Our View
Saving money for a rainy day is not the easiest thing to do
right now.
The economy is getting stronger, but it still is not what it was
several years ago. Unemployment is on the decline, but college
graduates are still having trouble finding jobs.
And university tuition is likely going to skyrocket in the
not-so-distant future.
Tuition in the state of Colorado has risen steadily over the
past few years, but University of Colorado students might be
feeling shrinking wallets and bank accounts sooner than the rest of
the state, and CSU students are likely to be right behind them.
CU is pursuing state enterprise status, which would free it from
some of the financial constraints of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.
TABOR limits the amount of revenue, tuition included, that a state
entity can take in.
Unfortunately, to cover the cost of becoming an enterprise, CU
students might have to handle a 9 percent tuition increase, rather
than a previously considered 6 percent, according to a Denver Post
article from Friday.
CU must surrender an “enterprise adjustment” of $4.5 million to
switch to enterprise status, which the tuition increase is designed
to cover, according to the Post.
While CSU is likely still at least a year away from being able
to pursue enterprise status, this possible tuition increase shows
what will be the likely trend in higher education: Students are
going to have to foot the bill.
With the arrival of universities’ ability to have more state
independence, colleges will have more flexibility in setting
tuition increases. Universities say this is important because the
state money they have been receiving has declined over the past
several years. So the only way for universities to keep up the
quality of education is to increase tuition, which leaves students
out in the cold.
These tuition increases may not affect some current students too
much, but it will affect their younger siblings’ and possibly their
children’s educations significantly.
Even though money is not growing on Colorado’s trees right now,
maybe we should all try to find a way to start saving some money,
because that rainy day is steadily approaching.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.