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FM 100's Jill Atwood ReportingMore women are attending college than men at most campuses in Utah, but one university bucks that trend.
It's a trend that goes against the national norm, more men than women going to the University of Utah. Why is it happening? Who knows? And what could it mean in the long term for women in Utah?
The difference is subtle and something you wouldn't notice just by walking on campus. But administrators know it's there and they're puzzled.
Men outnumber women at the U of U bucking a statewide, even national trend. Usually there are more women going for undergraduate degrees.
Lisa Bromley: "I think in Utah especially, a lot of women tend to get married younger and they start families younger, and so they put their families instead of their education first."
The university admits the cultural climate could be driving the gender gap, but they can't be sure.
Lisa Bromley: "The departments that appeal to women like education are much weaker than the departments that appeal to men, like engineering and medical and the law school, built up education probably see more women enrolling."
That's why they are considering all the possibilities, working to attract women and keep them. The U of U is studying this gender imbalance very closely and right now child care is the hot topic.
Fred Esplin, V.P. University of Utah Relations: "The university has an active daycare center right on campus, and we're thinking may be we need to increase that so that working mothers have a chance to drop them off on campus and go to school."
Administrators know to turn it around, they have to make it easier for women to go to school, as well as educate them on why they need a college degree. By the way, checking other Universities throughout the rest of the state, most are much more balanced and mirror the national trend of more women then men.
Right now the U of U is using research and creative recruiting methods to draw more women, even more scholarships especially for women.
