NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Students at Tennessee Board of Regents schools protested planned cuts in higher education Tuesday, warning lawmakers they're already burdened with high tuition and won't be able to afford college if more money is slashed from the state budget.

About 250 students met at the Tennessee State University campus in downtown Nashville and marched to Legislative Plaza, where they held a rally chanting ``Save our Schools'' and waving signs that read ``Stop the Cuts'' and ``I Want to Graduate in Four Years.''

Students are upset that the board in December approved a change in how tuition is charged by eliminating the 12-hour tuition ``cap.'' Beginning fall 2009, all students will pay an hourly rate for each semester hour of classes. Currently, anything above 12 hours per semester is essentially free to students.

The board has not decided how much the tuition charge will be. The board is unlikely to vote on tuition rates before June.

Gov. Phil Bredesen has told state colleges and universities they will have to significantly cut their budgets to meet a state budget shortfall.

Yet students say they've seen their tuition grow steadily in recent years and believe state higher education is being unfairly overburdened in this economic downturn.

``The (tuition) cap is just part of the battle,'' said Gionni Carr, a University of Memphis graduate student and student representative on the board, who voted against the tuition cap and attended Tuesday's protest.

``The overall war is to get more attention paid to higher education because we've been cut so many times. We've had our tuition increased over and over again.

``My fear is we're already in one of the least educated states in America. By cutting higher education, you're doing damage to our infrastructure because you're making it difficult for people to obtain the education that will attract businesses to come here.''