More than 300 members from the United University Professions, the union representing 35,000 faculty and professional staff within the State University of New York, rallied at the Capitol Friday, urging lawmakers to reject Gov. David A. Paterson’s cuts to higher education and proposals to deregulate the SUNY system.

Paterson proposes $118 million in funding cuts to four-year SUNY schools this year, but to cushion the blow from the loss in state aid the past couple years he recommended giving the campuses more autonomy. That includes giving SUNY and its campuses the unprecedented power of setting their own tuition, as well as greater flexibility on leasing and selling university-held land.

Union officials said the results would be disastrous for SUNY and its students, and warned of steep tuition hikes.

“Not only would this price SUNY out of reach for many students, it would also allow the state to shrink its responsibility for funding its public university,”UUP President Phillip H. Smith said Friday. “And giving campuses the power to negotiate their own leases, contracts and joint ventures opens the door to revenue- making deals that put students a distant second.”