Early Bird

Trustees approve 2021-22 tuition, fees and budget

University holds tuition flat, closes tuition window for upcoming academic year.

By Matt Watson

May 11, 2021

The Board of Trustees voted to approve the recommendations from the Budget Recommendation Committee and MSU Denver leadership on 2021-22 tuition, fees and budget at a special finance committee meeting Thursday.

Metropolitan State University of Denver will hold its tuition rate flat for the upcoming academic year but will fully close the tuition window, which was half-closed in 2019.

The tuition window, implemented in 2007 to allow students who enrolled in 13 to 18 credit hours to pay the same rate as those enrolled in 12 credit hours, did not produce the desired effects of increasing retention and graduation rates. Those rates did not increase over a 10-year period, and a study found that students taking advantage of the window were less likely to work full-time yet had an average income 21% greater than students taking fewer hours.

As a result of the closing the tuition window by 50% over the past two years, MSU Denver invested more than $2 million in priority investment areas identified by students, including student-success initiatives and institutional financial aid. Completing the closure of the window will help the University further fund proven investments that best serve all MSU Denver students.

The University is in a position to hold tuition flat thanks to an anticipated increased investment from the state, an additional $8.5 million in funding that represents a 13.4% increase for fiscal 2021-22 over funding received prior to the pandemic in FY 2019-20. This was made possible by MSU Denver’s advocacy for equitable funding for first-generation, underrepresented minority and Pell Grant-eligible students.

George Middlemist, Ph.D., associate vice president for Administration/CFO, noted that by closing the tuition window and holding tuition flat, MSU Denver will remain the most affordable four-year institution on the Front Range.

The Phase I budget allocation includes $6.5 million for unfunded base expenses and mandatory cost adjustments, while the Phase II budget timeline continues until the September board meeting. Phase II includes a subcommittee working on recommendations for anticipated one-time federal funding from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund.

Christine Márquez-Hudson, vice president of University Advancement, also presented a fundraising campaign timeline to the finance committee and requested a regular Advancement update for future committee meetings. Advancement is developing a five-year campaign focusing on areas that affect social mobility and is working on cases for support and marketing collateral.

The next meeting of the board is June 3-4, and recordings of past board meetings are available online.