Senators in Colorado are proposing major changes in the tuition and financial policies for the state’s institutions of higher education.  After years of budget cuts, the changes would give the schools more flexibility in setting tuition levels and managing their finances.  In return, the proposal would increase reporting requirements and force the schools to have a plan to maintain affordability. 

If passed, the bill would remove a cap on tuition increases and let the colleges’ boards set tuition rates.  Schools would, however, only be able to increase rates by more than 9 percent per year if it was necessary to cover significant decreases in state support.  In return for that flexibility, schools would have to submit five-year financial projections, plans for preserving accessibility and affordability for low and middle-income students and five-year plans to improve in areas like quality of instruction and student success.

The bills would also allow schools to decide how many non-residents to admit, but would require that they admit all qualified Colorado applicants. 

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