Brigham Young University-Idaho

Brigham Young University–Idaho (BYU-Idaho or BYU-I) is a four-year university owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The institution is located in the remote eastern Idaho community of Rexburg. 99% of the students at BYU-Idaho are LDS (Mormon).^* Students enrolled at BYU-Idaho are required to follow a strict honor code. BYU-Idaho was known as Ricks College from 1923 until 2000.

BYU–Idaho is part of the LDS Church's Church Educational System, which also includes:

BYU-Idaho has a four-point mission:

Build testimonies of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and encourage living its principles
Provide a quality education for students of diverse interests and abilities
Prepare students for lifelong learning, for employment, and for their roles as citizens and parents
Maintain a wholesome academic, cultural, social and spiritual environment

BYU–Idaho is currently led by President Kim B. Clark. Clark previously served as dean of the Harvard Business School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Clark is a Latter-day Saint (Mormon) and he left Harvard to take the top post at BYU-Idaho at the invitation of LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley. Clark started his BYU-Idaho presidency in August 2005.

At the beginning of his presidency, Clark introduced three imperatives to guide BYU–Idaho in fulfilling its four-part mission:

1. Raise the quality of the experience students have while at BYU–Idaho.
2. Make a BYU–Idaho education available to more students.
3. Lower the relative cost of education.

History

1888. The LDS Church opens Bannock Stake Academy in Rexburg. The academy was one of several organized in the Mormon communities of the western United States.

1898. The school is renamed Fremont Stake Academy.

1903. The school is renamed Ricks Academy in honor of Thomas E. Ricks, founder of Rexburg and chairman of the school’s first Board of Education.

1923. The school became known as Ricks College.

June 2000. LDS Church leaders announce that Ricks College, then the largest private junior college in the nation, would become Brigham Young University–Idaho. LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley explained the name change was designed to give the institution immediate national and international recognition. Intercollegiate athletics were phased out, and an innovative Activities Program that allows a greater number of students to take part in athletics and other pursuits was implemented.

The college continued to grow and expand throughout the 20th Century, eventually enrolling some 7,000 students.

The transition from Ricks College to BYU–Idaho progressed quickly. Enrollment would eventually grow by some 4,000 students. Dozens of baccalaureate programs and an innovative academic calendaring system were introduced. In 2004 BYU–Idaho became accredited at the baccalaureate level by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.

Academics

The university is organized into six academic colleges:

Agriculture and Life Sciences
Language and Letters
Business and Communication
Performing and Visual Arts
Education and Human Development
Physical Sciences and Engineering

BYU–Idaho is a two-tiered institution, offering both two-year associate degrees and four-year bachelor’s degrees. Sixteen associate degrees offer students specialization in a major field of study along with a carefully selected curriculum of general education. BYU-Idaho offers 16 Associage degree programs and 60 Bachelors degree programs.

Three-track System

BYU–Idaho operates on an expanded year-round basis to allow more students the opportunity to attend. The academic calendar is divided into winter, summer, and fall semesters. Students are admitted to one of three tracks: summer/fall, fall/winter, or winter/summer. The system allows students to be “off-track” for one semester each year, and they stay on the same track through graduation.

A year-round Fast Track program is also available. Students participating in Fast Track generally start after their sophomore year at BYU–Idaho and continue year-round (summer, fall, and winter) until graduating.

Starting in 2007, BYU–Idaho will implement a revised academic calendar utilizing three 14-week semesters. This will enable more students to attend the summer semester.

Activities Program

BYU-Idaho has an "Activities Program" organized into five ares: Outdoor, Social, Service, Talent, and Physical.

Intercollegiate athletics were discontinued when Ricks College changed its name to BYU–Idaho. Instead of intercollegiate athletics, BYU-Idaho has a competitive intra-collegiate athletics program as part of the Activities Program in which several teams from within the University compete against one another.

Faculty

BYU–Idaho employs approximately 470 faculty members. Instructors are engaged in a wide range of scholarly activities, but the faculty’s primary focus is on the teaching and development of students. The university maintains a low student to faculty ratio, and there is no faculty rank.

Students

Approximately 12,500 full-time students are enrolled at BYU–Idaho during the Winter 2006 semester. Students come from all 50 states and more than 50 countries.

The student body at BYU-Idaho is notably homogenous. During the Winter 2006 semester, 91% of the students are Caucasian. The largest minority group for the Winter 2006 semester is Hispanic, representing a scant 3% of the student body. ^*

During the Winter 2006 semester, 99.8% of the students are members of the LDS (Mormon) Church. ^*

By one list of statistics, almost 40 % of BYU-Idaho students come from the state of Idaho. ^* This list of statistics ranks the top five home states of BYU-Idaho students (as a percentage of total students) as follows:

1. Idaho 38%
2. Utah 10%
3. California 10%
4. Washington 8%
5. New Mexico 6%

About 25 percent of the student body is married, and about 40 percent have served as full-time missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Honor Code

The students, faculty, and staff of BYU–Idaho adhere to a rigorous Honor Code that reflects the beliefs and teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Honor Code emphasizes:

Honesty
Chastity and virtue (no extra-marital sexual relations)
Obeying the law and all campus policies
Using clean language
Respecting others
Abstaining from alcoholic beverages, tobacco, tea, coffee and recreational drugs
Frequent church attendance
Encouraging others to comply with the Honor Code.

The code includes guidelines for dress and grooming. Overalls, baseball caps, and flip-flop sandals are forbidden (though the rule against the hats tend to be overlooked during the frigid Rexburg winters). Female students are forbidden to have more than one pair of earrings, while male students are not permitted to have earrings at all. Male students are not allowed to wear beards (though moustaches are allowed). ^*

The "Spirit of Ricks"

One of the unique characteristics of the BYU–Idaho experience is referred to by students, employees, and alumni as the “Spirit of Ricks”—a campus tradition of service, hard work, friendliness, and compassion. Throughout the transition from Ricks College to BYU–Idaho, university leaders have stressed the importance of preserving and enhancing the “Spirit of Ricks.”

Facilities

The BYU–Idaho campus includes nearly 40 major buildings and residence halls on over 400 acres. Since the transition from Ricks College, new buildings have been constructed and others have been renovated or expanded. Several auditoriums and theaters are found on campus, including the acoustically renowned Barrus Concert Hall, which houses the acclaimed Ruffati organ.

The university is also home to a planetarium, an arboretum, natural history and wildlife museums, and a Family History Center for genealogical research. KBYI-FM, a 100,000 watt public radio station, broadcasts to eastern Idaho and parts of Wyoming and Montana.

Off-campus facilities include a Livestock Center and the Henry’s Fork Outdoor Learning Center near Rexburg, the Outdoor Learning Center at Badger Creek in Idaho’s Teton Basin, and the Natural Science Center in Island Park, Idaho. The Teton Lodge and Quickwater Lodge near Victor, Idaho, are utilized as student leadership and service centers.

External links

Universities and colleges in Idaho | Brigham Young University

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