Tuition

Inside Higher Ed
By Doug Lederman

May 14, 2010

There is no dispute about just how bad things are for public higher education in Colorado. The governance structure has been weakened, and, like that of many states, Colorado's budget is a big-time mess. So nobody questions that something needed to be done, and fast, to get the state and its colleges through the next two years.

By Marianne Goodland
The Colorado Statesman

May 7, 2010

Concerning higher education flexibility to improve
the financial position of state institutions of higher education

Senate Bill 10-003
Testimony to the House Education Committee
Frank Waterous, Ph.D., Senior Policy Analyst
May 6, 2010

My name is Frank Waterous, and I am a senior policy analyst with The Bell Policy Center. The Bell is a nonpartisan, nonprofit research and policy organization dedicated to expanding opportunity for all Coloradans.

Concerning Higher Education Flexibility
Senate Bill 10-003

Testimony to the Senate Education Committee
Frank Waterous, Ph.D., Senior Policy Analyst
April 28, 2010

My name is Frank Waterous, and I am a senior policy analyst with The Bell Policy Center. The Bell is a nonpartisan, nonprofit research and policy organization dedicated to expanding opportunity for all Coloradans.

Negative Opportunity Note: This bill represents a net opportunity loss for Colorado. Basic skills courses provide the foundation needed by many students to achieve post-secondary success. Making basic skills courses ineligible for College Opportunity Fund stipend support could have a chilling effect on post-secondary enrollments, particularly among adult learners.

Education policy leaders set positive course for fifth-year high school programs; Gov. Ritter to host two-day dropout prevention summit; College tuition and fees nationwide rise 6.6 percent this year; ???Healthy Colorado??? web site highlights the ???cost of doing nothing???; Women???s economic mobility about equal to men???s; Payday lenders have left North Carolina, and borrowers don???t miss them; Predatory Lending Association launches spoof web site

Colorado fifth in the nation in drop of local funding for K-12 schools; Colorado Public Radio wants listeners to share their experiences with education; Colorado children of undocumented immigrants can pay in-state tuition for college; College access worse for the working poor than for unemployed poor; Bell Policy Center debuts in the blogosphere with Health Blog; Poverty rising to the top of state political agendas; Is the American Dream dead, or did it move to France?

The Bell Policy Center applauds Attorney General John Suthers for ruling today that U.S. citizen children of undocumented immigrants can pay instate tuition at Colorado colleges if they meet other state residency requirements. ???The attorney general absolutely made the right decision. It???s the right thing to do for these aspiring students and it???s the smart thing to do from the state???s perspective,??? said Rich Jones, director of policy and research for the Bell Policy Center.

The Bell Policy Center endorses this week???s move by David Skaggs to seek a legal ruling on granting in-state tuition to U.S. citizen students whose parents lack legal documentation. Skaggs, the state???s higher education chief, has called on Colorado Attorney General John Suthers to issue a legal opinion on the policy, which has not been consistently applied by Colorado colleges and universities.

Articles: National report card shows Colorado economy gaining ground, Are Colorado graduates prepared for college or work?, Many students eligible for financial aid are not applying, West tops national average for tuition and fee increases, Health savings accounts a boon ??? to the wealthy and healthy, Working adults most likely to lack health insurance, Recommendations to help Colorado micro-enterprises, Automatic IRAs expand retirement savings, Michigan governor proposes universal 401(k) plans