The Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) will be holding a public meeting in Boulder on Thursday, Oct 2 from 5 to 7 p.m. to gather public input that will help inform future state funding for higher education. The meeting will take place at the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS), 3035 Center Green Drive, Suite 150, Boulder.
Why You Might Want to Attend: If you are interested in this issue and have opinions you would like to share about how Colorado鈥檚 higher education funding is going to be determined, as well as on the potential impacts to CU-Boulder, we鈥檇 encourage you to attend.
Your opinion on the state鈥檚 priorities regarding higher education and the value of higher education to the state, the economy, society and the future are important factors for decision makers to consider.
Background on the New Higher Education Funding Law: A new bill 鈥� HB14-1319, 鈥極utcomes-based Funding for Higher Education鈥� 鈥� determining how higher education institutions will be funded, was recently signed into law. The University of Colorado has received the largest percentage reduction of state funding across all Colorado public higher education institutions since 2009 鈥� a decrease of 20.2 percent during that period. As a result, CU-Boulder鈥檚 state funds have dropped precipitously 鈥� resulting in only 5 percent of its total budget currently coming from state funds.
The University of Colorado鈥檚 position on this bill is that any new funding formula should be fair and not unduly harm any institutions of higher education. In addition, the funding formula should be consistent with the Colorado Commission on Higher Education鈥檚 Master Plan of increasing the total number of degrees awarded in the state, to meet workforce demand.
The Colorado Department of Higher Education has released the following information about the new higher education funding bill:
HB 14-119, signed into law in May 2014, requires the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE) to develop a new base funding formula to allocate state general fund dollars among the state鈥檚 public institutions of higher education.
This new funding model will be implemented in the 2015-16 fiscal year and will include allocation of the Colorado Opportunity Fund (COF) stipends and new Fee-for-Service contracts.
The components of the new funding model will include:
COF Stipends 鈥� Amount and percentage of the formula.
Role and Mission of the Institutions 鈥� Selectivity, number of campuses, rural or urban location, low student enrollment, high cost undergraduate programs, research, Pell eligible and underserved students, types of graduate programs, and cost for remedial courses.
Performance 鈥� Number of degrees and transfers completed, within certain parameters; and, number of students who make academic progress.
In consultation with key stakeholders, the CCHE must also submit to the Legislature tuition policies that ensure both accessible and affordable higher education for residents.
To register to attend the Boulder event, or any of the other public meetings, please visit .
Sincerely,
Frances Draper,
Vice Chancellor for Strategic Relations