The North Dakota Senate has approved a nearly $780 million higher education budget that sets limits on tuition, increases research spending and authorizes new building projects.

The Senate voted 46-0 Thursday to approve the budget, which now goes to the House.

"We left the budget as it was introduced in the areas of support and control at the campus level," said Sen. Ray Holmberg, R-Grand Forks, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The proposal would give most faculty and staff pay raises of 5 percent in each of the next two fiscal years. Other employees would receive a minimum pay raise of $100 per month.

The bill freezes pay for employees of the North Dakota university system office who make more than $100,000 a year. Holmberg said senators wanted to send a message after the office transferred money from other programs for pay raises.

All the school construction proposals from Gov. John Hoeven's budget plan were left intact, Holmberg said. The bill authorizes bonding for nearly $61 million in new projects, including $20 million for apartments at North Dakota State University, $10 million for a Minot State University wellness center and more than $9 million for Williston State College dormitory.

The proposal would freeze tuition rates at two-year colleges and limit increases to 4 percent at four-year schools. That was not included in the governor's calculation.

"We were happy to see the lid on tuition," said William Goetz, chancellor of the state university system. "It's an affordability issue."

The bill maps out more than $7 million for research, including $400,000 for North Dakota State University and the University of North Dakota to participate in a NASA program to study space projects. "That program is both research and education," Holmberg said.

The plan also includes $1.5 million to bolster science, technology, engineering and math, the so-called STEM fields. The money would establish a training pool for teachers, rather than dividing it up among the schools.

"We decided to make it competitive rather than giving each campus a certain amount to spend the way they want," Holmberg said.

Missing from the governor's proposal is funding for campus security and emergency measures. Holmberg said it was not an organized plan, and senators feel the campuses can pick up part of the costs. Goetz said he hopes the money can be found before the end of the session.

The Senate moved student aid programs proposed by Hoeven to a separate bill.

No senators spoke against the proposal. Sen. Tracy Potter, D-Bismarck, said he is pleased to see the plan try to hold tuition costs down. Sen. Randy Christmann, R-Hazen, said it is the best higher ed budget bill in several years.

"I could still find some things to pick apart in this bill, but I'm not going to do that," Christmann said.

The bill is SB2003.