Montana State University Billings will receive about $1 million over the next two years to compensate for having its tuition frozen by the Montana Board of Regents last month.

The university still has to make about $1 million in cuts to balance its budget, although no layoffs are anticipated, Chancellor Ron Sexton said.

Sexton learned this week that his campus will receive about $440,000 for fiscal year 2010, which starts July 1, and $572,000 for 2011.

In May, regents allowed Montana State University in Bozeman and the University of Montana in Missoula to raise tuition 3 percent, but they kept tuition at other four-year campuses at last year's levels.

In return, schools like MSU Billings were promised additional money to make up for not having tuition increases.

The money comes through the commissioner of higher education's office and regents from general fund money allocated by the 2009 Legislature.

Sexton said the money will be used as one-time-only revenue, mainly for academic programs.

One program that may get some of the money provides "interpreters," who are people trained to assist students with disabilities. Last year there was a big demand for interpreters, Sexton said.

The part of MSU Billings' budget paid for through the state general fund, the 6-mill levy and student tuition totals about $38.4 million.

Even with the extra allocation, the university will have to do some belt-tightening.

Some positions that are vacant because someone retired or moved on won't be filled, travel will be reduced and some reorganization is taking place.

The heating-ventilation and air-conditioning program at the College of Technology, which has had declining enrollments, is being phased out. Money from that program will go to other programs including a new welding program that has an increasing enrollment.

The HVAC program will end after current students have graduated.

The College of Education will be streamlined from three departments to one, which was a recommendation of a consultant helping the university with accreditation review.

While MSU Billings tuition for state students won't go up this coming year, fees will. Regents allowed campuses to increase mandatory fees as much as 3 percent.

University administrators are calculating which fees will be increased.

Regents and and universities have been working on budgets since the end of a legislative session in which state higher education received $30 million less than schools said was needed to keep current programs, with another 2 percent cut toward the end of the session.

Contact Mary Pickett at mpickett@billingsgazette.com or 657-1262.