Institutions will still have to raise tuition
Higher education leaders have praised lawmakers for helping to restore the budget, but in some cases, it still isn’t enough. While scholarship funds have increased, some students will still have to pay higher tuition.
Public universities are permitted to raise tuition by three percent for the next school year. The University of Colorado system voted to take advantage of that allowance, but used federal stimulus dollars to temporarily keep rates flat for a year. Others, like the Colorado Community College System, voted to keep tuition flat despite a decrease in enrollment. Several boards have yet to vote on next year’s tuition.
Greeley’s University of Northern Colorado got approved for an even steeper tuition increase. The university, which is one of the more affordable four-year institutions in Colorado, said the state’s proportionately low funding of higher education puts them in a position where a rise in student revenue is needed to fund vital programs. UNC president Andy Feinstein said a seven percent increase would provide an additional $4.7 million.
“Of that $4.7 million, half of that will be reinvested into institutional financial aid. So half will be going back to support our most neediest students. In fact, 30 percent of our students will not be paying any tuition and fees at all. The rest of those funds will be invested in student success initiatives,” Feinstein said.
The 2021 budget projects universities will receive a total increase of about $130 million of tuition revenue. It also includes a projected increase of $11 million in mandatory student fees.
Progress made, but room for improvement
The Long Bill presents a victory for the state’s higher education advocates, but it also represents a perennial problem in Colorado — the state’s fiscal structure leaves little room for funding colleges.
Even with this year’s increase in funding, Colorado’s universities operate with significantly less state appropriations than peers in other states. McCluskie said that the problem may be inherent, thanks to TABOR.
“I think the challenge is that the complications with TABOR limitations mean that we are constantly having to look at a finite number of dollars, a limited pie, and having to divvy it up across so many priorities in this state,” McCluskie said. “When we look to try and fund, say, higher education at a much higher level, it means we've got to take dollars away from some of these other very important departments.”
MSU’s Davidson said she’s happy with the budget, but she hopes next year’s will continue to help dig higher education out of the financial hole it’s in.
“A big looming issue is the deferred maintenance and capital needs for a lot of our universities and MSU Denver in particular,” she said.
Campuses like CU Boulder, MSU and UNC have millions of dollars worth of deferred maintenance on their campus. In some cases, students find themselves paying higher fees that aim to remedy the issue.
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April 24, 2021 at 05:04PM
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After A Pandemic Year Filled With Uncertainty, Lawmakers Set To Raise Colorado Higher Ed Funding - Colorado Public Radio
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