December 17, 2024

Aims ponders 6% tuition hike

Aims Community College, Fort Lupton sign
Aims Community College’s Fort Lupton campus. Christopher Wood/BizWest
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GREELEY — Students at Aims Community College may be facing 6% higher tuition and fees in the next school year, but they will remain among the lowest in the state.

Chuck Jensen, vice president for Administrative Services at Aims, presented the proposed increases to the trustees last week. The board will vote on them in February.

In all, the increases are minor. The college has been slowly ramping up tuition since 2021 at the rate of $5, $8 and $12 per year for all students. That is not expected to change for the 2025-26 school year.

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Jensen has proposed similar increases for the upcoming school year, with in-district students paying 6% more at $87 per credit hour, or $2,610 a year for a full load, and out-of-district students paying $138 per credit hour, or $2,610 per year for a full load. Out-of-state students would face the highest increases of $540 a year to total $14,910, or $18 per credit hour. That is a 3.75% increase in tuition.

“This reduces risk within our revenue streams, evenly distributes tuition growth, and provides predictability for students,” Jensen said in an email response to questions. 

In total, the increased tuition rates are expected to raise an extra $745,000 in tuition revenue for fiscal year 2026. Jensen estimated in-district tuition would total $6.2 million; out-of-district tuition would generate $3.95 million; out-of-state tuition would generate $1.3 million; with Early College and concurrent high school enrollments generating $4 million for Aims’ coffers.

Aims’ tuition rates and student fees would remain among the lowest in the state.

Aims can enjoy lower tuition rates due to the amount of property taxes that fund its budget. At present, property taxes represent 62% of the college’s budget, and they are expected to climb to 62.3% for fiscal year 2025 and to 64.5% of the budget in fiscal year 2026.

The Aims Student Government Association approved the proposed tuition increases in November, and are expecting a small windfall of a $2 per credit hour increase in student fees that would generate an additional $200,000 to fund student government and activities at $1.1 million in 2025. At present, students pay $10 per credit hour, up to a max of $150 per semester. That would go up to $12 per credit hour under the proposal, with students paying a maximum of $180 per semester.

Students at Aims Community College may be facing 6% higher tuition and fees in the next school year, but they will remain among the lowest in the state.

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Sharon Dunn is an award-winning journalist covering business, banking, real estate, energy, local government and crime in Northern Colorado since 1994. She began her journalism career in Alaska after graduating Metropolitan State College in Denver in 1992. She found her way back to Colorado, where she worked at the Greeley Tribune for 25 years. She has a master's degree in communications management from the University of Denver. She is married and has one grown daughter — and a beloved English pointer at her side while she writes. When not writing, you may find her enjoying embroidery and crochet projects, watching football, or kayaking and birdwatching on a high-mountain lake.
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