$2.5M to Metro from Ref. C Committee approves $180 raise in Metro’s COF stipend funding By Josie Klemaier jklemaie@mscd.edu

Metropolitan File Photo Metro President Stephen Jordan addressed lawmakers in a letter titled “A Message From the President.”

       Colorado’s Joint Budget Committee voted to give $25 million to Colorado institutions of higher education Tuesday, March 21 allowing approximately $2.5 million in supplemental state funding for Metro, if approved by the Colorado House and Senate.
   The JBC also voted unanimously on Thursday, March 23 to raise the College Opportunity Trust Fund, or COF, stipend level for Metro from $2,400 to $2,580 per student.
   “ This is good news for students,” said Capstone member Christine Staberg. “Metro will be able to beef up its programs because of this added funding.”
   Capstone, Metro’s lobbying group, has been working with Metro President Stephen Jordan since July 2005, communicating with legislators about the importance of state funding for Metro. They are currently tracking about 45 bills at the House that have to do with Metro, Staberg said.
   Staberg said without the revenue allowed by Referendum C, higher education in Colorado would be facing some $660 million in cuts.
   The COF funding increase will still have to pass in the House on Thursday, March 30 and in the Senate on Thursday, April 6, said Student Government Assembly President Jack Wylie. It will then go to Governor Bill Owens for final approval.
   “ The JBC is staying true to what the voters asked for (in approving referendum C) by giving a third to education, a third to health care and a third to roads,” Wylie said.
   Recent budget projections are looking higher than anticipated, Wylie said. “But a lot of people are asking for that money. Our biggest opponent right now is roads.”
The $25 million going to Colorado’s colleges is only a third of the $74 million the Colorado Commission for Higher Education asked for.
   According to Jordan’s “A Message From the President,” a handout sent to state legislators explaining why Metro is in need of funding, Metro experienced an 8.25 percent decrease in funding between the academic years of 2000 to 2001 and 2005 to 2006, compared to a 0.68 percent decrease for Colorado State University, the only other four-year college in Colorado to lose funding.
   Other institutions, such as Western and Fort Lewis experienced between 18 and 28 percent increases in funding, along with their increases in tuition. Metro’s tuition and general funding rate for students has dropped since 2000.
   In his message, Jordan explains that Metro’s funding inequities are due to the budget rescission, as well as the advent of the COF. He notes that while Metro was receiving funding through COF based on its low tuition, other institutions received less funding from the COF, but were still able to get funding through “fee-for-service” funding for their higher-cost programs.
   “ Although Metro has higher-cost programs,” he said, “we do not receive any fee-for-service funds.”
   The $180 raise in the COF funding that was approved unanimously by the JBC was another funding victory for Metro. In preceding weeks, there has been much speculation communicated to the SGA by Wylie over whether the increase would be that high, or if it could happen at all.
   The COF is a stipend, available for qualifying undergraduate students who attend Colorado public institutions and participating private institutions, that pays a portion of the students’ total in-state tuition.
   The first time a student registers with Metro, they are asked if they would like to apply for the COF, which requires the student’s name, social security number and birth date. If the student qualifies as an in-state student, they receive an amount off of their tuition based on the number of credit hours they are taking.
   The stipend does not pay for basic skills courses or other specialized courses and caps at 145 credits.
   Before COF, funding was a direct general fund appropriation to the institution. With COF, the student authorizes the College Access Network to make a payment to the institution on behalf of the student, which is then taken away from their COF stipend account.
   The amount of money paid toward the students’ tuition is different for each school, and is determined by the legislature each year, as with this year’s possible increase for Metro.
   Staberg said she is confident that the increase will pass all three steps with little amendment.
Find out more about the COF stipend at https://cof.college-access.net/cofapp