New rules for New Century Scholarships?

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Some lawmakers want to keep the cash-strapped New Century Scholarship program alive by toughening requirements to earn the awards.

Under a bill proposed Wednesday, students would have to earn 3.5 grade point averages (GPA) in their high school classes in addition to earning associate degrees while still in high school in order to win New Century Scholarships. Now, students must have 3.0 GPAs in their associate degree classes, but there's no requirement for overall high school GPAs. Under the bill, the GPA requirement would start with the Class of 2012

Dave Buhler, associate commissioner for the Utah System of Higher Education, said a new GPA requirement could reduce the number of eligible students by about one-fourth.

And it's preferable, some say, to other cost-cutting strategies such as removing private schools BYU and Westminster College from the program.

"It has the effect of saying to students, 'We don't care if you go to a public school or private school. If you work, you've earned the scholarship,'" said Sen. John Valentine, R-Orem.

Last month, lawmakers presented a proposal that would have saved costs by cutting BYU and Westminster from the scholarship program. But some criticized that idea, saying private school scholarship students already save the state money by not going to public institutions.

Valentine said he'll likely present the new version of the bill, which allows BYU and Westminster attendance while implementing the GPA requirement, when the legislative session starts in January.

The bill arose from controversy after the State Board of Regents attempted earlier this year to lower the scholarship amounts to deal with soaring demand and budget cuts. Lawmakers worked out a deal with higher ed leaders to find the money to keep the scholarships intact for this year, but they acknowledged that the scholarship rules must change in order to avoid future shortages. And Buhler said Wednesday scholarship amounts for students graduating from high school this school year might still be reduced.

The Education Interim Committee decided not to vote on the bill Wednesday in order to give Valentine time to make changes to accommodate home schoolers, who don't necessarily have traditional GPAs. Valentine said he'll likely change the bill so that students can win the scholarship either by earning an associate degree and having 3.5 GPAs or by earning an associate degree and a certain ACT score.

Rep. Wayne Harper, R-West Jordan, said Wednesday he thought it was too much to demand students earn a 3.5 GPA in addition to an associate degree.

But several other lawmakers seemed supportive of the new approach. Under the bill, students would also have to finish their associate degrees by the time they graduate.

"It solves the funding problem in a fair way based on the merit of students and not where they attend college," said Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper.