That figure is alarmingly below the average of 55 percent at other colleges and universities in the nation. Women make up a greater percentage of undergraduates than do men at Brigham Young University and other public universities, Utah State and Weber State, where at least 49 percent are women.

In fact, since 1994, when only 45 percent of U. undergraduates were women, females have routinely outnumbered men in BYU's undergraduate classes and graduation rates for the two groups are similar.

So, why does the number of women at the U. continue to lag behind enrollment rates for men?

That's a question that is, finally, getting the attention of administrators at the university and the U.'s Presidential Commission on the Status of Women, which looks at inequities involving women and tries to solve problems arising from them.

This statistic does, indeed, deserve to be studied and solutions proposed, because women, every bit as much as men, need a college degree in order to be financially independent.

Statistically, the vast majority of women, including those who do not aspire to a professional career, will, at some time in their lives, have to support themselves and, probably, their children. Twenty-five years ago, a high school diploma could get someone a decent wage, but that's not true today. A typical high school graduate will be able to get work only in low-paying jobs, as clerks, laborers or waiters, earning about $21,992 a year, according to the Utah Foundation. A bachelor's degree means an average wage of $48,719, while a graduate degree can bump a new employee into the $60,000 salary range.

Fewer women with college educations can be a drain on the state. Supporting a family with children on $22,000 or less is nearly impossible without government help, and undereducated workers mean fewer tax dollars collected.

The university must find out why women don't enroll in greater numbers and take steps to attract them.