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  Home Page » News » CU Chancellor Defends Tuition Increase

CU chancellor defends tuition increase

Rate will top $6,000 for state residents

by Garrett Andrews
Herald Staff Writer Newly appointed University of Colorado-Boulder Chancellor Phil DiStefano defended a recent move by the school's regents to raise tuition on a stop in town Thursday.

DiStefano, who had the "interim" dropped from his title after three years earlier this month, was in Durango as part of a whistle-stop tour the CU chancellor takes annually through rural Colorado. As chancellor, DiStefano runs operations at the Boulder campus of the four-branch statewide CU system.

The University of Colorado Board of Regents voted Tuesday to increase tuition, room and board, and other fees. Tuition will rise 3.9 percent for resident undergraduates at the Boulder campus and 5 percent for nonresidents starting in the fall.

The Denver Post reported this week that the increases could make a year at CU-Boulder 6.9 percent more expensive next year. It was the third tuition increase in three years.

In-state tuition for students enrolled in CU's College of Arts and Sciences on the Boulder campus next year will be $6,153, but engineering, business and journalism students will pay additional amounts.

"I think it was a wise decision to keep the tuition increase 3.9 percent," DiStefano said of the bump. "Given where we are with the economy and to make sure that the university is accessible to all students from Colorado, I think it was a wise decision."

He added that 3.9 percent was equal to the rate of inflation in Colorado and was well under the 9 percent authorized by the governor.

This year, a $50 million drop in state funding led to $29 million being shaved from the statewide CU budget. DiStefano said he'd like the school to have a greater say in setting its tuition above inflation and the freedom to allocate more of its endowment to financial aid.

"I would like to see a plan where the four-year colleges and community colleges receive more state funding, with an opportunity for the research universities - like (Colorado State University), the (Colorado) School of Mines and CU-Boulder - to have the cap taken off tuition so that we're able to raise tuition to a level comparable to our peers."

The chancellor is speaking with donors, parents, alumni and prospective students during his tour of the state. He said he's heard a lot fewer comments about Ward Churchill on this trip and more concerns about budget cuts and tuition increases.