By Courtney Tanner | The Salt Lake Tribune | Photo by Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune

Utah’s flagship school is now offering academic credit for something that many young Utahns, in particular, already do: Serve a religious mission.

In a surprising announcement Wednesday, the University of Utah announced its new plans to expand what’s called “prior learning credit” so students will be able to get class credit for both religious work or humanitarian service, such as through the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps.

It’s a major step for the U., which sits just east of the Salt Lake Temple for the state’s predominant religion — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — and has sometimes been seen as being at odds with the faith. But even the church’s sponsored school, Brigham Young University, doesn’t appear to offer the same kind of service credit coming online at the U.

Clark G. Gilbert, the commissioner overseeing church education, including BYU, said in a statement that those who serve Latter-day Saint missions learn “essential skills to have in college.” And he supports those students getting credit based on their service at the U.

The idea comes under the leadership of University of Utah President Taylor Randall, who is also a Latter-day Saint.

“This program allows a student to graduate faster and save money by giving them academic credit for the skill and knowledge they gained while having impact on people,” Randall said in a statement.

Read more at SLTrib.com.

This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.