Additional efforts will strategically invest in at-risk student populations
At the Colorado Mountain College Board of Trustees January 2016 meeting at the college’s campus in Edwards, trustees voted to set tuition and fees for the 2016-17 academic year.
The college expects to experience short-term stress on its operating budget, with revenue from the state and from property taxes next year declining by as much as $3 million and expenditures for college personnel increasing by as much as 5 percent. As a result, staff presented tuition rates that would increase for certain students, but CMC will still remain among the most affordable colleges in the state and the country.
For the 2016-17 academic year, trustees voted to increase:
- In-district associate-level tuition $5/credit hour, to $62/credit hour (the lowest tuition of any public college or university in Colorado)
- Service area associate-level tuition $20, to $123/credit hour
- In-state associate-level tuition $20, to $127/credit hour
- Out-of-state associate-level tuition $56, to $429/credit hour
- Industry rate associate-level tuition $20, to $139/credit hour
- ESL fee $10, to $20/credit equivalent
- GED fee $10, to $20/credit equivalent.
Tuition for bachelor’s-level courses will remain unchanged for all students for the third year in a row, thereby ensuring CMC’s position as offering the third-most-affordable bachelor’s degree in the nation.
Voting against the increase for in-district, service area and in-state tuition rates were trustees Ken Brenner, Mary Ellen Denomy and Kathy Goudy.
As the entire board and college leadership remain committed to keeping CMC affordable and accessible to all student populations, trustees directed staff to set aside some remaining revenues from the current fiscal year to develop a fund of targeted financial aid for students who may be impacted by changes in college costs in the coming year, such as middle-income students who might not otherwise qualify for federal aid and non-traditional adult students returning to college.
“Every member of the Board of Trustees cares deeply about the residents, employers and students supported by CMC,” said President and CEO Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser. “Together, the trustees and college management intend to honor the investments made by our local taxpayers while keeping tuition as low as possible. We also have a responsibility to maintain a balanced and sustainable budget while delivering top-quality programs in the high-cost region where CMC campuses are located. These are always difficult and complex discussions; the trustees are to be commended for the care and stewardship reflected in their deliberations last week.”
At the meeting, trustees also voted to approve a new technology fee for credit students of anywhere from $3 to $50 per semester, based on the number of credits taken. These fees will be used to help cover the cost of increased wireless networks on campuses, increasing internet broadband capacities, and supporting maintenance and upgrades to computer labs used by students. In addition, they approved a new residence hall technology fee of $100/term, which will be used to support high-speed wireless broadband to the students who live in CMC residence halls.
The board also approved several modifications to the military tuition discount to ensure that the program is both financially sustainable and appropriately coordinated with other sources of federal financial aid and military benefits.
The board voted to permit the college administration to set 2016-17 room and board rates, not to exceed 110 percent of current rates.
The board also unanimously approved the following new or revised course and program fees:
- First-year engineering projects course fee: $50
- Outdoor emergency care course fee: $140
- Isaacson School for New Media program fee: $300 for storage media
- Culinary arts for the Vail Valley program fee: $600 for knives, uniforms
- Restaurant management program fee: $395 for manual.