Regents, Utah college presidents, higher education leaders, institutional boards of trustees, college access advisors, and student leaders met with lawmakers on Monday to talk about the importance of making college accessible to every Utahn.

The lunch, held in the Capitol rotunda, focused on two initiatives: the college access advising initiative and HB 260, Access Utah Promise Scholarship.

The College Access Advising Initiative would place a full-time, permanent college access advisor in every Utah high school by the 2021-2022 school year, contingent on legislative funding. These near-peer college access advisors will help students register for and complete college entrance exams, submit college applications, apply for scholarships and financial aid, and connect students to first-year experience programs.

HB 260, Access Utah Promise Scholarship would assist Utah students of limited means by covering tuition/fees for the first four semesters at public state colleges, universities, and technical colleges. The scholarship is patterned after the existing Dream Weber and SLCC Promise programs.