"Finally," said Alisa Morrison, a civil engineering teacher at the Thames Valley campus, who said she favored the campus because it could be expanded more easily and of its access to highways. "I thought from 10 years ago that this would be the logical place."

James Gibbons, a graphics and general studies major, disagreed. He pointed out that some renovations already have been completed at the Mohegan campus.

"Wow, that's a stupid idea," he said. "The property's here, it's already set up. They're going to have a lot more work to do at Thames."

Donna Ramos, a financial aid assistant at the Mohegan campus, agreed, also noting the renovations. As for Thames Valley, she added: "It's like a dungeon. It's going to take millions of dollars to fix that."

The Legislature will be asked to approve more than $75 million in funding to complete the consolidation.

Anthony Benoit, chairman of the technology department at Thames Valley, acknowledged that the Thames Valley campus needs work. "It's your basic cinderblock structure." However, he said, "I'm confident that if they spend the money, it will be fine."

Gayle O'Neill, director of finances working out of the Mohegan campus, talked about the traffic issues at Thames. She drives by there every night on her way home.

"When I go home, I see cars backed up on the ramp," she said. "The Mohegan traffic is just going to add to that."

A number of students expressed relief that they would no longer have to drive back and forth between campuses.

"I wanted to get a lot more classes in, but I didn't have time to get from one school to the other," said Stephanie Jackson, 20, a pre-veterinary student.

The drive from Thames to Mohegan, she said, could take as long as 20 minutes, depending on traffic.

The commute is worse in winter, said Herve Francois, 34, of Norwich. During snow season, "I have to scrape all that snow from my car and hurry to get over to the other campus," he said.

"I'm glad it's going to be in one place," added Shannon Smith of Griswold, 19, a nursing major. "It'll be a lot easier."

Some said they were simply glad that a decision has been made.

"I was beginning to think it was never going to happen," said Sharon Pirt, an accountant at the Mohegan campus.

"Any decision at this point is good. We just need to have a location that we can focus on and set our sights on," said O'Neill.

Added Marge Valentin, director of continuing education: "We can move on."