SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Officials at Utah State University say a dip in spring semester enrollment is due to a change in Mormon church policy allowing missionaries to serve at a younger age. Vice President for Student Services James Morales tells The Herald Journal the decline is less severe as expected. Recent figures from the Utah System of Higher Education indicate that USU has about 1,100 fewer students than last spring, about a five percent drop. The school currently has about 30,000 students enrolled across all campuses. USU was in the middle range compared to Utah's other public institutions when it came to enrollment declines this semester. The church last year changed the minimum age for men serving missions from 19 to 18. For women, the age dropped from 21 to 19.

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