Nestled between the massive bleachers of Rice-Eccles Stadium and the 12-story tower that houses the social and behavioral sciences, the small building that is home to the College of Social Work stands tall in academic achievement.
The college had the highest average student GPA of any college on campus in 2006.
An average undergraduate at the U had a B average of 3.17 in 2006, but students majoring in social work had the highest GPAs with a 3.74 average, according to a report by the Office of Budget and Institutional Analysis.
To get accepted into the program, students must demonstrate a strong commitment for social work, said Becky Lubbers, administrative assistant to the bachelor’s program in social work.
Students who are accepted to the program have an average GPA of 3.32. Students seeking to be accepted must submit letters of recommendation, a personal statement and might have to appear before an admissions committee.
“We have a very difficult application process,” Lubbers said. “It’s very hard to get into this program.”
The college turns down 50 percent of its applicants and accepts no more than 40 students per semester. Just more than 500 students are enrolled in the college, compared to social and behavioral science with 3,742 students.
The social work profession can be demanding — social workers don’t always receive recognition for their work and always work with others through conflict, said Grafton H. Hull, Jr., director of the bachelor in social work program.
“We’ve noticed that it takes a degree of maturity to say that I’m going to go into a profession that doesn’t pay as well,” he said.
Jordan Rasmussen, a junior in social work, rides TRAX to school and usually shows up 40 minutes early to class to study in the student lounge in the Social Work building. He said he often runs into fellow classmates with whom he interacts and goes over notes.
Class sizes in the program typically range from 18 to 30 people. Although it is hard to judge what factors contribute to high GPAs, smaller class sizes can make a difference in how students learn, Hull said.
“It helps being close to instructors,” Rasmussen said, adding that small class sizes both let students get to know others in their program and have closer contact with instructors.
“It’s easier to get engaged in your class when you have 18 people in the class versus 250,” Hull said.
Many students in the program aim for graduate school, which is a motivation to maintain a high GPA, Hull said.
“The vast majority of our students want to get a master’s degree, and you won’t get into many schools in the country without at least a 3.0,” he said.
While the College of Social Work had an unusually high average GPA in 2006, other colleges lagged behind.
The larger College of Science had an average student GPA of 2.78 in 2006, the lowest for a college at the university and almost a full letter grade below the College of Social Work.
“It’s a rigorous program,” said Fred Montague, a professor and academic advisor in the department of biology.
The College of Science grades meticulously at the 2000 level, he said. The low overall college GPA mainly reflects lower division general education courses the college offers, but the GPAs of students who stay with the program are high, he said.
Many who have aspirations to go to medical or dental school might find intense lower division courses such as chemistry, biology and calculus to be too difficult, Montague said.
Students in the College of Science who graduate have an average GPA of 3.30, higher than most graduating seniors, according to the Office of Budget and Institutional Analysis.
The College of Social Work doesn’t offer lower division courses, so students in the program are sophomores or juniors who are mostly done with their general education courses.
Also, a number of people who join the college switch from other programs, such as nursing. They still want to work with people, but didn’t fare well with science requirements, Hull said.
Although the College of Science has lower grades on average than other colleges, it is difficult to compare it with other colleges because not all follow the same grading procedures, Montague said.
In biology, instructors use a “cut and dry” standard grade distribution system that follows the policy of the university, meaning the average grade is a C, he said.
The fact that other colleges have higher average GPAs than what is dictated by the university implies that grades could be inflated, Montague said.
“You ask why biology is so low, and I ask why everyone else is so high,” he said.