Outcry over loss of BYU program

PROVO — Brigham Young University officials say they had good reasons to cancel the bachelor's of social work program.

But some students, along with concerned social-service agency directors and school district chiefs, say they will suffer a negative ripple effect.

"This is not a done deal. We will fight this forever," said Marc Gilchrist, 29, of Orem, a first-year student in BYU's master's of social work program.

Officials with local social services agencies, as well as Alpine and Provo school districts, are not happy with the idea of losing the crop of social work students who lend hands at various organizations and agencies to fulfill 480 required hours of community volunteer work.

And some BYU social work students are planning to protest the decision at a demonstration Monday, and say they will continue to protest until they get more answers or until the program is reinstated.

David Magleby, dean of BYU's College of Family, Home and Social Sciences, says the decision was made after much study. He announced the decision — and explained the reasons — in October.

The next month, students staged a 50-person off-campus protest.

Magleby said the primary purpose of eliminating the bachelor's of social work program is to improve the master's of social work program. BYU also aims to strengthen the three graduate clinical programs in the college: psychology, marriage and family therapy, and social work, he said.

Further, BYU is concerned about an insufficient number of potential social work faculty, Magleby said. "A viable program needs to have a strong pool of faculty," he said.

Because of the limited pool of faculty, BYU has been worried about accreditation of its BSW and MSW programs, Magleby added.

"As we work to build and improve our programs, we will make changes," said BYU Academic Vice President John Tanner. "Through these changes we hope to strengthen the MSW program by providing superb, master's-qualified students ready to take leadership positions in the field."

Meanwhile, officials at nearby Utah Valley State College are studying a proposal to implement a bachelor's of social work program. The proposal was submitted to UVSC administrators in the fall. It would have to go through the college's Board of Trustees and administration, then to the State Board of Regents for final approval.

UVSC offers a bachelor's degree in behavioral science with four available emphasis areas: anthropology, psychology, social work and sociology.