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Mountain Land Tech reports waiting lists for over 500 students, seeks Payson branch and expanded capacity
Summary
Mountain Land Technical College told legislators it has more than 500 students on waiting lists across programs and that opening a Payson branch and other campuses will expand capacity; the college cited a potential $22.5 million regional economic impact from serving those waiting students.
Clay Christiansen, president of Mountain Land Technical College (MTech), told the committee MTech is the system’s largest technical college by FTE and budget and that demand has outpaced current capacity across its large multi‑county service region.
Christiansen said MTech enrolled 6,369 students in 2024 and currently has more than 500 prospective students on waiting lists for programs across its service area (Alpine, Nebo, Provo, South Summit, North Summit, Wasatch and Park City school districts). He said the college expanded sections where possible but that, without additional capacity, the waiting lists persist. “Had we been able to address those that would have increased our head count by another 8.2% or a total of 10.25% growth,” he said. Christiansen estimated that the unmet student demand translated to about $22.5 million in unrealized economic impact for the three‑county region.
MTech described a planned Payson branch campus that will open in the fall and a Heber Valley campus under construction; Christiansen said Payson is expected to serve about 1,100 students and Heber Valley about 675 students. He highlighted apprenticeship scale‑up (564 electrical apprentices, 377 plumbing apprentices), 43 programs system‑wide for MTech, robust K–16 articulation with Utah Valley University (more than 650 credits articulated across 25 pathway programs) and work‑based learning participation.
Trustee Julie King noted the college’s capital campaign and that state investment yields a large return: “For every tax dollar invested in an MTech student, the state receives a hundred and $43 in economic activity per year,” she said.
Ending: MTech asked the committee to support capital and ongoing operations for branch campuses and program expansion to reduce waiting lists and capture regional workforce and economic benefits.
