1. WHY STUDENTS CHOOSE THE
BRANCH CAMPUS OF A LARGE
UNIVERSITY
BY SCOTT L. HO WELL , PHD
DIRECTOR, BYU SALT LAKE CENTER

3. MOVE TO DOWNTOWN SALT LAKE CITY

4. FIFTH LOCATION SINCE 1959

8. REALLY?
―What happened to all the people
who thought online learning would
drive traditional education out of the
market? Just when ‗click‘ is supposed
to be replacing ‗brick,‘ branch
campuses are proliferating around
the country‖ (p. 1).

9. WHAT DO WE REALLY KNOW ABOUT
BRANCH CAMPUSES?
• Very little. NCES or other organizations do not
track.
• Few research studies exist and what they
examined is eclectic—more on what it takes
to establish a new campus:
• The political process, inter-campus relations, organizational
considerations and the use of technology (Clark & Tullar,
1995; De Give & Olswang, 1999; Dengerink, 2001;
Eduventures, 2006; Healy, 1997; Hermanson, 1993, 1995;
Knapp, Roffman, & Cooper, 2009; Marx, 2005; Merzer, 2008;
Morrill & Beyers, 1991; Motter, 1999; Parkyn, 1999; Penn, 2007).

10. ONLY ONE FLEDGLING NATIONAL
ASSOCIATION FOR BRANCH CAMPUSES.

11. SPECIFIC STUDY PURPOSE
This study will focus on one research question not
carefully examined in the existing literature: the
reasons and explanations given by three types of
students for enrolling at a branch campus within just
an hour‘s drive of the main campus.
• (1) matriculated, undergraduate university
students (72 %);
• (2) non-matriculated students (13 %);
• (3) students enrolled in the Executive Masters of
Public Administration (EMPA) program (9 %) and
those enrolled in the Bachelor of General Studies
Program (BGS) degree completion program (6 %)

12. STUDY DETAILS
• This study was conducted during March 2011 at the
only branch campus associated with Brigham
Young University (BYU), a private, religiously-
affiliated, doctoral university. The main campus is in
Provo, Utah and the branch campus is in Salt Lake
City—according to Mapquest™ it is a 45-mile drive
that takes approximately 53 minutes to travel from
Provo to Salt Lake City.
• 3,022 students who previously took courses at the
Salt Lake Center during 2010 – 2011, and n=979
completed the survey for a 32 % response rate.

14. RESULTS
Table 1. What are your personal reasons for taking classes at the BYU Salt Lake
Center?
Class times work well with my schedule 593 60.6%
Smaller class sizes 489 49.9%
Prefer to attend a 2.5 hour class once a week 391 39.9%
Location was convenient 385 39.3%
More instructor interaction 356 36.4%
I thought it would be easier to receive a higher grade in the course at the 252 25.7%
center
Personal attention provided by Center staff 202 20.6%
BYU reputation for excellence 147 15.0%
Desired a class from a specific instructor 141 14.4%
Other 123 12.6%
Class was filled on the BYU Provo campus 122 12.5%
For self-enrichment or personal interest 110 11.2%
Class was not offered on the BYU Provo campus 71 7.3%
To possibly become admitted to BYU in the future 66 6.7%

15. SMALLER CLASSROOMS

16. WHAT THE STUDENTS SAY?
• Clean facility, neat, close parking, small class size,
energetic professors, and very nice facilities. Library
computers are accessible and available!
• The facility itself is great; it's new and has everything
I've ever needed. I also like the parking structure
being right next to the entrance, that's a big plus in
downtown SLC.
• How clean the area is, the nice teachers, the
smaller classrooms.
• Everything is conveniently placed in the building.
The instructors seemed much more inter-personal.

17. SOME MORE COMMENTS. . .
• It is convenient and the classes are equally as good
as on the Provo campus.
• The faculty is stupendous; as good as any professor I
had at BYU-Provo. They are fun, efficient, and good
at teaching. I also like that the classes are so small,
that my professors actually know me on a first name
basis, and seem interested in my success.
• I loved the atmosphere that is a little different from
BYU. Though the instructors were nearly the same
quality and students still had a high standard of
moral and spirit, I felt like I could more easily make
friends and focus in class.

18. FITTING CONCLUSION
I like that you offer another
campus for those who are
interested

19. THANK YOU VERY MUCH
SCOTT L. HOWELL
DIRECTOR OF BYU SALT LAKE CENTER
EMAIL: SCOTT.HOWELL@BYU.EDU
PHONE: 801-933-9436