Higher education executives still may be trying to determine what the federal stimulus package will mean for their schools. But students like Ulises Frias have a pretty good idea.

"It helps me stay in school," said Frias, a senior at the University of Houston-Downtown who pieced together a work-study job and a grant to help cover tuition.

Details about how the $787 billion stimulus package will help colleges and universities -- and even how much they might receive -- haven't been worked out.

But a $30 billion increase in financial aid will begin with grants made this summer. Campus researchers also expect to receive a share of the $17 billion in federal research money included in the bill.

The new financial aid money means more students will receive Pell Grants and jobs through campus work-study programs. The maximum Pell Grant, generally reserved for students from families earning less than $30,000 a year, will increase, too.

The extra money will help pay for textbooks and other supplies, said Maria Hernandez, a UH-Downtown sophomore who says she couldn't go to college without her Pell Grant and other financial aid.

"The textbooks are going up now," she said. "They're so expensive."

The financial aid won't go directly to college coffers, but should help more students attend college, said Ray Laughter, vice chancellor at Lone Star College. "When the economy is in a downturn, we have more interest and more demand, more people coming to get more skills."

The stimulus package also included $17 billion for research, including an additional $10.4 billion for biomedical research, available through the National Institutes of Health over the next two years, and an additional $2 billion at the National Science Foundation and $600 million for climate change research at NASA. The Department of Energy will get an additional $4 billion for research.

University researchers will end up with most of that money, some of which is designated for renovating university research facilities, said Terry Hartle, senior vice president for the American Council on Education.

Public colleges and universities also will be eligible for money meant to bolster state budgets during the recession. Texas could receive $6.2 billion for education, including public school districts and higher education. Financial aid and research funding is separate.

"We're still going through it, line by line," said Rich Parsons, a spokesman for Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. "Certainly some of it will go to higher ed."

Colleges proactive

Some of the money could offset a proposed 2.5 percent budget cut that Dewhurst and House Speaker Joe Straus asked state agencies, including public universities, to consider.

That hasn't been implemented, and Parsons said no decisions have been made about imposing the cuts or using the stimulus money to prevent them. Colleges and universities are preparing for a drop in state funding, just in case.

Lone Star College even floated the idea of canceling summer school, although Laughter said that's not definite.

At the University of Houston, the proposed state cuts would mean $7.5 million less for the four UH System schools. A hiring freeze is one option, but Carl Carlucci, executive vice chancellor for administration and finance, said other things will be considered, too.

The University of Texas last week announced a systemwide flexible hiring freeze for nonfaculty positions and a salary freeze for top management.

That's not specifically in response to the possible state budget cuts, but just a reaction to ongoing gloomy economic news, spokesman Anthony de Bruyn said.