The University of Utah is a public institution that is comparable to WVU in size; it has 28,619 students while WVU has 27,115. An admission official estimated about half of University of Utah students are LDS, although no data are collected on student religion because the school is publicly funded.

However, schools in Utah have a much different approach to Mormon missions.

"We support participation in broadening the student's all-around development and service," said Angela Wimmer, manager of scholarships at the U.

"We have a very large number of students who actually apply for a deferral of their scholarships for humanitarian service, and the service to their church falls under humanitarian service."

Wimmer cited other deferments such as Peace Corps and AmeriCorps service and Christian Scientists who serve their church.

According to the lawsuit, the PROMISE board rejected Haws' deferment request because it "had the potential for abuse by students who would use this type of leave for personal vacations."

Schools that accept LDS missions as an exemption say the only proof they require is a mission call, a document that is issued by the church's headquarters in Salt Lake City.

U. Associate Director of Admission Carolyn Dyson said the school can't guarantee in every case that the person who applies for an exemption goes on a mission. "But that doesn't happen very often," she said.

"If we get two or three people a year who don't go on their mission, and you're talking about hundreds of students that say they are going to go out, that would be very exceptional."