Reader comments
BYU-Idaho expands enrollment

I heard hundreds of times Ricks would never be a four year school. Was in 50's then went back to two year school. A surprise there. It would be nice if an intercollegiate athletic program returned up there. Would play some former rivals and maybe if they have a similar history to bsu that went from JUCO to 1-aa to a succesful 1-a school could bring money to the program.

As the world spirals towards more wickedness, the church will feel increased pressure from parents who are aghast at the thought of sending their children to colleges that are simply unfit for a faithful Latter-day Saint; not to mention risking their child getting brainwashed by professors who are beholden to all kinds of false ideas.

I just wish they would take into account things like mission service when assigning tracks. You don't have control over which track they assign to you and when it conflicts with mission plans, it is frustrating!

My thanks to the church for having subsidized by BYU tuition and providing the opportunity for excellent education to thousands more! I'm happy to help others have a subsidized education through my tithing dollars.

To Anonymous 7:18 am,

Let's leave intercollegiate athletics alone. Money raised by athletics programs generally stays in athletics programs. Athletics doesn't really help with the rapidly increasing costs of ACADEMIC education.


I hope the trimester plan is soon utilized at BYU-Provo and BYU-Hawaii. So many qualified students are being turned away.

The state institutions could look at this model as well. Buildings are so expensive, and technology could be used to keep both taxes and tuition under control.

Track system isn't bad, but has drawbacks for some people. Its a matter of timing for some who want to be on a different track. However, I LOVED BYUI! I graduated from there and had a wonderful experience as one of the frozen chosen.

The admittance process DOES take into account missionary service when screening applications for admittance into church owned universities.

Imagine how many people would try to go to the Idaho school if it were in the frozen tundra of Idaho. Nice location.

I went to school there and it was great! But they do need more buildings, more than they have planned. Also, PLEASE bring back sports to the school! Make it a NCAA Div. II school like Dixie or SUU.

I agree that parents should want the best for their children, that sending them to a church school might be a better option, but the real need is to teach our children how to differentiate between good and evil. At some point or another our children will be forced to make a choice about what's good and what's not. I'd prefer to have my children able to make the right choice rather than forcefully seclude them from those choices.

I went to BYU and hope my children choose to also (and are eligible to). But I have to operate under the fact that I must teach them how to survive in the terrible world. Whether they're required to endure that during college or not until after college is irrelevant.

My guess is they don't take mission plans into consideration, because they don't want people intentionally using mission plans to get into the track they want.

If this works why not do it at all the church run schools?

Lindal, they have made adjustments to accommodate for that problem now(such as allowing you to jump in during and "off track" semester). Talk to the registrars office.

I am suprised to hear them wanting to enlarge the student population. I remember hearing Pres. Clark not wanting too. Either way, it's still an amazing school and with the growning populations and need for more students it will all be good!

The reason why BYU-Provo will never switch to this is that it puts a tremendous drain on faculty. BYU-Provo's faculty are expected to have a much larger research load that BYU-Idaho's faculty (and those at BYU-I teach much more) and summer is, in my experience as a faculty member (though not at a BYU campus), when much of this research gets done without the day-to-day distractions of lectures and student meetings. Teaching is fun and rewarding, but research is too and the latter is how we keep our jobs. A full trimester system would make that impossible

At the same time, let me remind poster 7:34 that there are many Mormon faculty at non-LDs institutions around the country and many of my colleagues are good people who will not brainwash your children either. Just make sure they go someplace where there is a strong and active Institute.

That is so good to hear! I had a wonderful experience there and now am taking that with me to Virginia. All this is credited to the revelation that the Brethren receive!

Rexburg is a beautiful place. You are only demonstrating your lack of appreciation for anything not Wasatch Front-esque. You sound like a typical Wasatch fronter that likes nothing better than keeping up with the Joneses.

The things that make Rexburg ugly are comments like those made by Anonymous 7:34 a.m. That's right. Put on the blinders! Ignore ideas that may cause you to think about what you actually believe.

To Mistyeye. The School does NOT take into account missionary service. There was a time when if you served an honorable full-time mission you were guaranteed a place at a church school. Not any more. The church expects YM to interupt their schooling and be worthy to serve a mission but then upon their return they only look at HS grades etc. I am afraid I am one of the disappointed parents mentioned in the last paragraph of the article. Having had a daughter attend BYUI, I know that there are many atudents that attend purely because of parental pressure and who struggle to maintain church standards. Some of her room mates left a lot to be desired.

I think this is great news! I have just a couple of points to address from previous comments:

1) BYU-I will never have NCAA sports again. They don't make such a huge decision only to reverse it. I believe it is too much of an expense and this allows them to focus on the academics which is the purpose.

2) In addition to research, I am sure that BYU would have to rework contracts and pay more leading to higher expenses and possibly a loss of money. The sports program there would also need to be cut to offset the higher costs.

3) Finally, it is a great blessing to have church schools. However, if we raise up our children, preparing them and if we use the institute system far more than we do, I believe reverse the problem of our membership falling for the philosophies of the world. This is what the institute system was designed for, to grow the CES program without building huge universities. Also if more people were willing to stay outside of the Wasatch front and advance truth in these institutions, it would also help offset this problem.

Where can I find information on LDS institute numbers ?
What public schools have very active institute programs ?