Duane Physical Laboratories Complex, University of Colorado, Boulder.
Colorado’s higher education institutions have remained flexible to operational changes during this COVID-19 pandemic to balance student needs with health and safety. After one year, a combination of masks, social distancing, falling COVID-19 cases and the state’s ongoing vaccine rollout have administrators planning for more in-person courses this fall.
Yet revenue losses from decreased student enrollment and state cuts to higher education funding continue creating major financial complications for Colorado’s public universities. Board members at the University of Northern Colorado, Colorado State University, and the University of Colorado Boulder each elected to keep tuition level for the 2020-2021 school year. Now, all three schools are considering raising student tuition and fees to account for budget shortfalls and increased operational costs.