The state Board of Regents’ universities are requesting more than $621 million in operating appropriations for fiscal 2013.

According the appropriations request — which was released Thursday as part of the regents’ agenda for its meeting next week in West Des Moines — higher education operating appropriations make up nearly $471 million of that request.

State appropriations now make up only 35.7 percent of general education funding for the regent schools, according to the report. At the same time, tuition now makes up more than 58 percent of the funding.

— by Allie Wright