University of California, Berkeley, officials cleared the final hurdle Friday in their fight to ensure that 30 graduate students won't be denied a chance to win a coveted Fulbright fellowship to do research abroad.

The U.S. Department of Education ruled last fall that the students weren't eligible for the prestigious fellowship because Berkeley officials missed the deadline for mailing applications. Berkeley argued that a missed pickup by FedEx Corp. caused the applications to be late.

After months of dispute, federal officials agreed to consider the Berkeley students separately from on-time applicants. That compromise required that UC Berkeley fund fellowships for its students if they are chosen in the coming weeks. Last year, Berkeley fellowship students won awards ranging from $19,000 to $64,000.

In a written statement issued Friday, Chancellor Robert Berdahl said the university and FedEx have agreed to split the costs of any research-abroad fellowships that are awarded to Berkeley students. FedEx conceded that a software glitch caused its courier to miss the scheduled pickup at the Berkeley campus.

Federal education officials argued that Berkeley staff should have taken the applications to the post office after learning that FedEx would not arrive.