Utah Valley State College will open its North Valley Education Center in January at the State Development Center, 895 N. 900 East in American Fork.
The branch campus will join other education centers in Spanish Fork, Park City, Heber City and Orem's University Mall, according to Roger Porter, director of off-campus sites. Park City has the only other full service program.The college leased the Laurelwood building, which became available because the development center is winding down operations there. The lease was for 6,370 square feet at $9.50 a square foot or $60,515 annually. College officials originally wanted a 10-year lease but instead got a renewable year-to-year lease. Both the Development Center and UVSC are state-owned.
UVSC will also have access to the amphitheater and auditorium at the Development Center, which is across the street from the new Mount Timpanogos LDS Temple, scheduled to open next year. The two-story Laurelwood building has seven classrooms, a kitchen, a large conference center and several administrative offices. It also has a computer lab that will eventually be linked to the main UVSC campus. Bookstore and student counseling services will also be available.
College officials opted to lease space for its growing enrollment because of restrictions in state funding that preclude future campus construction for at least eight years. UVSC enrollment topped 14,000 for the fall semester, with more than 3,000 students living north of 1600 North in Orem. Some 200 to 250 full-time students are expected to attend the first semester the new center is opened, said Porter, but more growth is expected.
Many of the classes will be taught via interactive television, but evening classes will be live, he said.
"We've found that students have as (much) success with interactive classes as they do with live classes," he said.
Initially, only core classes will be offered on a rotating basis, but eventually Porter expects UVSC to offer four-year courses and major courses. Classes that have been offered at American Fork Junior High School for the past decade will move to the new location.
UVSC officials say it is highly possible that UVSC will expand into more of the Development Center as space becomes available. Previously known as the Utah State Training School, the facility was used to house and teach people with mental disabilities. It once cared for some 1,200 people but now serves only about 400 because of the state's effort to mainstream those with mental disabilities.