MARCH 6, 2025 | NEWS | By Olivia Link (Staff Writer) and Rachel Weissman (Opinion Editor)
On March 4, Interim President Manya Whitaker sent an email to students and families addressing the Campus Budget Committee (CBC) recommendation for a tuition increase.
With Whitaker’s full support, the CBC recommended the trustees raise tuition to $73,038 for the 2025-26 academic year, and with the comprehensive fee, which includes tuition, room, board and mandatory student fees, bringing the total to $90,230. The total estimated expenses for next year are $94,630, and if a student opts for the student health insurance plan, or is required to sign up due to inadequate coverage, the cost totals $99,045. At Colorado College, all students are required to have health insurance and provide annual proof of coverage.
Tuition was $70,734 for the 2024-25 academic year. The total estimated cost, including health care, was $94,866. This is a four percent total increase. The email prefaces the announcement by highlighting how CC provides an “elevated educational experience” with its small class sizes and the Block Plan, which it admitted “requires considerable resources.”
The increase in tuition is meant to cover rising costs of wages, benefits, operations and facility maintenance.
“It’s just kind of frustrating and stressful to see the tuition rise every year. It’s already one of the most expensive schools in the country. I just feel like it puts more pressure and stress on everyone and nobody is ever really happy about it,” said Caroline Cullinane ‘27.
A controversial aspect of the increase comes from a three and a half percent increase of the student activity fee, which will fund the Esports team.
The cost of housing also increased four percent as standard room rates will now be $9,288. This comes on the heels of recent student frustration with the housing process, especially from rising sophomores who were told to contact the housing department because there were no rooms left. Many students opting for random roommates have also said they have been assigned roommates of a different sex. Furthermore, last month the housing department faced backlash for exempting four rising juniors from housing selection, and allocated them an apartment outside of standard protocol.
The four percent increase to the meal plan, now $7,376, accounts for “rising costs of food and labor in our dining operations, as well as federal financial aid requirements for greater meal capacity in the college’s standard meal plan.”
The CC meal plan has long been put under scrutiny by its students. Individuals with severe dietary restrictions sometimes cannot eat on campus with limited accommodations, and students fasting for Ramadan or other religious holidays have limited dining options before sunup.