Civic leaders in Rocky Mount see a golden future in the sleepy campus of N.C. Wesleyan College.

They envision it as UNC-Rocky Mount.

For months, several business and civic leaders have lobbied legislators and UNC leaders to turn the Methodist-affiliated, private, liberal-arts college into the 17th university of the UNC system.

Their political persuasion worked, to a point. Legislation passed this summer orders the UNC system to study the possibility.

Rocky Mount-area boosters say a branch of the UNC system would be just what the area needs for an economic jump-start.

"This thing makes so much sense to me it's almost scary," said Tom Betts, a retired Rocky Mount insurance broker and former chairman of the college's board, who has helped spearhead the effort.

UNC would gain a 200-acre campus -- an asset worth $80 million or more -- to make room for future demand for higher education as North Carolina's population grows, Betts said. Too many young people leave Eastern North Carolina for college and never return, he said. A UNC campus could draw students and jobs to an area that struggles economically.

"Unfortunately, there are parts of Eastern North Carolina that are almost like a Third World country," Betts said.

The idea has gained some powerful backers, including legislators from Edgecombe, Nash and Wilson counties. Senate leader Marc Basnight's staff conducted preliminary research in a "confidential white paper," according to records at the UNC system headquarters.

UNC leaders aren't sold on the idea, despite the political pressure.

UNC President Erskine Bowles met with the community leaders just weeks after he took office. They wanted to move quickly to convert the college. Bowles didn't.

"I couldn't have been more candid in any way," Bowles said. "I said I felt we had a real responsibility to meet the educational needs of the people of that area, but we also had a responsibility to the taxpayers to do it in the most efficient, effective manner possible."

Running a small college is an expensive way to deliver education, Bowles said. In recent years, UNC has enlarged its smaller campuses to teach more students in a more economical way.

The university system also is devising new ways to serve working adults who need more education as the economy shifts. UNC plans a major push in its online programs. Several campuses are collaborating with community colleges to offer courses at a higher education center in Hickory.

East Carolina and N.C. State universities already offer classes on the Wesleyan campus, in a building called the Gateway Technology Center.

N.C. Wesleyan, founded 50 years ago, has struggled financially in the past. Like most small, private colleges, it depends heavily on students' tuition. Its annual budget of $19 million includes more than $13 million in tuition revenue, according to 2005-06 figures compiled by Basnight's office. It gets a small amount of money each year from the United Methodist Church, and its invested funds total about $8 million.

The college has 900 students on the main campus and 1,300 in its off-campus degree programs in Morrisville and Goldsboro. Those programs, aimed at working adults, have helped the college's bottom line.

Six years ago, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, a major accrediting agency, placed the college on a warning for problems in its off-campus programs. Those issues were solved, said Ian Newbould, president of the college.

The idea for converting Wesleyan into a public university began with community leaders, Newbould said. It's not about saving the college, he said.

"Who knows what will come of it, because the college is fine," he said. "If it would mean something even better for the college, well, that would be fine, too."

Dr. Will Pittman, chairman of the Wesleyan board, said a public university would do wonders for the region and breathe new life into the campus.

"It would allow the campus to grow much more rapidly in terms of enrollment and offerings," he said. But, he added, "it's not something we're depending on."

A conversion could be complicated, with legal and financial implications of transferring a private college's assets, students and faculty to the state. Ties to the Methodist Church would have to be severed. The college's mission would have to be clearly defined. The legislation suggests a focus on areas such as science, technology, education and economic development.

The study will cost the UNC system $50,000. That might not be enough to explore all the details. One consultant quoted a cost of $200,000 to $250,000 for a thorough study or $75,000 to $80,000 "if you know where you want to come out," according to e-mail from Alan Mabe, UNC's vice president for academic planning, to other UNC staff members.

Bowles promised the study would be legitimate, with "no preconditions, with no assumption that we knew the answer ahead of time," he said.

Sen. A.B. Swindell, a Democrat from Nashville, said he was quickly persuaded by local business and civic leaders when he was approached. A UNC campus in Rocky Mount would help the area and a fast-growing state, he said.

"We've got to look and see how we are going to be positioned in 20 years," he said. "We need math, science and biotechnology emphasis right here, now, today."

Bowles said he's open-minded.

"If this study comes back and says this is the right thing for us to do, I'll support it," he said. "If it doesn't, I will fight it."