Saskatchewan university students are bracing for big tuition hikes they fear could come after next week's provincial budget.

Students came to the legislature Thursday to ask the government not to cut back on its grants to universities.

The 2010-2011 budget will be released next Wednesday and the government has already indicated it's trying to cut costs where it can.

The universities in both Regina and Saskatoon say even with a boost in operating grants, they will still need to hike tuition by about five per cent.

Student leaders say they think a two-per-cent increase is reasonable, and although Advanced Education Minister Rob Norris said he wants reasonable increases too, he wasn't committing to two per cent.

"We're going to do what we can for students but at the same time we know the fiscal circumstances in which we're operating," Norris said.

After listening to Norris answer questions in the assembly, University of Regina Student’s Union spokeswoman Katie Honey said she wasn't overly optimistic about getting her wish.