Utah Colleges Giving Breaks to Out-of-State Students

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah colleges are offering tuition breaks to out-of-state students to make up for students delaying education to serve a proselytizing mission for the Mormon church.

KSL reports that most Utah colleges have been able to check an enrollment decline driven by the church's decision to lower the minimum age for missionaries to as young as 18. Utah lawmakers acted in March to halt the enrollment decline.

They gave state schools permission to offer in-state tuition rates to top students from other states. Utah State University President Stan Albrecht calls the move helpful. His school feared an enrollment drop of 1,400 students this fall, but limited the decline to less than 500.