SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – The Utah Board of Regents has approved details of the merger of Utah State University and the College of Eastern Utah. Friday’s support of the institutions’ memorandum of understanding leaves only one more step before the schools officially join on July 1, 2010: approval by the Legislature next year. Plans call for CEU to become a “comprehensive” regional college under USU’s direction and to have a new name: Utah State University-College of Eastern Utah. USU will issue the school’s degrees and select its chancellor. But the schools will retain separate athletic programs, school colors and mascots. Regents initiated the merger process last summer in response to CEU’s shrinking enrollments and increasing dependence on state money. CEU currently has about 2,000 students, down from 3,000 in 2001.