Regents approve CU tuition hikes
The University of Colorado Board of Regents voted 8-1 Monday to raise tuition at their four campuses for the 2010-11 school year.
Campus of University of Colorado at Boulder
Approval was expected, as static state support is forcing all state colleges and universities to raise tuition to fund their budgets. The 2010-11 state budget bill, being considered in the legislature this week, sets a 9 percent ceiling on undergraduate resident tuition increases for next year. The state does not set limits for non-resident and graduate increases.
Next year’s hike at CU, and the increases expected to follow at other institutions, follow a long-term state and national trend that has seen larger and larger shares of college costs shift from taxpayers to parents and students.
The regents are the first board to take action this spring on 2010-11 tuition.
The percentage increases approved by the regents include:
Boulder: 9 resident undergraduate, 5 percent non-resident, 9 percent resident graduate and 3 percent non-resident graduate. Law school increases are higher.
Denver: 9 percent resident undergraduate, 2 percent non-resident undergraduate, 3 resident graduate and unchanged for non-resident graduate.
Colorado Springs: 7.2 percent resident undergraduate, 2 percent non-resident, 7 percent resident graduate and 2 percent non-resident graduate.
Anschutz Medical Campus: 6.5 percent resident medicine, 8.8 percent nursing, 9 percent dentistry and 3 percent pharmacy. Rate increases for non-residents and various specialized programs vary.
Non-resident tuition generally is higher than resident, but instititions typically vary non-resident increases year to year in an effort to balance the need for extra revenue with the risk of discouraging out-of-state students by raising costs too quickly. Even if the percentages are lower, the dollar amounts of non-resident increases are higher than for residents.
CU offiicials estimate the increases will raise an additional $31 million in revenue, covering only about 20 percent of the loss in state per-student funding The regents previously approved $29 million in budget cuts, with another $21 million to be announced shortly. Still, officials estimate the CU system may face an additional shortfall of $51.2 million at this time next year, when the 2011-12 budget is being finalized.
Overall, CU tuition is the second highest in the state, exceeded only by the School of Mines.
· Text of resolution approved by the regents and tables listing tuition changes
