During their board meeting on April 28, CU’s Board of Regents approved an increase in tuition and student fees across all the CU campuses for the upcoming academic year.
The Regents also heard from UCCS Senator-at-Large Isabella Polombo, who advocated for better treatment of Resident Assistants (RAs) across the CU system.
Increase in tuition fees and student activity fees
The Regents voted to approve a tuition and student activity fee increase for the fiscal year 2023-24 budget. CU system vice president and chief financial officer Chad Marturano created the budget recommendations with President Saliman and the chancellors from each campus.
According to Marturano, the tuition rate increases will help the campuses maintain program quality and provide student services while supporting future investments in areas like financial aid.
What to know about the increases:
- There will be a 5.1% increase in UCCS’ tuition for nonresident undergraduate students and resident graduate students.
- There will be a 5% increase in UCCS’ tuition for resident undergraduate students and nonresident graduate students.
- The Campus Recreation Center Bond Fee is set to increase by $13.61 for the fall and spring and by $6.81 for the summer.
- The Transportation and Safety fee is set to increase by $8.71 for the fall and spring and by $4.36 for the summer.
- The Wellness Center Fee is set to increase by $5.10 for the fall and spring and by $2.55 for the summer.
According to the budget presentation, there will also be an increase in hourly minimum wage for students from $14/hour to $15/hour.
Marturano expects an 11.5% or an approximately $118.6 million increase in state funding for higher education, of which $32 million will be given to the CU schools. He also expects an additional $27.3 million statewide increase in financial aid for the academic year.
The full finalized budget will be voted on at the Board of Regents meeting in June. Students can view the presentation and budget from this past meeting here.
Senator-at-Large Isabella Polombo advocates for better RA compensation
UCCS Senator-at-Large Isabella Polombo presented a RA petition to the Board of Regents back in November 2022 with fellow RA Noelle Lopez. The two advocated for a $100 monthly stipend and better treatment for RAs.
Through a collaborative effort with the United Campus Workers (UCW) of Colorado and SGA, a permanent $175 stipend for RAs working over the winter break has been established at UCCS.
During the board meeting, Polombo voiced concerns about salaries and working conditions for RAs in the CU system, expressing that they are compensated unfairly despite room and board being part of their contracts.
“Our job requires us to handle on-call shifts, maintain our communities, be responsible for the well-being of our residents and handle all emergencies. Hence, RAs deserve monetary compensation across CU,” Polombo said.
She further noted that UCCS retention rates are down by 2.9%, attributing these statistics to a lack of community-building within campus housing and limited support for RAs, who she believes “are the first line response solution to [UCCS’] retention and budget cut problems.”
“Please acknowledge this as a flaw within our system of CU so that internally, we can work to provide solutions with each of our departments and schools and [support] the wellbeing of RAs,” Polombo said.
The next regular Board of Regents meeting will be held at CU Boulder on June 22-23.
The Board of Regents is made up of nine members that focus on general supervision of the CU campuses, which includes control of student fees and oversight of the budget. Students can learn more about the Regents by visiting their website.
Photo from bvtack.com.