3221 News Piece: Gov. Hickenlooper’s $20 mil budget cut to higher education may affect FLC tuition
Word Count: 828
What you need to know:
Gov. Hickenlooper's budget proposal cuts $20 mil from CO higher ed
FLC would have to raise tuition 13.6% to cover loss
FLC's VP of Finance said, "Next year we'll increase tuition"
FLC Student Body Pres sponsors #COState48 petition, urging students to protest the cut
FLC Provost supports petition and encourages student activism
DURANGO- Governor Hickenlooper has proposed a budget plan for the 2016-17 fiscal year that directly cuts $20 million from Colorado higher education. The proposal is in response to the state's $373 million shortcoming in 2016's budget. Fort Lewis College may raise tuition in response.
Budget overview
Based on the $20 million cut coupled with fixed operational costs at a projected $56 million, Hickenlooper estimates an 8.7% average tuition increase to public colleges and universities in the state.
Coincidentally, the 6% cap on tuition increases imposed by state lawmakers for 2014 and 2015 will be lifted, and the tuition increases will be capped by colleges and university boards.
Fort Lewis College would have to raise tuition 13.6% to cover this revenue loss, according to the Department of Higher Education.
FLC’s cut equals approximately $567,000, which is 4.8% of its General Fund appropriation. Steve Schwartz, Vice President of Finance and Administration at FLC, said that while this reduction is not particularly large, it will still hurt.
To put the loss into perspective, FLC experienced a $4 million budget cut in 2010, which greatly impacted its staff and academic departments.
Fort Lewis College's key figures
Defending the tuition increase
Schwartz said that it is still too early to speculate on potential impacts to the college. FLC’s Budget Committee minutes indicate Hickenlooper put forth his proposal on November 1, 2015.
Schwartz said, “Next year we’ll increase tuition, some percentage. We don’t know what that is yet because we don’t know what authority we’ll be given.” However, he said that tuition rates will not be directly affected by the budget cut.
Interestingly, Schwartz said that the college will still be net positive for the 2016-17 fiscal year, meaning that its revenue will exceed the $567,000 loss.
Schwartz said that the college is not interested in making staff cuts next year. However, he said, “We will likely not be filling many- if any- new positions this year.”
Dr. Barbara Morris, FLC's Provost, said she is proud that the college has kept staff salaries "100% consistent" with its institutional peers. She said the college has been awarding two and a half to three percent salary increases per year, but this cut could put an end to that.
Schwartz said that the college has not raised non-resident tuition in seven years, but a few members of the Board of Trustees have recently advocated for an increase.
Morris said that if non-resident tuition is raised, it will increase the amount of money that FLC will be refunded from the Native American tuition waiver.
Schwartz said that the state is forcing higher educational institutions to raise their tuitions. “Higher education is the budget balancer in this state. We’re the ones that they can go after,” he said.
Opposing the tuition increase
Lindley Gallegos, Student Body President of FLC, has reached out to students via email urging them to join Metropolitan State University-Denver’s petition against the budget cut. A hashtag for the petition (#COState48) has been created, and Gallegos is prompting students to write letters to state representatives.
Morris said she supports Gallegos’s petition. “I really appreciate the student body taking a stand and doing something about [the budget]. I appreciate the resolution. I appreciate having collective efforts with other student bodies at other schools,” she said.
In sponsoring the petition, Gallegos said, “We were hoping to create an uprising in collaboration with Metro University in Denver and other Colorado colleges that would pressure the state into not cutting our already small budget.”
Gallegos said that she would hate to see juniors and seniors have to transfer out of FLC because they cannot afford tuition. She said that as head of the student senate, her priority is in protecting and retaining as many students as possible.
“Tuition would increase across the board. That's why we are encouraging students to petition. It's for their own pocketbooks,” Gallegos said.
Along the same lines, Morris said, “To me it’s really important that we are mindful of the debt that students are incurring...I think that we have a moral responsibility on that piece.”
Gallegos said that information regarding tuition raises, student fees, faculty cuts and/or salary cuts is classified. However, she specified that the $567,000 cut has to come from at least one of these areas.
Morris said she is very concerned with raising tuition because FLC has a good tuition rate and she is proud of that. She said usually at this time of year the tuition has been set, but due to legislative uncertainty, it has not yet been determined.
Gallegos said the only way to avoid tuition raises, student fees, or faculty/salary cuts would be to reappropriate money from other areas on campus, and, she said, that would not be fair.
So what can you do? “If students want to see movement they should join senate or join the movement and encourage their friends!” she said.
Bonus content: View past FLC tuition and student fees graph
Photo assignment: A picture of a Budget Committee in session would compliment this article, as would a picture of students petitioning Hickenlooper's proposal.
