DENVER—
Lawmakers are considering several options to give Colorado's public colleges and universities the flexibility to weather the ongoing economic storm including allowing them to raise tuition without state approval."We're very early on in this process, but we have to find a way to give higher education the flexibility to survive," said Senate Majority Leader John Morse, D- Colorado Springs.
If there's one thing lawmakers and universities agree on, it's that the future of higher education in the state is at stake.
"Everything is on the table right now because these are unprecedented funding challenges," said Deborah Mendez-Wilson, a spokesperson for CU System President Bruce Benson. "We need that flexibility to set our own tuition so we can generate revenue. It's really not about raising profits for the university. It's about ensuring that we maintain the high quality of our programs and the high quality of the institution overall."
Declining state revenues of more than $2 billion have forced massive cuts to higher education funding over the last two budget years, and more cuts are imminent with a projected shortfall for the 2010-11 budget year of $1.3 billion -- a number that's likely to grow.
Thus far, Colorado has been able to use federal stimulus money to off-set the cuts, but that money runs out in 2012, when institutions like CU and CSU could find themselves at the bottom of a fiscal cliff.
One idea lawmakers are considering is allowing universities to go to what Morse calls the "Harvard model".
"For instance, if Phil Anschutz sends his kid to CU, he pays $25,000 a year because he can afford it," Morse explained. "If someone else deserves to get in but can't pay, then the money from the kids paying higher tuition creates financial aid for them. Essentially, the rich subsidize the poor, which is the model private schools like Harvard use."
.
