University of Colorado officials tried to e-mail a controversial tuition-increase proposal to state officials days before presenting it publicly, contradicting statements that the information was withheld until the last minute.
But e-mails between state and CU officials also buttress claims by Gov. Bill Owens that he would oppose any increase above 12 percent for in-state undergraduates, undermining CU officials’ contention that they assumed they could do what they wanted with their tuition spending authority.
Charges and countercharges have flown between CU and Owens since regents in June approved a 28-percent tuition increase for most in- state undergraduates. The e-mails, obtained under state open-records laws, clear up some disputes.
But the correspondence also highlights the poisoned atmosphere between CU and Owens, said David Longanecker, executive director of the Boulder-based Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.
“If you’re not found out, people believe the other side is acting untoward or inappropriately,” he said, adding that the disputes might have arisen because of miscommunication.
When CU publicized the tuition proposal June 3, state officials said they had not been shown the proposal until late the previous day. E-mails show CU officials tried to send Rick O’Donnell, executive director of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, drafts of the plan June 1.
Commission spokesman Jason Hopfer said O’Donnell never got the e-mails. Owens’ budget director received the information that day and asked CU to deal with the higher-education panel.
CU spokeswoman Michele McKinney confirms that commission officials called to say they did not receive the information June 1, and it was faxed the following day.
But CU repeatedly communicated with Owens administration officials and believed they supported the plan until June 3, when O’Donnell expressed concerns, she added.
The sides have also disputed whether there was an accord to limit tuition hikes on in-state students. CU officials have maintained that they obtained a $43.5 million increase in tuition authority and were under the impression that it was up to them to determine how tuition was increased to raise that amount.
O’Donnell said the governor wanted to write into the budget that an in-state undergraduate tuition increase should be limited to less than 12 percent but agreed not to do it when several school presidents asked for flexibility for high-cost programs.
An e-mail dated March 15 from O’Donnell to CU president Betsy Hoffman makes the governor’s stance clear.
“Within this spending authority, the Governor will be asking the JBC (the Joint Budget Committee) to footnote that full-time undergraduate resident tuition costs should not exceed a 12% increase,” O’Donnell wrote.
CU spokesman Michael Hesse said that when the legislature did not state that in the footnote, CU officials felt they could decide the distribution of tuition.
The dispute ended last month when CU regents approved a 28- percent increase but agreed to rebate money to some undergraduates, limiting boosts to between 15 percent and 20 percent.
Staff writer Arthur Kane can be reached at 303-820-1626 or at akane@denverpost.com.
