Could CU go 'private'?

Face The State Staff Report

As state lawmakers prepare to address Colorado's $604 million budget shortfall, CU President Bruce Benson is pushing for more autonomy for the school should state funding dry up. The move, however, wouldn't be as simple as doing without taxpayer dough.

In recent years, and due in large part to constitutional mandates, higher education has been high on the funding chopping block during lean times. Currently, less than 10 percent of CU's $2.4 billion operating budget is allocated by the state and although the budget meets the needs of Colorado's top public educational institution, a cut to state funding could leave the university short by up to $100 million, assuming it keeps up its current spending habits.

An article in the Denver Post entitled "Free us or fund us, say colleges" makes a plan like Benson's sound as simple as shedding some state regulatory strings, but true government entity privatization means CU's charter would have to be removed from the state Constitution. University representatives say Benson doesn't advocate CU's privatization, but questions remain over CU's future without state funding.

CU Regent Tom Lucero was also quick to point out legal restrictions and history are likely to stop any type of privatization of CU. CU is the only higher education institution in Colorado that is actually chartered as a part of the state Constitution. "This changes the definition of 'privatization' from simply cutting out state funding to actually asking Colorado voters to approve a referendum to formally remove the University of Colorado from the state constitution," Lucero said. "Only then would CU be able to look at cutting state funding from their budget."

This isn't the first time privatization has come up for discussion among CU's leaders. When faced with a similar situation in 2003, CU Boulder Chancellor Richard Byyny saw the school's funding cut by 29 percent. As a result Byyny eliminated over 100 positions to close the budget gap. Lucero said previous state budget cuts have spurred talk of privatization, but all progress in this direction was ultimately stopped by CU's state charter.

However, some higher education advocates maintain the state has a moral obligation to fund higher education. Others believe if universities were left to fund their own operations, the cost of tuition would raise exponentially and limit access for low and middle income students. Lucero calls this kind of thinking absurd.

"When I am on campus and talk to students who are graduating in four years or fewer, they all say that they are paying for a portion of their own education," he said. "Now, this might not be a scientific sampling, but we know that when a student is required to shoulder at least part of the [financial] burden for [his or her] education they will have an incentive to graduate as quickly as possible."

Benson has the support of leaders at the University of Northern Colorado and Metropolitan State College of Denver who face considerably fewer obstacles should they seek more independence from the state. One of these leaders is UNC President Kay Norton.

"There is no question that the state's longtime investment in Colorado public institutions has made them much more affordable than their private counterparts," she said. "But as the state is unable to continue this 19th century concept, we the institutions need to be able to step up and develop a hybrid model for tuition and financial aid tailored to students' individual circumstances."

"Although counter-intuitive, data shows that a higher 'sticker' price for tuition will lead to more affordable access to higher education by providing discounts to students who most need the financial help, if the schools are allowed to package both the price and the financial aid without micro-management by the state," Norton said.

State Rep. Don Marostica, R-Loveland, currently serves as an informal liaison between university leaders and the legislature through his work on the Joint Budget Committee. "Although nothing formal is currently in the works, we are hoping to reach a compromise that will allow them some degree of financial independence while also increasing tuition."

Note: An earlier version of this story portrayed Benson's plan as "privatization," a move the University says he does not advocate. Rather, Benson has identified a number of proposals for greater independence from state regulations should state funding be reduced. Face The State regrets the error.