Since he was born, Troy Lawlor, 20, has received Permanent Fund Dividend checks and stored them away in savings. The sophomore computer science major's parents placed the money in various Certificates of Deposit over the years with the hope that he'd one day use them for college.

As the years passed, interest compiled and more checks were deposited. Today Lawlor has at least $24,000 stashed away ready for the day he needs it. Although so far he's paid for college through work, that savings is almost out.

"I might have to go out of the CD this year cause I'm almost out," he said.

Alaskan college students have for years used the PFD to pay educational costs, and University of Alaska students are no exception. But with tuition costs rising and a shrinking Permanent Fund Dividend, Fairbanks students like Lawlor will no longer be able to rely on the dividend as much as in previous years to pay college expenses.

This year's dividend checks were announced last Monday as $919.84, a 12-year-low. Students frequently use the check to pay university bills, but full-time students will only be able to pay about a third of this year's tuition with the check.

The check will be paid Oct. 13 for those with direct deposit, checks mailed out Oct. 20. The dividend has never been able to cover an entire year's cost, but it frequently has been enough to cover a senior's semester, 19 out of 23 times since its 1982 inception.

A full-time student taking 12 lower-division credits would owe $1,485 this year, leaving about $268 to be covered after the dividend. A full-time upper-division student would have to pay $424 after using his or her PFD.

That's a substantial change from even two years ago, when a 'Nook could expect to still have from $425 to $556 left to spend on books. During its record high in 2000, the dividend could cover full-time tuition expenses and still have between $919 to $1040 left over, more than enough to cover textbooks and even some fees.

But steady increases in tuition rates and a bear market helped rob students of potential savings during the last two years. This year's gap between tuition costs and dividend amounts is the largest ever.

Regents approved a 10 percent tuition increase two weeks ago, raising lower division credits from $99 per credit to $109. Upper division credits will increase from $112 next year to $123.

Another factor is the increasing Alaskan population that the fund gets divided amongst. This year's check was divided for a record 600,760 resident.

The smaller check disappointed Lawlor, and he wished the state had approved a proposal to give Alaskans a one-time lump sum of about $20,000. He expects to have enough to cover his time at UAF, but wasn't sure what he'd do with it otherwise.

"I may use it to get my life started," he said, "but I'd rather save it."

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