Task force to tackle stipend
by Korene Gallegos
The Metropolitan
A new task force, formed by Metro Interim President Ray Kieft, is taking measures this fall to launch a stipend program.
The stipend program is the implementation of the Colorado’s Higher Education Voucher Bill, which was signed into law by Gov. Bill Owens last May.
Metro Vice President of Administration and Finance Natalie Lutes is assigned to the task force.
“The task force is to get ready to answer basic questions,” Lutes said. “But we have no answers yet.”
Lutes said the purpose of the stipend program task force is to research and study the Higher Education Voucher Bill, which will go into effect in fall of 2005. The Metro task force is one of six task forces put into effect by the Colorado Commission of Higher Education. By mid-fall, the task force will start advertising the program on campus as well as in local high schools. By December 31st the task force will be ready to answer questions.
The main questions will be what the stipend program is and how it will affect students.
“We (the Metro task force) are figuring out what is going on,” Lutes said. “We are in the process of answering those questions ourselves.”
The stipend program is the first of its kind in the entire nation. Money that was given directly to the schools will now be given directly to registered students. Each registered in-state student will receive a voucher valued at $2,400 which can then be used towards any public in-state college or university of their choice. In conjunction, some private colleges and universities will be allowed to accept the voucher.
In addition to Metro administration, student representatives have been asked to voice their opinions.
Stephen Hay, newly elected Student Trustee from the Student Government Assembly (SGA) is assisting the task force.
“The first year impact will be revenue neutral,” Hay said. “Financial impact on the individual student will remain the same in year one.”
Lutes also agrees.
“The major change is in the way people think about State funding,” Lutes said. “Finance will not change much to students.”
The Higher Education Voucher Bill is designed in the hopes of increasing access and opportunities for under-represented low-income students, as well as minority groups in Colorado. In past years, Colorado has ranked low in sending its own high school graduates to college.
The vouchers are an incentive to Colorado high school students to attend in-state colleges, and for in-state colleges to compete for in-state enrollment.
Hay foresees the competition as healthy.
“One of the intentions (of the stipend program) is to design/create competition between schools,” he said.
If an institution is more appealing to students then the number of enrollments are likely to increase and the institution will receive more funding, he also said.
Despite the projected benefits of the stipend program, some legislative critics of the bill predict the program will cause more problems for student funding. With the stipend program, colleges and universities can remove themselves from the restrictions of TABOR (Taxpayers Bill of Rights) which helps legislate tuition hikes and budget cuts.
Without legislation restrictions, schools can file for enterprise status, which will give schools freedom to run more like a business.
Colorado Sen. Sue Windel opposed the bill in a statement last spring.
“It offers absolutely no new money to higher education,” she said. “It only allows higher education institutes to raise tuition, which makes higher education less accessible when it’s more costly.”
The University of Colorado system has taken advantage of the stipend program and has filed for enterprise status. The system has also raised tuition six percent. Under the restrictions of TABOR, the average tuition raise was one percent.
In Windel’s statement last spring, she considered the students as bearing the financial burden.
“I think it’s wrong that we passed a bill that puts the responsibility of replacing funding loss from budget cuts on the back of students,” she said. “When you set up a whole new system, its just more paper pushing.”
Lutes explains there is a difference in approach and financial situation between the University of Colorado system and Metro.
“CU receives less then 10 percent from State funding; they could leave TABOR with or without the bill,” she said. “Metro has a board that is very interested in keeping costs down.”
Hay supports Lutes’ response.
“A while back there was a possible 10 percent rise (in tuition), but the board would not go for it, in the interest of the students,” he said. “(Even) if we raised tuition six percent like CU, it’s because it would maintain the quality of education available at Metro.”
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