"Even great ideas get underfunded," retired Higher Education Commissioner Rich Kendell said Friday of the Regents Scholarship Program, which he conceived as a way to bolster the state's flagging higher education attainment rates.

He was disappointed lawmakers chose to shrink the pool of eligible students by excluding those who go out of state for college or are noncitizens. They also stripped a bonus for first-generation college students.

"I'll try to raise private money for [the program]," he said. "When students succeed, the state succeeds and prospers."

With near unanimity, the Legislature endorsed Kendell's essential vision, encapsulated in SB180 sponsored by Logan Republican Sen. Lyle Hillyard, the influential co-chairman of the Executive Appropriations Committee. Lawmakers, however, were less forthcoming with the $7.5 million needed to fund scholarships to all who earn a B average while completing a college-prep curriculum. Some 7,000 high school graduates are expected to meet these standards each year.

The program received just $400,000 in ongoing funding and another $500,000 in start-up money - enough to cover fewer than 1,000 base scholarships.

"I'm excited we got it in place," Hillyard said Friday.

Current eighth-graders would have to start working now to meet the requirements, so the state has four years to get the program in place before they graduate. "Hopefully we'll come back next year and fund it even more," Hillyard said. "I would like more money, but I'm 95 percent happy."

The Utah System of Higher Education came to this year's legislative session with a robust wish list geared toward boosting student success, and secured $43 million - most of it to fund compensation increases - by the time the gavel dropped Wednesday.

This represents a 5.5 percent increase over the current $820 million appropriation supporting the state's 10-campus system.

“Given the events surrounding the state budget and economic concerns, we feel the Legislature worked hard to treat us fairly,” interim Commissioner of Higher Education David Buhler said in a statement.

SB180 allows the Board of Regents to lower the scholarship amount in the face of a shortfall, which is expected to be at least $6 million in the program's first year.

"We don't want to create an entitlement. It is based on money available," Hillyard said.

SB180 provides extra incentives to reward those who save for college and meet even higher academic standards, but Kendell wished the program would reach even farther to address socioeconomic groups not well represented in colleges.

“For those who are first in their families to go to college, it's such a big leap. It's the disadvantaged kid who doesn't see how to get there," Kendell said.

"If you can energize each eighth-grade class to stay on course, you have achieved a lot."

bmaffly@sltrib.com

* Offer $1,000 college scholarship to a Utah high school graduate who completes a specific college-prep curriculum with a B average. The scholarship would be available only to U.S. citizens and students who attend college in Utah.

* The program also would match students' college savings up to $400.

* Students who graduate with a 3.5 grade-point average would be eligible for an additional incentive that would cover up to 75 percent of tuition for the first two years of college.

Lawmakers approved but didn't fully fund the program, which would: