BRITTANI LUSK - Daily Herald | Posted: Sunday, May 20, 2007 11:00 pm
Nationally, women out-earn men in the education department -- they've garnered more bachelor's and master's degrees for the last 20 years.
But that's not the trend in Utah.
According the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2004 women earned 57 percent of all bachelor's degrees, 59 percent of all master's degrees and 48 percent of all doctoral degrees.
In Utah, however, there are more male college students and more men graduating from college.
According to the Utah Systems of Higher Education, 48 percent of degrees conferred in the 2005-06 school year were conferred on women.
Richard Kendell, Utah's Commissioner of Higher Education, said schools don't like to see an imbalance because education rates should reflect the breakdown of the population. If not, a group is being left behind.
Utah has the lowest graduation ratio of women earning degrees, according to the Population Reference Bureau. However there are only four institutions in the state that graduate more men than women: the University of Utah, Utah State University, Brigham Young University and Utah Valley State College.
Kendell said the numbers vary from school to school. The Utah Systems of Higher Education doesn't have any data on the phenomenon, nor can they explain the trend.
At UVSC this year, women earned 44 percent of the degrees awarded and the number has been steadily decreasing.
UVSC President William Sederburg said he doesn't know what causes the trends either, but he thinks it has to do with the number of women who drop out of school when they get married.
"I think it's kind of a social thing here in Utah," Sederburg said.
Kendell agrees: "My guess is that a lot of women get out of their educational programs because they're probably working to help support a family or husband."
Utahns tend to marry younger than the nation at large. According to census figures, the average age for women to marry is 25.1. In Utah, it's 21.9.
Kendell said it is important for all students to get a college education.
"We encourage all people, both men and women equivalently, to get as much education as they possibly can," Kendell said.
The disparities start even before students start studying.
Michelle Lundell, UVSC's associate vice president for student affairs, said only 43 percent of UVSC applicants are women, but disparities begin in concurrent enrollment programs.
UVSC saw the biggest change, Lundell said, in 1994 when the school became a four-year institution.
It could be that UVSC offers programs that appeal more to men. Lundell said UVSC is heavily into trade education, and many programs like aviation are heavily male-dominated. Lundell said the school is trying to provide majors that women would be interested in like the new degrees in music, dance and theater.
If change comes, Kendell said it would come from community leaders who reach out and tell women that education is important for them.
Kendell said he has been encouraging leaders of all faiths to encourage members to get as much education as possible.
At Brigham Young University, graduation rates are about equal for women and men, though it does fluctuate.
Carri Jenkins, spokeswoman for the university, said that 52.8 percent of the graduates were male and 47.2 percent were female in April 2006. In August 2006, 49.1 percent of graduates were male and 50.9 percent are female. This April, 53.5 percent were male and 46.5 percent were female.
Brittani Lusk can be reached at 344-2549 or at blusk@heraldextra.com.
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.