StoriesMarch 6, 2014

The joint budget committee approved a $14.7 million, 6.2 percent increase in state support for colleges and universities this morning, including $400,000 for a second year of law school in Boise.

The total 2015 higher education budget tips the scales at $498.6 million. That includes $251.2 million in state general fund support and $247.4 million in tuition and student fees.

The legislative appropriation doesn't include another $800 million or so in grants, contracts, gifts or revenue from team sports and other auxiliary events.

The State Board of Education decides how much general fund support goes to each of the four state-funded colleges and universities. However, the 2015 budget appropriates $400,000 specifically for the University of Idaho to launch the second-year curriculum at its Boise law school.

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Budget-writers also included $2.76 million for all four institutions to hire staff in bottleneck programs and implement other changes to help implement the state board's goal of having 60 percent of all Idahoans age 25-34 have a post-secondary degree or certificate by 2020.

The $251 million in state support is the largest higher education budget since fiscal 2010, but it's still well below the $285 million approved in fiscal 2009.

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