During its regular monthly meeting the Board of Trustees received an update on the financial outlook for Metro State and higher education.

"We're in reasonably good shape," said Mike Barnett, vice president of administration and finance. However, he cautioned that there is little cushion remaining in the budget.

One reason is that enrollment increases seem to have tapered. The budget projected a 5 percent increase in enrollment this spring over a year ago, and the increase is actually 1.5 percent, resulting in a $625,000 decrease in operating revenue. Interim President Ray Kieft called the smaller enrollment increase "reflects an improving economy."

Barnett said the enrollment change won't cause a significant dent to the budget. "We budget fairly conservatively and try to be prepared for things like fluctuations in enrollment," Barnett said.

This spring marked the first time that registration was conducted completely online, saving the college $140,000 in printing and mailing costs.

Preliminary signals coming from the state legislature indicate that more cuts are anticipated for higher education. "Future cuts may be coming depending upon strategies initiated by the state to repay cash funds borrowed during previous years to balance the budget," Barnett said.

In response, Kieft has announced a hiring freeze for all non-faculty positions until further notice.

"The picture's not rosy," Jake Zambrano, director of governmental affairs for the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, told the Board. Because of the TABOR Amendment and other restrictions on state spending, higher education and Medicaid are among the few areas in which lawmakers can balance the budget.

Expected legislation that would create a new funding mechanism for higher education would remove higher education from TABOR restrictions. Under the College Opportunity Fund, higher education institutions would no longer receive general fund appropriations. Instead, in-state students would be granted a voucher to be used at any higher education institution in Colorado. If the legislation passes, the state's public colleges and universities would become enterprise institutions and become exempt from TABOR restrictions.