High School senior Ellie Davis was considering taking a gap year after she graduates next spring. Then she attended the open house of the Juniper Building at the combined campus of SLCC and the University of Utah located in Herriman, and is now considering going straight into Salt Lake Community College.

“I asked her ‘Do you maybe want to come here?’ and she said, ‘Yeah, this kind of actually changes my mind,’” Ellie’s mother Bobbi Davis said, who works at the U of U.

 Ellie said she was impressed with the modern facility and the fact that the classes offered by SLCC seamlessly transfer to the U of U programs at the same campus.

Staff for admissions, financial aid, academic and career advisors from both SLCC and U of U are housed at the one-building campus, which will continue to grow.

John Blodgett, academic adviser at Mountain Ridge High School, which is located just one mile away from the Juniper Building, is excited to learn more about the unique campus, which has benefits for low income and new-to-the-country community members who have barriers to accessing higher education.

“If it’s closer, there’s a barrier removed; if it’s affordable, there’s a barrier removed,” he said.

There are six high schools within six miles of the new college campus. Herriman is the fastest growing area in Jordan School District.

“Education is a priority in Herriman,” Herriman Mayor Lorin Palmer said. “We love the idea that students can receive their entire formal education—from elementary school through a college degree—all within the same community. We look forward to working with Salt Lake Community College and the University of Utah as partners in serving our community’s educational future.”

SLCC Vice President of Student Affairs Brett Perozzi said a lot of the campus enrollments are students who live nearby, but the unique nature of the campus appeals to all types of students.

“Students can come here, earn a certificate, an associate degree and a bachelor’s degree without ever leaving this campus. That’s pretty unique and exciting,” he said.

Davis thinks the smaller campus appeals to students looking for a small campus feel, like her daughter Ellie, who attends the charter school Paradigm High School and is used to smaller class sizes and a small-school culture.

“She’s come to the U of U a few times and it can be intimidating coming to the U of U because the campus is so big, but here, she seemed to light up a bit more,” Davis said at the open house. 

The open house, held Aug. 4, provided community members with local performances, free food truck meals, face painting and cotton candy. Employees from both SLCC and U of U were available to give tours and to answer questions.

“This campus will play a key role in making college more accessible to those who call this area home, and in turn help their families and community thrive and prosper,” SLCC President Deneece G. Huftalin said. “I also hope this campus will become a central place for community-wide learning and engagement. We are particularly grateful for the partnership and support from Herriman City in advancing access to higher education in their rapidly growing community.”

Michelle McCashland, who is building a home in Herriman, brought her four teenagers to the open house to encourage them to consider it as an option for starting their college experience.

“The location is awesome and so is the convenience, honestly, of having both SLCC and the U of U in the same building,” McCashland said.

The Herriman Campus is SLCC’s eighth campus.

“We wanted to bring education to this southwest quadrant to reduce expenses in terms of transportation, time, air pollution, but also because we want to offer programs that are in high demand,” Taunya Dressler of SLCC said. “So the programs we’ve intentionally placed out here are programs that offer a lot of potential growth and that, in terms of our workforce, are in high demand.” λ