New tuition dollars from Utah's college students are paying the power bill and professors' paychecks — two areas usually funded by state money.

Tuition hikes at Utah's nine public colleges and universities are paying for more than $6 million for the retention and hiring of key faculty, and about $1.2 million in operations and maintenance costs, according to a report that will be reviewed at the Board of Regents meeting Friday.

"The state ought to be able to pay for electricity. The institutions have decided that in the future they're not going to ask students to pay the power bill," said Rich Kendell, Utah commissioner of higher education.

This fall, Utah students will see tuition increases ranging from 3.5 percent at Salt Lake Community College to 9 percent at the University of Utah. The base 3.5 percent increase is standard throughout the state for faculty compensation, but most schools also tack on an additional school-specific increase.

For most schools, that new money will go towards retaining key faculty and staff, an initiative that did not get state funding during this year's legislative session. Instead, students are picking up the tab.

At the U., roughly $2.5 million will go towards faculty and staff. At Dixie State College and Snow College, all of the new tuition dollars will go towards retention and hiring.

"I think it ought to be state funded. I think our faculty is the most important resource we have," Kendell said.

Traditionally, the state picks up about 75 percent of faculty compensation funds. Recently, however, students have footed a greater portion of the bill, edging their percentage to 35 percent.

"I would like to see us getting a little closer to the historic split. I think people are willing to pay for some portion of higher education, but at some point price gets to be a factor in who can participate," Kendell said.

Utah Valley State College only put $350,000 towards faculty retention, the lowest amount among the seven schools that did allot retention funds. Linda Makin, director of budgets at UVSC, said although the school could have used more money for faculty, leaders promised students not to use more than $350,000.

"It's student money we're talking about. We still have a number of faculty who leave us every year, but this is the commitment we made to students," she said.

UVSC's transition to a bachelor-degree institution also took a bite out of the tuition funds with about $850,000 going towards that new mission.

Only three schools funneled money toward direct student initiatives like financial aid or scholarships. Weber State University put the biggest chunk of its tuition increase towards those student initiatives because it comes directly out of students' pockets, said Mike Vaughn, WSU provost.