The very founding of UVU goes back to a partnership between four school districts (Alpine, Provo, Nebo & Wasatch) with the hope to better serve the educational needs of students. From these earliest days, the institution has been engaged with the broader community offering training at the Japanese internment company at Topaz and the state prison to name just two. Today the university has expanded and formalized even more such partnerships.

UVU K-16 Alliance

Commissioner Kendell asked each of the colleges and universities in Utah to form a K-16 Alliance in their service region. UVU took the charge seriously under the leadership of President Sederburg. UVU currently leads the state in its efforts to partner with the seven school districts within its service region. Trustee & Superintendent Terry Shoemaker chairs the UVU K-16 Alliance. Dr. E. Mark Bezzant took the lead in establishing this alliance which now is under the director of Dr. Briant Farnsworth, dean of the School of Education.

Utah's Statewide GEAR UP Program

UVU took the lead in helping secure the first ever federal statewide GEAR UP grant and by far the largest grant in the university’s history. This is a 18.6 million dollar, 6 year partnership between UVU, USU, CEU and SLCC to serve thousands of low-income students throughout Utah.

America Reads

In order to receive federal funds each college must have an outreach program in the community. UVU’s designated outreach program is the America Reads program. Currently some 28 work-study students are serving hundreds of low income elementary students in our region who need help mastering basic reading and math skills.

Golden Gate Initiative

UVU has a model program to help high risk students from East Palo Alto area succeed in college. East Palo Alto is one of the most crime-ridden areas in the United States. The program is funded by Boyd & Jill Smith who reside in California.

Urban Initiative

Governor Leavitt’s office noticed the increased level of violence at West High School in Salt Lake City and asked UVCC to help with a needed program that had proven so successful in Utah and Wasatch counties. What came to be called the Urban Initiative turned a 70% failure rate into a 90% plus success rate with high risk populations at this urban school.

K-12 Initiative

In 1991 UVCC was one of two junior colleges in the United States to receive federal funding for a program to help low income students failing in school. The 3-year pilot was an amazing success. However a number of people saw the success but were not low income. Agencies serving at risk populations also saw the success and wanted access to the program. This need precipitated an option for these people to contract for services to help children succeed in school from kindergarten through twelfth grade.

College Initiative

The College Initiative is an extension of the K-12 Initiative and allows people and agencies to contract for personalized help at a collegiate level. This has proven particularly valuable for students with certified disabilities to get the additional help they need to succeed in college.

Crime Prevention Initiative

During early pilot programs it was noted that a disproportionate number of children with disabilities were being incarcerated. It was also noted that students with disabilities were not getting the help they needed to succeed in college after completing high school. Hence, a model program was established to reach every disabled student in our service region through a partnership with the special education personnel in schools and the MATC with our Accessibilities Office at UVU. The work with these students begins as early as 9th grade and goes right on through to the college experience. It creates a perfect, seamless system for these wonderful students.

Student Affairs Grants & Development

Student Affairs leads the university in securing grants for the furtherance of the university’s mission. In the last five years, we have secured more than 25 million dollars to help the university.