CHEYENNE - The Hathaway Scholarship Fund dollars won't stretch as far as they do now if the University of Wyoming Board of Trustees approves a tuition increase, key legislators say.

The dollar amount set by the Legislature for each category of Hathaway scholarship student isn't based on tuition, said Sen. Phil Nicholas, R-Laramie, a co-chairman of the Joint Appropriations Committee.

One option is to raise the dollar amounts of the scholarships, but Nicholas said he doesn't expect that to happen, given the state's decline in revenues.

The Joint Appropriations Committee will be hearing testimony on the Hathaway Fund later, Nicholas said.

"The impact is the amount of money won't go as far, depending how much they raise the tuition," said Sen. Mike Massie, D-Laramie, a member of the Joint Appropriations and Education committees.

The levels include "honors," the highest at $1,600 per semester, followed by "performance" at $1,200 per semester and "opportunity" at $800 per semester.

The levels are determined by the student's grade-point average, ACT score and high school curriculum.

Massie said that $1,600 per semester allowed for the highest level should still cover tuition and books.

"But there won't be quite as much left over for their living expenses in Laramie," Massie said.

The $1,200 per semester allowed comes close to paying for tuition and books, he said.

The state, he said, doesn't provide enough money for students' living expenses at the "performance" level.

Students at the "performance" level graduate at the same rate as those at the top level, Massie said.

"It's always been my goal that we could give them the same amount as the top level," he said.

Students at the "opportunity" level will find the $800 per semester isn't enough to pay for tuition and books.

The UW trustees are expected to decide on a tuition hike of 5 percent, 7.5 percent or 9.5 percent during a meeting Nov. 19-21 in Laramie.

The university last raised tuition costs four years ago.

A total of 2,325 Hathaway scholarship students attended the university in the 2008-09 school year.

The tally included 1,035 in the top honors category, 862 in the middle category and 428 in the lowest opportunity level.

In addition to the regular Hathaway scholarship money, 436 of the 2,325 students received additional Hathaway money because of financial need.

Additionally, the university contributed $4 million to the Hathaway scholars from an institutional scholarship program. The top-level students received $3 million of the $4 million, according to a UW report dealing with the tuition question.

The top-level students received $6,607 from the two scholarships last year, more than enough to cover the $3,621 cost of tuition and fees.

For the middle-performance students, the total received was $3,211, while the lowest level. received $2,183.

The Hathaway scholarship fund started in the 2006-2007 school year with $400 million.

Massie and other legislators added $50 million to the pot a few years ago. The Legislature also allowed $19 million in interest to be returned to the fund.

The Hathaway fund totals about $465 million to $469 million today, Massie said.

The interest earnings should be able to take care of the demand for scholarships at the present award for the next three years.

"It's in the fourth year out, if we stay in the Dumpster on these interest rates, that we're going to have some trouble and we'll have to go back in and bail it out," Massie said.