To recapture the spirit of Thoreau's "uncommon schools," a South Carolina county Department of Social Services (DSS) sought to create a "university" of the community which would provide experiences in the field for students, feed-back to DSS workers from the community and to the local college, and would utilize the resources of the agency, the college, and the community to develop added social services. It was felt that the agency and the community would profit from development of a preparation program with the local college which would use the local agency for internships, thus preparing the students in a practical way for employment as agency caseworkers. The program consisted of three components: the agency, the college, and a series of internships in the community. The program was flexible and experimental, and the agency remained the final authority on any portion of the program. The program operated for two semesters. Although originally envisioned as a 4-year program, it was redesigned to begin in the fall of the junior year. Overall program performance was rated high, and increased understanding resulted between all the participating agencies. One result of the students' work was the development of a rural home day care center. (BRR)