Colorado lawmakers cut $14.1 million from private university and college student support

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Colorado lawmakers are pausing $14.1 million in state funding that flows to private colleges and universities through grants, work study, and graduate student aid, affecting about 2,000 students.

The cut is one of many lawmakers made this year to pare back about $1.2 billion from the state’s budget, which faces increasing Medicaid costs and other pressures. While lawmakers aimed to preserve the core of public education funding, they cut some programs like the private college student state aid and an extended high school program for aspiring teachers.

Rep. Rick Taggart, a Grand Junction Republican who sits on the powerful Joint Budget Committee, said the cut to private university and college student aid was one of many difficult decisions lawmakers needed to make to balance the budget. The JBC redirected the money to help fund public universities and colleges.

He added that students who choose a private university still have the ability to access the Colorado Opportunity Fund, which provides a stipend to eligible Colorado undergraduate students to attend public and private colleges.

“It’s not as if the state is leaving our students that have made the decision to go to a private school high and dry,” he said.

However, Colorado private university and college officials worry the one-time cut, which will take effect in the 2027-28 year, will cause students to rethink their decision to attend school this fall. They also fear additional actions by lawmakers last week will open up the possibility of permanent cuts in future years.

Nine Colorado private colleges and universities will be affected. Regis University, a Denver private Jesuit Catholic university, expects the largest cuts with 587 students losing about $5.5 million in state aid.

Kristine Bureau, the school’s vice president of admissions, financial aid, athletics, and university marketing, said in a statement that these are Colorado students whose families are taxpayers in the state. Lower-income students and those who are the first in their family to go to college will be the most affected, Regis officials said.

“Denying them access to aid that their own tax dollars support, aid that every other Colorado student retains, is a policy that punishes students for choosing private higher education,” she said. “Colorado’s workforce and communities will feel that loss.”

Lawmakers also amended a bill last week to revamp the state’s higher education funding formula to reflect the cut made in the 2027-28 budget, a move that Bureau said provides “a gateway for the state to make this permanent.”

Taggart said he understands Regis’ concerns that this could become a permanent cut and cannot guarantee that lawmakers next year will decide to keep the funding in the budget. Lawmakers expect more budget challenges next year.

“We deliberately, as a JBC, did it for one year to enable us to look at our budget for next year and see where we stand,” he said.

Numbers compiled by Regis officials show about 500 University of Denver students will lose about $3.2 million in aid. Another 464 students at Colorado Christian University will lose about $3.5 million in grants, work study, and graduate student aid.

In a statement, University of Denver spokesperson Jason Gruenauer said the cut negatively affects students’ ability to attend the college of their choice.

Regis University officials said they don’t plan any cuts to services, but they will evaluate how to fill the gap in student funding. Private university endowments might be able to cover student aid for students in the short term, officials said. But that’s not a guarantee.

Jason Gonzales is a reporter covering higher education and the Colorado legislature. Chalkbeat Colorado partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage. Contact Jason at jgonzales@chalkbeat.org.