The Board of Governors of the Colorado State University System approved budgets for its campuses this week that keep tuition increases below the rate of inflation and legislative allowances, while focusing on compensation for faculty and staff.
CSU System leadership thanked state legislators, particularly the Joint Budget Committee, and Governor Jared Polis for their funding support during a year of significant inflationary pressures. Statewide general fund appropriations to higher education in Colorado increased by 11.5% this year, with an 11% increase to the CSU System.
“We started out this budget cycle hoping to cover mandatory costs and make progress on employee compensation – and we’re grateful we’ve been able to do both while keeping tuition increases at a reasonable level,” Chancellor Tony Frank said. “That has only been possible with the hard work and dedication of our state leaders, who recognize the importance of keeping Colorado higher education accessible, affordable, and able to compete for and retain top faculty and staff.”
The state this year allowed resident undergraduate tuition increases up to 5%, but the CSU campuses all kept increases below that level and below the rate of inflation.
The 2023-24 fiscal years starts July 1. The budgets approved by the Board this week include the following highlights:
CSU Fort Collins
- CSU Fort Collins will increase faculty and staff salaries 5%, and also bring administrative professional salaries up to a baseline of $50,000. (State classified salaries are determined by the state, not the university.) Faculty salaries at CSU are generally in the 91-96% of peer medians, but there are a few departments where compensation levels lag behind peer institutions. In the new budget, CSU is establishing a new, minimum compensation level of at least 80% of the median for peer institutions.
- Undergraduate tuition for Colorado resident students will increase by $198 a semester, a 4% increase. About 25% of that tuition increase will support student financial aid, and the increase won’t affect the university’s lowest-income students.
- Graduate student assistants will no longer pay student fees under the new budget (phased in over a few budget cycles), part of an ongoing focus on improving graduate student compensation.
CSU Pueblo
- CSU Pueblo will increase faculty and staff salaries by 5%, with an additional $250,000 set aside to address salary equity.
- Undergraduate tuition for Colorado resident students will increase 3%, or about $100 a semester.
CSU Global
- CSU Global, the System’s 100% online university, receives no state funding and will hold tuition steady for the 12th straight year.
“Housing, health care, and inflation are placing a lot of pressure on employees who are trying to balance their own family budgets. The Board heard these concerns plainly and made them a priority in our budget process,” Frank said. “President Parsons in Fort Collins and President Mottet in Pueblo made employee salary increases a top priority in their budgets this year, and this will continue to be an area of focus.”
The three CSU System campuses, and the out-of-state students they attract in an average year, fuel nearly 23,000 Colorado jobs and roughly $238 million in state income and sales tax revenue annually. The campuses – the flagship research university in Fort Collins; CSU Pueblo, a regionally focused Hispanic-serving institution; and the fully online CSU Global – together enroll more than 50,000 new and returning students each year.