Higher education leaders have few complaints coming out of this year's legislative session after clinching almost all of their top funding priorities and pushing through several bills to take some tuition burden off Utah's college students.

Utah Valley State College also secured one of the biggest higher education funding items this year with an $8 million ongoing investment to change the Utah County school into a university on July 1, 2008.

"We're pleased the Legislature acknowledged higher education as a benefit and an investment for the state of Utah," said Amanda Covington, spokeswoman for the Utah System of Higher Education. "With the infusion of funding we'll see modest tuition increases this year, which is good for students."

Perhaps the biggest help to students this year comes with a cap on the portion of faculty compensation that can be funded by student tuition dollars. The state will now pick up 75 percent of those salary packages, a change which will alleviate the burden on students that had grown to an average of 35 percent statewide and as high as 50 percent at some schools.

Many students will also benefit from an ongoing commitment of $2 million in need-based financial aid, plus a one-time infusion of the same amount.

"It's making higher education more affordable for everyone," Covington said.

Many students from neighboring states will also see a vast tuition break next year with a bill to lessen the requirements to qualify for the cheaper in-state rate, which can be up to a third less than the non-resident rate. Students will now have to live in the state only one year to get that in-state tuition rather than the previous three-year requirement.

"That was a benefit to the system as a whole. Our overall objective is to allow as many people to participate in higher education as possible," Covington said.

Legislators also passed a four-year full-tuition waiver for undergraduate students who had a parent killed in active duty while serving in the military. The Scott B. Lundell tuition waiver lets those students attend any state school for eight semesters at no cost.

All of Utah's universities and colleges also gained additional funding from SB90 sponsored by Sen. Bill Hickman, R-St. George, to give $7.5 million on top of base budget requests for institutional priorities.

Those priorities ranged from $1.5 million to keep up with growth at Dixie State College to $1 million at Utah State University to increase course offerings.

Universities and colleges did lose out on retention funds for key faculty and staff, an $8 million item that got whittled out of the budget's final draft. The same request was denied last year and leaders were hopeful when it came out of the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee as the No. 1 priority.

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E-mail: estewart@desnews.com