Enrollment gains pave way for growth in budget

The CU Board of Regents on Tuesday passed an operating budget of $3.55 billion for 2015-16, reflecting expected gains in enrollment and increases in health services revenue and state funding.

The board voted 8-0 (Regent Stephen Ludwig was ill) following a presentation from Todd Saliman, vice president for budget and finance, during the meeting at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus. The budget reflects an increase of $195 million, or 5.8 percent, over the current revised budget.

Saliman said the growth is enabled by key revenue increases, including an expected enrollment increase of 1,500 students across the system, which in turn fuels increases in tuition revenue from residents (up $13.2 million) and nonresidents (up $39.4 million). Also up are health services revenue (up $47.3 million) and increased direct state funding (up $17 million).

“What’s driving the tuition revenue increases for us, thank goodness, is enrollment increases,” Saliman said. “We’re expecting increases at our campuses, and that’s not the case at all institutions in the state.”

Saliman called CU’s tuition increases, which range roughly from 1.6 percent to 3.5 percent for most undergraduate students, “some of the lowest tuition and fee increases in the state, so that’s good news for our students.”

The 2015-16 budget breakdown by campus and system: