Mesa is moving ahead with plans to bring another college to that city. The Mesa City Council met Thursday to formally approve negotiations with Westminster College.

The goal is to bring a branch campus of Westminster College to downtown Mesa by the fall 2013 semester. The private liberal arts school is based in Fulton, Mo.

If an agreement is reached the branch campus would be based in the old Mesa City Court building. It is being called the Mesa Center for Higher Education and will offer shared academic space.

In January the city announced that it was also negotiating with Benedictine University out of Lisle, Ill. to develop a branch site in Mesa.

The city says it is negotiating with two other schools to develop branch campuses in downtown Mesa. 

EDITOR'S NOTE (4/27/2012): An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the location of Westminster College. It is located in Fulton, Mo.