CSU System board approves budget, tuition and fees

FORT COLLINS — The Board of Governors of the Colorado State University System today voted to approve incremental budget and tuition proposals from the system’s campuses – CSU, CSU-Pueblo and the CSU-Global Campus – for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

“Continued support for higher education by the General Assembly and the Governor put us in a position to make important and prudent investments in our institutions to build on the already impressive value our graduates receive by earning a CSU degree,” said Tony Frank, chancellor of the CSU system and president of CSU. “For example, at CSU this budget allows the university to invest in 23 new faculty positions, in scholarships and student health initiatives, and in boosting CSU’s Engagement and Extension outreach across our state.”

Table 1
 CSU Campus  FY-16 Tuition  FY-17 Tuition  Dollar Increase Percent Change 
Fort Collins1        
Resident Undergraduate  $8,301 $8,716   $415  5%
Non-resident Undergraduate  $25,010  $26,010  $1,000  4%
Resident Graduate  $9,348  $9,628  $280  3%
Non-resident Undergraduate  $22,916  $23,603  $687  3%
         
Global2        
Undergraduate – per credit hour  $350  $350  $0  0%
Graduate – per credit hour  $500  $500   $0  0%
         
Pueblo1        
Resident Undergraduate  $5,486  $5,815  $329  6%
Non-resident Undergraduate  $16,491  $17,481  $990  6%
Resident Graduate  $6,322  $6,701  $379  6%
Non-resident Graduate  $18,795  $19,923  $1,128  6%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Annualized based on 12 credit hours per semester

2 Per credit hour rate

This year state lawmakers avoided cutting funding to higher education resulting in general fund appropriations of $134.5 million to the CSU System. State funding at CSU in Fort Collins is only about 10 percent of the university’s budget and remains below pre-recession levels. With four consecutive years of record fund raising and record numbers of donors, philanthropic support has out-paced state support during the past four years, tripled in the last five years, and the current $1 billion “State Your Purpose” campaign is ahead of schedule and budget.

Annual resident undergraduate tuition at CSU will be $8,716 in FY2017, a $415 increase over the previous year. That remains below proposed in-state tuition rates at peer institutions such as University of California-Davis, Purdue, Washington State, Virginia Tech and the University of Illinois. For a Colorado comparison, resident undergraduate tuition at CU-Boulder for FY2017 will be $9,768.

At CSU the budget provides more than $6 million of additional support for student financial aid and includes 23 new faculty positions. This year a new budgeting process brought together more voices from across campus to collectively identify key areas of new investment including $3.6 million for critical academic initiatives, $1.2 million for academic program support, $922,000 for student program support, $548,000 for outreach programs, and $1.55 million for investments in infrastructure and compliance. Outside of investments in financial aid, salaries, and mandatory costs, two-thirds of the remaining resources will be deployed in the academic colleges.

“This year’s budget had quite a few moving parts, with changes in the state appropriations right at the last minute – thankfully in a positive direction,” said Rick Miranda, CSU’s provost and executive vice president. “We were able to use these funds to reduce a planned re-allocation exercise, modestly increase salaries, and fund our highest priority initiatives which will help to continue to drive the university forward.  Along the way we had many opportunities for input –both formal through the budget process, and more informal via multiple presentations to campus groups – and I hope that the result is seen as a sensible path through a complex financial thicket.”

Annual resident undergraduate tuition at CSU-Pueblo will be $5,815 for FY2017 (based on 12 credit hours per semester), an increase of $329 from the previous fiscal year. The per-credit-hour undergraduate tuition rate at CSU-Global Campus, which receives no state funding, will remain unchanged for the fifth consecutive year at a maximum of $350 per credit hour ($4,200 per 12 credit hours) and it will continue its no-student fee structure.

“CSU-Global Campus is committed to high quality, affordable, and accessible higher education,” said Becky Takeda-Tinker, president of CSU-Global Campus. “Our mission to facilitate nontraditional learner success in a global marketplace is boosted by our ability to help our students financially plan to achieve their degree and certificate-of-completion goals. We are pleased to be able to maintain our standard rates and to continue to provide students with a Tuition Guarantee that locks in their tuition rate until graduation.”

Student fees at CSU will be $2,211 next year, up 3.7 percent or $78 from the previous year, and student fees at CSU-Pueblo will be $1,800 for FY2017, a 6 percent increase of $102. These fees are approved by the student governments of each campus to help fund a range of specific services, such as student recreation, the student health network, and facilities. CSU-Global Campus, which is a 100 percent online university, does not charge student fees.

Table 2


FY-17 Tuition FY-17 Fees FY-17 Tuition and Fees Dollar Increase Percent Change
CSU  $8,716 $2,211 $10,927 $493 4.7%
CSU-Pueblo $5,815 $1,800 $,7615 $431 6.0%

 

 

 

 

 

“CSU-Pueblo’s budget remains in good shape, and we will use projected increases in tuition revenue to provide additional financial aid for our students in a budget that also provides necessary funds for our core business operations,” said CSU-Pueblo President Lesley Di Mare. “We will leverage our partnerships with the community and with our CSU System sister institutions to further CSU-Pueblo’s important mission of teaching, research, and service in southern Colorado.”

The resulting FY2017 operating budgets for each unit are projected as follows:

CSU – $1.1 billion, compared to $1.05 billion for FY2016

CSU-Global Campus – $93.5 million, compared to $73.1 million for FY2016

CSU-Pueblo – $78.6 million, compared to $77.7 million for FY2016

CSU System Office – $6.9 million (Includes $1 million of expenses allocated to Colorado State University to better align with cost accounting standards), compared to $6.6 million for FY2016

CSU System

The Board of Governors of the CSU System has nine voting members, appointed by the governor and confirmed by the State Senate, and six non-voting members who are faculty and student representatives from CSU, CSU-Pueblo and the CSU-Global Campus. The board provides oversight to ensure effective management, accountability and leadership at all the CSU System universities – Fort Collins, Pueblo and the online Global Campus.