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House approves changes to higher-education scholarships, raising GPA and credit-hour standards
Summary
The House passed Senate Bill 100, which raises the Regents scholarship GPA to 3.3, increases the minimum semester credit load to 15, adds an affidavit to verify Utah citizenship and weights IB credits like AP courses. Supporters said changes will improve college completion; opponents warned about students with extenuating circumstances.
The Utah House on Wednesday approved Senate Bill 100, a package of changes to the state’s two major higher-education scholarships that raises academic and enrollment standards and streamlines verification.
House sponsor Representative Derek Brown said the bill raises the Regents Scholarship GPA requirement from 3.0 to 3.3 and increases the suggested minimum semester load from 12 to 15 credit hours to encourage on‑time graduation. “Students who take 15 credit hours or more are 50% more likely to graduate than those who take 12 credit hours or less,” Brown said in floor debate, and the change reflects current recipient averages.
Brown also described four main changes: raising the GPA to 3.3, moving the minimum credit hours to 15, simplifying citizenship verification by allowing a sworn affidavit rather than a certified birth certificate, and weighting International Baccalaureate credits equitably with AP and concurrent‑enrollment courses.
Representative Briscoe and other backers emphasized the bill rewards stronger preparation and aligns scholarship standards with other competitive awards. Opponents during floor questions focused chiefly on concerns about the 15‑credit requirement and students facing work or caregiving obligations. Representative Powell said some exemplary students may face life circumstances that justify fewer credits but said he ultimately supported the measure after reviewing the committee record.
Brown said the Senate amendment requires applicants to submit “a statement, an affidavit that is signed under penalty of perjury, that they are citizens,” which he characterized as a streamlining step to reduce paperwork errors that have cost students scholarships.
The House vote was decisive: 65 yea, 7 nay. The bill will be signed by the speaker pro tem and returned to the Senate for the president’s signature.
What happens next: The bill now returns to the Senate for final processing. Supporters said the measure is intended to improve degree completion rates by aligning scholarship criteria with college progress expectations.
