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June 11, 2012
Metropolitan State University of Denver
Trustees approve planned tuition increase
At the June 7 Metro State Board of Trustees meeting, trustees approved proposed FY 2012-13 Student Charges, effectively raising the institution’s in-state resident tuition 13 percent to $2,152.20 per semester for 12-18 credit hours, up from $1,904.40 last year.
The move was part of Metro State’s five-year Financial Accountability Plan (
132 KB) (FAP) that was accepted by the Board of Trustees and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education in October 2010. The Financial Accountability Plan calls for additional, suggested tuition increases of 9 percent in the next three academic years.
“No one wants to raise tuition, but this was a planned increase that’s completely consistent with the rates outlined in the FAP two years ago,” says Metro State President Stephen Jordan. “Our tuition structure for the coming academic year has everything to do with being fiscally responsible and providing better services for students and nothing to do with changing the name to Metropolitan State University of Denver.”
The costs associated with changing Metro State’s new name will be covered by Indirect Cost Recovery Funds, reimbursements for facilities and administrative costs related to sponsored research and programs, not student tuition or state-appropriated funds.
Natalie Lutes, vice president of administration, finance and facilities, explains that Metro State considered enrollment projections, expected state appropriations and investments in the First Year Success Program, full-time faculty, scholarships and grants and student support services, when developing the FAP.
In addition to providing a measure of financial certainty for Metro State, the plan also contains intentional financial buffers for the institution’s large low- and middle-income student population. “The additional revenue provided by the tuition increase,” Lutes says, “supports need-based financial aid that equates to or exceeds the amount of the increase.”
The change in tuition does not alter Metro State’s status as the lowest-cost university among the state’s five largest institutions.
