Contact for reporters:
Mike Hooker
(970) 491-1545
mike.hooker@colostate.edu

The Board of Governors of the Colorado State University System today approved the incremental budget and tuition proposals for the system’s three campuses and System Office for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2018.

The plan will allow CSU, CSU-Pueblo and CSU-Global Campus to make important investments to benefit students, faculty and staff, while limiting tuition increases to 3 percent at CSU and CSU-Pueblo – with a lower increase of 2.5 percent for non-resident undergraduates at CSU – and no increase at CSU-Global.

“Within the CSU System, we are actively partnering to offer a range of higher-education options for all types of learners, and this budget reflects our shared commitment to accessibility, affordability, and excellence in all we do,” said Tony Frank, chancellor of the CSU system and president of CSU. “We’re grateful to our state legislative leaders and the Governor for their continued investment in a high-quality, competitive system of higher education for Colorado.”

Table 1

¹ Annualized based on 12 credit hours per semester

^{2 Per credit hour rate}

“As Colorado continues to invest in higher education, we see more and more students across Colorado earning their degrees, and this budget allows the unique institutions in the CSU System to continue providing our students with the very best opportunity to earn degrees that will increase their earning potential and boost Colorado’s economy,” said Rico Munn, chair of the Board of Governors of the CSU System. “For example, a recent study showed that alumni and current students of CSU’s Fort Collins-based flagship institution generated on an annual basis more than $465 million in state tax revenue, which was nearly four-times the state’s funding to CSU in the same year.”

State funding provides only about 11.4 percent of the university’s budget in Fort Collins. By comparison, philanthropic support totaled $190 million last year. Fiscal year 2017 marked the sixth consecutive year philanthropy has topped state support, and the second year in a row in which CSU has raised over $190 million in private support. The annual fundraising figures include the largest gift in CSU history and the highest number of annual donors ever.

Annual resident undergraduate tuition at CSU will be $9,426 in FY2019 (based on 12 credit hours per semester), a $275 increase over the previous year. That remains below proposed in-state tuition rates at peer institutions such as University of California-Davis, Washington State, Virginia Tech and the University of Illinois. For a Colorado comparison, resident undergraduate tuition at CU-Boulder for incoming students in FY2019 will be $10,730.

At CSU-Pueblo, annual resident undergraduate tuition will be $6,349 for FY2019, an increase of $185 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 seventh consecutive year at a maximum of $350 per credit hour ($4,200 per semester per 12 credit hours).

Student fees at CSU will be $2,281 next year, up 1.7 percent, or $38, from the previous year, and student fees at CSU-Pueblo will be $1,978, a 3.6 percent increase of $70. 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.

“To meet the needs of today’s modern learners, CSU-Global continues to work hard to provide high quality, affordable, and workplace-relevant higher education,” said Becky Takeda-Tinker, president of CSU-Global Campus. “Toward that mission, FY2019 marks the seventh year the university will be maintaining its current per-credit undergraduate and graduate tuition rates with a tuition guarantee and no student fees. As a nonprofit state institution, it is a privilege for CSU-Global to serve Coloradans and students throughout the U.S. and abroad in achieving their academic and professional goals.”

Other budget items

At CSU in Fort Collins the budget provides more than $4.4 million of additional support for student financial aid. It also includes pay increases of 2.5 percent for faculty and administrative professional staff and 3.0 percent for State Classified staff, with $11.2 million budgeted toward those increases. The budget also includes $3.2 million for academic incentive funding, $5.0 million for mandatory costs such as utilities, operations and maintenance, library subscriptions, insurance, benefits, etc., and $6.1 million for strategic initiatives and quality enhancements.

“At CSU in Fort Collins we are making new investments in financial aid for students, and in compensation for faculty and staff, continuing our focus on investing to achieve salary equity across the university,” said Rick Miranda, CSU’s provost and executive vice president. “We are also squarely focused on investing in our academic programs, primarily by investing in new faculty positions which will benefit students and add to the already powerful research strength of CSU.”

At CSU-Pueblo, the budget provides for $2.5 million in new investments. These funds will enable the campus to increase compensation and benefits for faculty and staff. The university will also invest in students by increasing the budget for institutional financial aid. In addition, the funds will provide for continued infrastructure investments for the campus.

“CSU-Pueblo’s budget remains in good shape and we are pleased that tuition will only increase by 3 percent,” said CSU-Pueblo President Timothy Mottet. “As a Hispanic Serving Institution it is important to remain affordable and accessible for the students we serve and the projected increase in funds will enable CSU-Pueblo to increase the financial aid budget for our students, while also funding core business operations such as compensation and infrastructure expenses. In addition to these investments, we will leverage our partnerships with our CSU System sister institutions to further CSU-Pueblo’s important mission of teaching, research, and service in southern Colorado.”

The resulting FY2019 operating budgets for each unit are projected as follows: CSU – $1.22 billion, compared to $1.15 billion for FY2018 CSU-Global Campus – $109.3 million, compared to $105.2 million for FY2018 CSU-Pueblo – $86 million, compared to $83.1 million for FY2018 CSU System Office – $7.5 million, compared to $7 million in FY2018.

About the 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.