UNLV President Carol C. Harter on Tuesday applauded Gov. Kenny Guinn's proposal to use funds generated by the state's settlement with tobacco companies to provide $2,500, four-year scholarships to all Nevada high school students who graduate with a B average and wish to attend a Nevada university, or $1,250 to students who attend a community college.

"A `Millennium Scholarship' program, as proposed by Gov. Guinn in his State of the State address, would provide an excellent incentive for Nevada's high school students to do well in their high school studies and to continue their education," Harter said. "We must improve the college-going rate in Nevada, and this is a wonderful way to do it."

Harter said UNLV and the other institutions within the University and Community College System of Nevada are continually searching for ways to encourage Nevada residents to take advantage of the state's higher education opportunities.

"We are always pleased to see additional sources of financial aid for students," Harter said. "Rewarding high school students for their academic achievement by offering them the financial means to continue their education is a wonderful plan. It would be good for individual students and for the state as a whole, as it has been for the state of Georgia and its Hope Scholarship Program. We strongly believe that education will help students meet their life goals and will, in turn, improve the quality of life in Nevada."

Tuition and required fees for a full-time Nevada-resident student at UNLV are $2,231 per year.