[GLENWOOD SPRINGS] – At today’s meeting of the Colorado Mountain College Board of Trustees, the board considered two tuition-related action items. Trustees voted to table a decision on setting 2012-13 tuition and fees until the next board meeting, pending the receipt of more budget information.
The board had been requested either to keep next year’s tuition the same as the current year’s, or to consider increasing tuition for lower-division classes by $2 to $3 per credit hour for in-district students, $6 for in-state and $20 for out-of-state. No tuition increase was proposed for 300- and 400-level classes.
“These modest increases were proposed to offset projected cuts in state revenue next year of $270,000 to 300,000 or more, as well as increases in fixed costs such as insurance, utilities and service contracts for information technology,” said Linda English, the college’s vice president for finance. If the tuition increases had been approved, in-district students would still continue to have the most affordable tuition in the state, administrators pointed out.
In other action, trustees voted to grant in-district tuition rates for active duty military, veterans and their dependents.
The board also approved an appropriation of up to $400,000 for one-time bonuses for part-time staff and adjunct faculty. No collegewide salary increase was budgeted for employees for 2011-12, and only a 1 percent salary increase the previous year.
But because actual revenues for the current year are higher than what was budgeted, the board granted a bonus to full-time employees at their December meeting. At that meeting, trustees requested staff bring more information before the board voted on whether to approve a bonus for part-time employees.
“We greatly appreciate our adjunct faculty and part-time staff, and the value they bring to our team and our students,” said Dr. Jensen. “Because our part-time staff and adjunct faculty work anywhere from several hours a year to more than half-time, we are developing a formula so that we can equitably allocate a bonus.”
“We want to ensure that we recognize faculty who have taught fall and/or spring classes, so we will determine individual bonuses sometime this spring,” said Jan Aspelund, the college’s vice president for human resources.
Because of meeting conflicts, the board also voted to move up the previously scheduled April meeting to March 12.