Office of the Chancellor > State of the Campus Address 2004

State of the Campus Address
September 28, 2004

QUALITY FOR COLORADO

Despite this, CU-Boulder has accomplished much in a very challenging environment over the years. We have maintained the quality of our faculty, students and staff. We are making important gains in diversity enrollment and attracting well-qualified Colorado students. We can proudly point to our Nobel Prize laureates, MacArthur "genius grant" fellows, and our many notable research and teaching awards, in addition to record gains in sponsored research awards.

These achievements are evidence of our ability to successfully compete on a national and international level, with limited state resources and very low tuition for Colorado residents. Imagine what we could do for Colorado and our young people with adequate resources! But the real question for us is whether our success and quality are sustainable under the current funding model.

In recent years, through a strategic planning process, we have identified the resources needed for excellence and defined the investments needed to enhance quality for our students and the state. That plan is called "Quality for Colorado."

In 2003, we were granted a special tuition increase to invest in improved quality under the Quality for Colorado initiative. Resulting revenues for that first year totaled about 5.7 million dollars. Those new funds are making a difference, from innovative learning opportunities to increased financial aid and faculty recruitment initiatives.

The plan also called for stabilizing enrollment growth and improving the academic preparation of entering undergraduates. We followed through on both of these commitments. The entering freshman class was reduced in size and the new students’ credentials have never been better. We remain committed to raising the standards for admission to CU-Boulder.

As you may know, the Colorado Commission on Higher Education chose not to approve the second year of the Quality for Colorado tuition increase. And while enterprise means that our tuition is not subject to TABOR limitations, enterprise status must yet be defined — so that we can operate effectively in a highly competitive environment with the necessary increases in revenues.

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