approval Oct. 8. If there are any changes to be made to the proposal, the DSC Trustees will meet again in November.
“The original plan is, if we got through those two approval processes, it would go on to the State Board of Regents for their approval, and it could have happened as early as July 1, 2008,” said Steve Johnson, director of DSC Public Relations, Publications and Marketing.
He said now there is talk from both parties that the affiliation will take a little more time for everything to develop. They want to make sure all bases are covered, all proposals are accurate and 100 percent solid before it goes to the legislature for consideration. This means the affiliation petition probably wouldn’t come before the state legislature until January 2009 and, if approved, go into effect until July 1, 2009, in time for the fall 2009 semester.
DSC will still keep its community college mission and retain all programs such as cultural arts, academics, and athletics. The athletic programs will continue to compete at the NCAA II level.
“We will still have our same budget line item with the legislature. Our (DSC) trustees will remain intact as appointed by the governor. The only change in leadership is that President Caldwell will become Chancellor Caldwell and answer to President Young at the University of Utah,” Johnson said, “But for the most part, we will remain completely and totally autonomous.”
The university affiliation will allow DSC to offer more educational opportunities throughout Washington and Kane Counties. Whatever the U of U has, if there is student interest, DSC will be able to offer those programs on campus. The affiliation will also give DSC an opportunity for better funding as well in offering programs the college is currently unable to offer.
The affiliation would bring more physical growth for DSC.
“We would have to have more buildings, but since we are landlocked, we will be looking at building up more so than out,” Johnson said. “From an enrollment standpoint, we expect to have a bump, but we are looking at the bump coming from Washington and Kane Counties both in traditional students (18 to 24-year olds) and non-traditional students (25 and older) who have some college experience.”
He said the older students might not have finished work on an associate degree or bachelor’s degree. They can come back to school and pick up where they left off and finish whatever degree they were working on before other responsibilities occurred, such as family and work.
Another issue surrounding the affiliation is what might happen with the cost of tuition. Some people are worried tuition will rise to cost as much as for students in Salt Lake City.
“That is not going to happen,” Johnson said. “Typically, tuition costs at an affiliate school are normally two-thirds of what a student would pay at a flagship (main) institution.
However, tuition will continue to rise every year as it has in the past, because tuition dollars are needed to fund expanding programs and additional faculty and staff positions.
Johnson said DSC tuition will be on par if not a shade under what students currently pay at SUU, even though SUU costs are very reasonable.
While overwhelming public approval for the proposed university affiliation was expressed at Wednesday’s town hall meeting, the most emotional issue raised by the proposal is the possible name change for Dixie State College – specifically, the “Dixie” designation.
“We would become a system under the auspices of the University of Utah,” Johnson said.
The name will need to show the location, such as University of Utah, St. George.
Gubler said it is time to make some very difficult decisions once again as DSC faces a financial and strategic crisis.
“We know education’s power and potential to change lives, to stimulate economies and to facilitate an above average quality of life,” Gubler said. “Our educational offers must respond to the rapidly changing world of Southern Utah.”
When it comes to the issue of DSC’s future and the Board’s weighty decision, as Rep. David Clark said on Wednesday, “I wish them the heart of Solomon in making this decision.”

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