Institution Submitting Proposal:
UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY
College:
Humanities and Social Sciences
Department or Area in Which Program
Will Be Located:
Behavioral Science
Program Title:
BS Behavioral Science with an emphasis in
Social Work
Recommended Classification of Instructional
Programs (CIP) Code:
44.0701
Proposed Beginning Date:
Fall, 2011
Institutional Signatures:
_____________________________________________
Matthew S. Holland, University President
Utah Valley University
______________________________________________
Ian Wilson
Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs
_______________________________________________
David Yells
Dean
_______________________________________________
Steven Clark
Department Chair
Date: 10/15/2010
Section I: Request
The discontinuation of the Social Work emphasis from the Behavioral Science bachelor degree at Utah
Valley University (UVU) is requested. This discontinuation is contingent upon the approval of the Bachelor
of Social Work (BSW) degree proposed to begin Fall, 2011.
The impact of this discontinuation will be relatively minor. If the BSW is approved, UVU will retain faculty
already teaching Social Work courses and rely on them to be the core of the BSW program. The faculty
have developed new courses required to meet the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) accreditation
standards and will offer those along with other courses already in place that also meet CSWE standards. If
the BSW is not approved, UVU will keep the Social Work emphasis and faculty teaching loads will not
change.
Students who have declared a major in Behavioral Science with an emphasis in Social Work, have
completed fewer than 90 credit hours, and are not accepted into the BSW program for Fall 2011 will be
advised to change their emphasis to Anthropology, Family Studies, Psychology, or Sociology. The reason
for this is the potential negative perception which graduate school admissions committees are likely to
formulate regarding students who completed an emphasis in Social Work rather than a BSW, when both
degrees were available at the student’s undergraduate university. Because the BSW will have a
competitive admissions program (while the Social Work emphasis has been open enrollment), students
who remain in the Social Work emphasis are likely to be seen as less competitive than the students in the
BSW program.
Students with fewer than 90 credit hours will easily transition into a different emphasis and should be able
to complete their Behavioral Science degree without the burden of additional credit hours. The impact on
students who change their emphasis area will be minimal, as the degree they will be earning is still a
bachelor’s degree in Behavioral Science (albeit with a different emphasis). All students declared as
Behavioral Science majors with a Social Work emphasis prior to approval of the BSW will be given the
opportunity to complete the degree within seven years of their catalog year.
Section II: Need
Students wishing to study Social Work at a USHE institution without being accepted into a BSW program
will still have the opportunity to do so by enrolling at Salt Lake Community College and pursuing their
Associate degree in Social Work or enrolling at Weber State University and pursuing their Bachelor degree
in Social Work. The discontinuation of this emphasis is necessary to allow the Social Work faculty to teach
courses required for the BSW program and for them to adequately serve as mentors to the students in that
program. The discontinuation is also needed because students graduating from UVU with a bachelor
degree in Behavioral Science with an emphasis in Social Work will not be able to compete for jobs or
graduate school positions against UVU students who will graduate with the BSW. In addition, the state of
Utah’s Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing (DOPL) has recently adopted changes in the
educational requirement for licensure as a Social Services Worker (SSW). These recent changes will
further devalue the Social Work emphasis, because not all of the required courses are a part of that
degree. Regarding the DOPL’s revised requirements, UVU does not offer a course which qualifies the
social work practice methods requirement as established in the Social Worker Licensing Act Rule. With no
ability to provide students with the educational component they need to be eligible for this alternative route
to SSW licensure; offering the Social Work emphasis no longer seems appropriate.
Section III: Institutional Impact
The proposed discontinuation of the Social Work emphasis will cause a visible impact only on enrollments
within other emphases in the Behavioral Science degree. There are no affiliated departments or programs
to be effected by this discontinuation. Enrollment in the Social Work emphasis will be transitioned to one of
three places: the BSW program, the Behavioral Science bachelor degree in one of the other emphases
(Anthropology, Family Studies, Psychology, or Sociology), or the Behavioral Science associate degree. All
of those options are already housed in the Behavioral Science department at UVU. There will be no
change in administrative structure as the Social Work faculty will continue to be housed in the Behavioral
Science department and work under the direction of the existing department chair. No faculty or staff
positions will change due to this request. No new physical facilities or modification to existing facilities are
required in relation to the discontinuation of this emphasis. There is no equipment commitment necessary
due to the discontinuation of this emphasis.
Section IV: Finances
With no change in faculty or staff and facilities needs, this emphasis discontinuation will not have any
budgetary impact and there will be no changes in the finances required by the department.