At the University of Utah, leaders are looking toward better advising to buoy its numbers. This year, the U. lost about 460 students. The university may even look into mandatory advising to require that students meet with a counselor annually, said John Francis, the U.'s vice president for academic affairs.

"We need to convey to them there's value in sticking with your degree," he said.

The U. has also felt the effects of the hot economy, showing a marked increase in the number of sophomores and juniors who took time off to work. The problem, Francis said, is that many of those students never return.

"I don't favor the loss of any students. If I felt students were leaving because we're failing them, I'd become more concerned," Francis said. "If we're losing them because of the siren song of the economy, that's a different story."

Southern Utah University was one of four schools that added students this fall, a trend that Dean O'Driscoll, assistant to the university's president, attributes to a campuswide effort to get back to the basics. One-on-one relationships with professors and revamped efforts to get students involved on campus have helped the university be a leader in growth for the past three years, he added.

In fact, while many institutions are trying to stave off decreases in the coming years, leaders at SUU hope to add 3,000 students by 2011.

"It's no accident. The push is to make sure we are delivering what we're selling, and that's a personalized education," O'Driscoll said. "We don't have many tricks."

---

E-mail: estewart@desnews.com