UVSC administrators will meet with the speaker of the Utah House of Representatives next week to push their legislative priorities, starting with the initiative to build a new library on campus.

The meeting is scheduled with House Speaker Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, on Wednesday.

Dubbed a digital learning center for its use of technology, the library is estimated to cost $48 million by the state Division of Facilities and Construction Management. But a planning process, funded by the Legislature last year, has shown the building could cost as much as $57 million, said Val Peterson, vice president of external affairs.

In 2004, the building would have cost less, but prices for building materials have gone up.

"The scope of the building hasn't ever changed, nor the size," Peterson said. "We're just asking for the same size of building we've been requesting all along."

The library is first on the building board's priority list, third on the Board of Regents' list, and was also included in Gov. Jon Huntsman's list of projects. "We're positioned very, very well with all those recommendations," said UVSC spokesman Derek Hall.

The college's other priorities include encouraging the state to once again fund employee compensation at 75 percent, with 25 percent coming from tuition. The split was previously 75/25 before the economic downturn, when the Legislature aligned the percentages with state funding of other programs --for UVSC it became a 51/49 split. Third on UVSC's list is mission-based funding. That money is used to help institutions define their missions and pay for related initiatives. For example, UVSC's mission lists entrepreneurship, international understanding and lifetime learning among its areas of emphasis.

UVSC also will ask for more funding for concurrent enrollment. While state law says the program will be funded at $50 for each credit hour, current funding only totals $34, with UVSC estimating the cost at $60 per credit hour. If the Legislature does not raise funding, UVSC will have to rethink its concurrent enrollment program, he said, although discontinuing it is not an option being considered.

The college's fifth priority is getting $800,000 to expand its economic development and small business incubation activities. A class taught on campus this fall evaluated the marketability of patented technologies produced by other state institutions, Peterson said. "We'd like to offer more of a steady stream with that. It would flow into the whole business plan concept and then into incubation, creating small businesses that would hopefully turn into jobs."

And finally, the college wants $1.4 million to fund retention efforts, advising and other student services. "We need to be retaining students better on our campus, making sure they know what the courses offered are, and that they get through the system faster so they can be out in the workplace," Peterson said.

College representatives have been meeting with legislators for months, and more meetings are planned before the legislative session begins on Jan. 16.

Anna Chang-Yen can be reached at 344-2549 or annac@heraldextra.com.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D1.