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MISSOULA - Concerned about what might happen to state funding for higher education, University of Montana students plan to rally to show lawmakers they need to keep college costs in perspective.

Republican State Senator Llew Jones and other GOP lawmakers have been slashing millions in state funding for education and raised eyebrows again last week when he hinted additional cuts may be coming.

Students are worried those $30 million in cuts will translate into another increase in tuition fees and are taking to the streets to show their opposition.

The Associated Students of the University of Montana plan to hold a "Rally Against Skyrocketing Tuition" on Friday, starting at noon in the UM Atrium.

Coming up on Monday, the group will be joining with the UM Faculty Union and the Montana Organizing Project to send three buses of students to Helena to show their opposition at the capitol.

ASUM lobbyist Jenifer Gursky says students are "ready to show what true accessibility looks like." She says "leaving an undergraduate degree program with more than $30,000 in debt is not accessible, not when a median income in Montana hovers around $31,000 per year."