How will a hybrid funding model help in dealing with the budget reduction?
A hybrid model would recognize the Board of Trustees’ authority to set tuition at appropriate levels while also spending some of the tuition revenue on financial aid for students who can’t afford the higher cost. This approach would allow Colorado universities to base tuition on a number of factors, including the institution’s mission, its price relative to peers and market conditions, with less state intervention. UNC’s tuition, a significant contributor to the operating budget, is about 60 percent of that of its peers as defined for a study by the N ational Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS). That percentage is nearly the same when comparing UNC with the other Colorado research universities. Even though state of Colorado higher education institutions are underfunded by $750 million, according to the NCHEMS study, UNC and other institutions have been regulated by the state in making tuition adjustments.
