Utah's new anti-illegal immigration law could jeopardize a $180,000 scholarship endowment at the College of Eastern Utah.A resident donated the money -- the largest single gift to the Price campus during the past three years -- to fund international students' scholarships. The endowment was about 10 percent of the campus's $2 million in endowments, said Brad King, the college's vice president for institutional advancement and student services.

Under SB81, King said undocumented students cannot receive private scholarships provided through the university.

Now, if the donor decides he doesn't want students to undergo an immigration-status check, the college must return the money, King said. Negotiations with the donor are continuing.

"It will not affect the university," King said in a phone interview Friday. "But, it might affect incredibly the life of one of two students."

The possible loss of CEU's scholarships is an example of unintended consequences Utah colleges have faced since SB81 took effect July 1.

Some higher education officials also believe the law -- and its implementation -- takes up too much time for something that affects very few students. The Utah System of Higher Education SB81 Implementation Plan wasn't formally announced until Oct. 16 during a Board of Regents meeting.

No action was required and the board's four-page plan is now in effect at Utah's nine public universities and colleges, said Cameron Martin, the agency's economic development and planning associate commissioner.

In addition to confirming a student's legal immigration status in order to receive a private scholarship through the university -- as in the CEU case -- student ID cards are also affected.

Before SB81 passed, college ID cards were considered state-issued IDs, but are no longer.

To save money, most colleges are opting against paying a 50-cent-per-student immigration verification fee and putting "For 'institution name' Purposes Only" on all IDs, Martin said.

Brad King, a former six-term member of the state House of Representatives, doubts lawmakers approved SB81 with higher education in mind.

King considers the law an unfunded mandate, under which universities are expected to "eat the costs" to implement the legislation.

Martin agrees, saying the law is "really problematic," and added other universities will do what they can to hold down costs implementing SB81 as schools face shrinking budgets.

Martin also said it's "adding another layer of burden and expense" in state resources, such as employees receiving training on how to implement the law, which affects just 0.4 percent of the state's 165,000 college students.

This fall, there are 590 undocumented students among eight Utah public colleges, according to system data.

"It's taken quit a bit of energy [to work on the law's implementation], when we could be using our resources and time to actually be improving our economy instead," Martin said Thursday.

Still, Martin said the agency is working with universities to ensure the law gets implemented.

"We're trying to do it in a way that is cost effective," Martin said.

jsanchez@sltrib.com