Continuing a trend toward increased federal funding for higher education that began with generosity for science programs last year, President Clinton last week unveiled a budget proposal that would increase funding for financial aid, the humanities and the arts.

And, even as Clinton and Congress plan to focus their attention on elementary and secondary school education in the wake of Clinton's State of the Union address, Harvard's lobbyists say they are happy with the proposal.

"It's a good platform to start with," says Nan F. Nixon, Harvard's director of federal relations.

But this proposal is no guarantee that these spending increases will become law--spending limits set last year could stymie some of the plan's generosity.

Financial aid is the main beneficiary of the proposal, which proposes to raise funding for government educational programs by 3.5 percent, to a total of $35 billion.

"Paying for college is...a challenge, especially for low-and middle-income families, and our 2000 budget would continue to expand assistance," Secretary of Education Richard Riley said of the proposal in a Washington press conference last week.

Total financial aid programs would increase 3.9 percent to nearly $52 billion. This includes a $125 increase in the maximum Pell Grant award available to students and a 7.4 percent increase in funding for work-study programs, according to Department of Education statistics.

Clinton's plan would also increase funding for the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), which are given on top of Pell Grants for some needy students and provide aid for other students ineligible for grants.

In total, when matched by funds provided by the individual schools, the Clinton budget could create nearly $800 million more in aid.

"It's a starting point," Nixon says. "We'd like to see it go up."

In addition, the budget proposes to extend a little-known aid measure which allows students to deduct the interest on their student loans from their taxable income. They are now allowed to do so only for the first 60 months of repayment, and the budget would extend that privilege over the entire life of the loan.

"That's very good news," Nixon said.

Other programs aimed at easing the financial burden of academically talented students--like Byrd and Javits grants--would receive little more money in Clinton's proposal.

Clinton's plan would also increase funding for two controversial national grant programs, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The President has budgeted $150 million for each.

Given the recent public controversy over the NEH and NEA-and even proposals to abolish the two grant agencies--Nixon calls the appropriation proposals "significant."