The popular Hawaii Promise scholarship would be expanded from community colleges to the University of Hawaii’s four-year campuses under a budget proposal backed by a key regents committee.

The “last dollar” scholarship program is designed to remove cost as a hurdle for students attending UH, and was first funded two years ago for the community colleges.

“The great thing about this is we have plenty of students who can afford tuition,” said UH President David Lassner. “What we’re trying to do is help those students who can’t. This is very focused.”

The $19.7 million to expand Hawaii Promise is the largest item in the UH operating budget request that totals $26.7 million for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. Also sought is $4.6 million for student employment, including a raise for graduate assistants. The money would come on top of the university’s annual base budget for the 10-campus system, which is about $1 billion.

The proposal won a unanimous endorsement Thursday from the UH Board of Regents’ Budget Committee and will go before the full board Nov. 15. If approved, it will be sent to Gov. David Ige for his consideration as well as directly to the Legislature.

Hawaii Promise offers scholarships to students with demonstrated need who qualify for resident tuition, have GPAs of 2.0 or higher and are taking at least six credits per semester. The money is awarded after all other funding sources are exhausted, including federal grants.

“This is one of the most popular proposals that we’ve ever made,” Lassner said. “It’s supported by the governor and legislators in both chambers. So we’re hopeful.”

John Morton, vice president for community colleges, said when the initial bill was discussed, some legislators asked, “Why just the community colleges?”

“We consciously chose to do it at the community colleges because that’s the first step for students, and we knew that the price tag was going to be more affordable for the state,” Morton said. “It’s worked out very well. Last year every student who had financial need in the community colleges and was eligible for aid had their direct costs covered with grants … no loans.”

Now the university is ready to expand it to students at all UH campuses.

“If you’ve got need, it will be covered, and that’s a powerful message to send to Hawaii’s students,” Morton said.

Hawaii Promise is already included in the base budget at $1.8 million, and another $700,000 was allocated last year. This year’s request would put that $700,000 into the base budget and add another $19 million to cover students at the four-year campuses.

Budget Chairman Randy Moore said the cost to expand Hawaii Promise is small considering the impact it could have. Administrators estimate that the $19 million would cover 5,068 students. Awards would average $4,255 per student at UH Manoa and $2,100 at UH Hilo and UH West Oahu annually. Actual amounts could range from $100 to $14,000.

Other items in the proposed budget also aim to give students a financial leg up. Nearly $2.2 million would raise the starting stipend for graduate students to Step 10, or roughly $20,000 per year, from Step 7, which is about $18,000 per year.

Other funds would help provide learning assistants, peer mentors and advisers for students at various campuses. Also requested is funding for positions for the HI-NET Program at the community colleges, to help low-income students be self-sufficient financially as they train for the workforce.

“Virtually all of our budget request is for financial assistance (for students),” Moore said. “I think that’s worth noting.”