Regents give approval to 2024-25 recommendations on tuition, fees and compensation
The CU Board of Regents on Friday voted to approve recommendations on tuition, fees, and compensation for the 2024-25 fiscal year. The plan invests in CU faculty and staff and helps keep tuition increases in check, which was made possible by the state’s investment of over a 9% increase in state funding next year.
As approved, the figures will be used by administration in determining CU’s annual budget, which the board will vote on in June.
During the board’s regular meeting April 12 at CU Denver, CU President Todd Saliman and Chad Marturano, vice president and chief financial officer, thanked state leadership for recently approving the significant operating increase in funding for higher education, totaling $107 million. CU’s share is $29.4 million, equal to an operating increase of 9.6%. The state is increasing statewide financial aid by $25.1 million as well.
As outlined in Marturano’s presentation to the board, tuition for undergraduate resident students is slated to increase 3% at CU Denver and UCCS, and for new incoming students at CU Boulder. Continuing CU Boulder undergraduate students won’t see an increase over last year, based on the four-year tuition and fee guarantee. Fees as approved vary by campus.
Resident undergraduate nursing tuition at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus will rise 1.9%.
Marturano noted that the 3% ceiling on tuition increases is below the rate of inflation – 5.2% – during the calendar year 2023.
Compensation for classified staff across the system will increase 3%, adhering to the state requirement.
For non-classified staff, salary merit pools will vary by campus. CU Boulder will see a 4% merit pool in the second of a two-year plan. CU Denver plans a 2% merit pool, assuming an enrollment threshold is met, with a 1% pool for compression, retention and equity, also assuming an enrollment threshold is met. At UCCS, employees earning $85,000 or less annually will be eligible for a 2% merit pool and a pool for compression, retention and equity. Those earning more than $85,000 annually will be eligible for a 1% pool assuming an enrollment threshold is met. CU Anschutz plans a 3% merit pool with a 0.8% pool for compression, retention and equity. The CU system administration pool is limited to 3% for all potential merit, market and equity adjustments.
In three separate votes, the Board of Regents approved tuition, student fee and compensation recommendations 8-1. Regent Mark VanDriel opposed the tuition and compensation plans, while Regent Frank McNulty opposed the student fees recommendation.
In other business at the April 11-12 meeting, the Board of Regents approved two new degrees at CU Denver and one at CU Boulder, all advanced by the Regents University Affairs Committee at its March 19 meeting. The Regents Finance Committee on March 26 had advanced three construction projects at CU Boulder, all of which also received the full board’s approval last week. Read more in CU Boulder Today.
Regents approved a change to the Faculty Housing Assistance Program, which, since 2019, allowed faculty participants to borrow up to $100,000 or 25% of the sales price, whichever is less, when buying a home. The board authorized an increase to $130,000 or 25% of the sales price, whichever is less. The new amount will be effective on July 1, 2024, for participants applying after that date.
The board passed a resolution reaffirming its commitment to the principles of freedom of expression, academic freedom, and shared governance as articulated in Regent Laws and Policies.
The board provided notion of motion regarding Regent Policy 14.I on weapons control, proposed amendments to which are scheduled to be discussed at the Regents University Affairs Committee meeting June 4. Any approved recommendations from that meeting would be forwarded to the full board for consideration at its June 20-21 meeting in Pueblo.
CU’s six newest Distinguished Professors attended last week’s board meeting to be formally recognized and receive their awards: CU Anschutz’s Sean Colgan and Frank deGruy, and CU Boulder’s Brian Argrow, Marie Banich, Shemin Ge and Dragan Maksimovic. Read more on the honorees here.
