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The University of Colorado Board of Regents received an overview of tuition and fee proposals during its meeting Friday, one of several steps leading toward the creation of campus budgets this spring.

Chad Marturano, chief financial officer for the University of Colorado system, presented the proposals for all four campuses. 

Key aspects of the budget proposal

Key aspects of CU Boulder’s fiscal year 2024–25 budget proposal are as follows:

Tuition rate changes

• Either a 3% or 4% increase in tuition for incoming resident undergraduate students, depending on state funding allocations. The current tuition rate for an incoming resident undergraduate student enrolled in 30 credit hours is $11,976 per year.
• A 4% increase in tuition for incoming nonresident undergraduate students. The current tuition rate for an incoming nonresident undergraduate student enrolled in 30 credit hours is $40,320 per year.
  • Because of CU Boulder’s tuition guarantee, only new students, not continuing undergraduates who will complete their degrees in four years, will see an increase in their tuition.
• Either a 3% or 4% increase in tuition for resident graduate students.
• A 3% increase in tuition for nonresident graduate students.

Housing and dining fees

• A 5% increase in residence hall fees, 2.8% increase in Bear Creek apartment fees and 3% increase in graduate and family housing fees. Other campus fees are still being determined and will be presented in April.

Compensation expectations

• A 4% increase pool for university staff, faculty and graduate students on appointment. Details on how the 4% increase pool will be applied will be available later this spring.
• A 3% across-the-board pay increase for classified staff in line with the state of Colorado.

Because the campus experienced higher-than-expected student enrollment and retention this academic year, the 2023–24 revenue is 1.7% higher than budgeted, Marturano said.

CU Boulder’s fall-to-spring retention rate for first-year students has increased for the third year in a row and now sits at 96.4%—an all-time high.

The 2024–25 budget proposal also will include increased funding for institutional financial aid and mandatory operating costs, as well as ongoing support for the Chancellor’s Diversity Initiative and compensation initiatives designed to attract top faculty.

Next year, the campus is projecting a 0.5% enrollment increase, or about 200 additional students.

The CU Board of Regents is expected to vote on the budget proposals during its April meeting. The 2024–25 fiscal year begins July 1, 2024.

Climate Action Plan update

Patrick O’Rourke, CU Boulder’s chief operating officer, also provided an update on the campus Climate Action Plan. The campus released the draft plan earlier this week and is accepting comments through March 5.

The plan includes a series of commitments, including a goal to reduce campus emissions by 50% by 2030 and then to engage in linear reductions to reach carbon neutrality by no later than 2050.

The campus is also working to further electrify its bus fleet; transition from steam heating to low-temperature hot-water heating; and build a one-megawatt solar array on East Campus next year, among other steps.

“We are fortunate here to have students, faculty, staff and leadership who care about our sustainability and our impact on the planet,” O’Rourke said.

O’Rourke acknowledged that some may perceive the campus as moving too slowly on climate goals but said, given the investments needed, it will take years to update historic campus infrastructure.

CU system Strategic Plan

Regents also discussed the system’s Strategic Plan pillar focused on staff and faculty hiring and retention.

At CU Boulder, the overall faculty retention rate is 92% and the overall staff retention rate is 94% so far this year.

Among employees who identify as Hispanic/Latino, Black/African American, American Indian, Pacific Islander or “more than one race,” the retention rate is 92% for faculty and 93% for staff to date this year.

Among new hires at the Boulder campus, 14% of new faculty and 22% of new staff identify as belonging to one of those groups thus far in 2023–24.

Regents met in breakout groups with campus representatives to discuss specifics about .

Other business

The board also:

• Approved a new Master of Arts degree in gender and sexuality studies and one appointment with tenure at CU Boulder.
• Approved changes to  and .
• Toured CU Boulder’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), learning about the lab’s 75-year history and upcoming work.
• President Todd Saliman provided a brief update on the CU Boulder chancellor search, thanking the search committee for its outstanding work. “If everything stays on track, the finalist or finalists should be on campus the week before spring break,” he said.