About University College

History

Helping Students Succeed
Roots of the University College

Utah Valley University focuses on helping students achieve their educational goals. Since the institution's beginnings, the college has been committed to providing learning opportunities with appropriate resources and expectations. The history of the University College parallels the growth and change of UVU. Through the years the focus of student achievement has been sharpened and refined and is evident in the mission of the University College.

Early Vocational Beginnings

With the onset of World War II there was a great need for vocationally-trained workers and the Central Utah Vocational School provided the means. With the growth in enrollment came name changes, Utah Trade Technical Institute in 1961 and Utah Technical College (UTC) in 1967.

Along with growth came challenges. As more students enrolled at UTC, counselors found that students often chose to enroll in certain programs because good jobs were available in those fields. However, some students found themselves struggling because their reading or math skills were inadequate.

Pre-Tech Program

Discussions ensued between the administration and faculty because of concern for the success of these students. The decision was to offer a service that would help these students but that would not feel like a "dumbbell" program. The person selected to start this program was Helen Johnson, a teacher in the Jordan School District who had done some remedial work and was very student oriented.

Growth at UTC created an early space crisis, so a sixty-foot trailer was obtained and parked in the Provo compound. Twelve students enrolled for the first course in 1968, all needing help with math. These students were so pleased with the assistance that enabled them to enroll in their chosen programs that the word spread about the good work being done by Mrs. Johnson in the trailer. As she worked with students, Johnson soon found that students also needed help with reading, spelling, and basic English. It wasn't long before the number of students exceeded the space in the trailer and additional trailers were obtained. One was a house trailer complete with living room, kitchen, bathrooms, and bedrooms and that facility became the headquarters for the Pre-Tech program.

Services were expanded when the VIP Skills Center, which served welding, auto mechanics, nursing, and clerk-typist students, also moved into the trailers. Other part-time instructors were added to the staff to assist students with reading, remedial English, study skills, spelling, arithmetic, and introductory algebra.

As the first buildings were completed on the Orem campus, a number of programs and courses were moved to the new campus. The vacated space allowed the Pre-tech program to move from the trailers into the upper section of the north wing of the Provo campus. Following the death of Johnson in 1974, and Elaine Hoover was appointed as director of the Pre-Tech program and charged to move the program and services forward.

In 1975, after the Vietnam conflict ended, the United States began to see a large influx of refugees from Southeast Asia; Utah was no exception. With the arrival of these refugees, there came a need to provide them the opportunity to learn English. UTC and the Pre-Tech program filled the need by enlisting a reading teacher to develop the English as a Second Language (ESL) program. News quickly spread throughout the Vietnamese community and enrollment in that program exploded. During registration periods, the refugees often waited in long lines to become enrolled in English classes and the facility on the Provo campus was soon overcrowded.

Learning Enrichment

The Orem campus continued to grow and in 1977, when the Learning Resource Center was completed, the Pre-Tech program along with ESL moved into the building. The program director and instructors had been heavily involved in planning so that the space in the LRC was inviting to students and a place where they would be well served.

With the increase in space, the program expanded with additional services and resources for students and a new name, Department of Learning Enrichment (DLE). One of the innovations was the creation of individualized classes with variable credits where a student could enroll for 1 or 2 individualized credits and work at a slower pace, spreading the coursework over two to three quarters. Course offerings were expanding to included study skills, spelling, and vocabulary improvement.

Tutoring became a formalized service with the establishment of the Math Tutorial Lab where students enrolled in math or math-related classes could drop-in for assistance outside the classroom. Later, the tutorial services were expanded to include a Writing Center to assist students with writing assignments. In 1987, tutorial services developed a Peer Tutoring component which provided tutoring for classes not supported by the Math Lab or Writing Center.

In the mid-1980s the DLE became the Learning Enrichment Center (LEC) followed by the institution becoming Utah Valley Community College (UVCC). As the mission of the college changed, enrollment grew as did the numbers of students who could benefit from the classes offered in the LEC. By 1992 the LEC's growth required more direct leadership so programs were separated in a Math Program and the English/Reading Program, each with a director.

Elaine Hoover retired in 1992, and Dr. Bonnie Henrie, an LEC faculty member who had been the Program Director for the English/Reading Program, was selected to lead the Learning Enrichment Center as Associate Dean of the School of Learning Resources and Services. In 2000, Dr. Henrie was selected as Dean of the School of Learning Resources.

University College

After the institution's name change to Utah Valley State College (UVSC), the School of Learning Resources and Services was reconfigured in 2003 into the School of General Academics.  With a broader mission of serving not only developmental students but exploratory students worked collaboratively with other academic schools and Student Services to improve student success and retention. In the same year the majority of the School's operations were moved into the newly completed Liberal Arts Building which provided full-time faculty with individual offices, expanded space for the Academic Tutoring labs, and offices for the academic advisors and support staff. Use of technology became standard in the traditional classes, in computer classrooms, and as a mode of delivering tutorial services.

With the institution's name change to Utah Valley University in 2008, the school of General Academics became University College.  Pre-Tech, Learning Enrichment Center, and now, University College-the names and locations have changed since 1968 but the basic mission has not. Leadership, faculty, and staff are still focused on students and committed to ensuring that students beginning their college experience at UVU have a better chance of meeting their educational goals. University College is where excellence begins.