Metro State is on the cusp of doing something state lawmakers wouldn’t do: setting a reasonable tuition rate for illegal immigrant students.
The right move? We think so. Fair to taxpayers? Yes. Controversial? You bet.
If the board of trustees at Metropolitan State College of Denver (its university moniker takes effect July 1) on Thursday approves a recommendation to set a special tuition rate for Colorado high school graduates without legal status, you can expect furious criticism.
Regardless, we think the trustees should OK the idea. It would offer hope to a relatively small group of students who have almost no other way of getting a college education.
The proposal mirrors the ASSET bill, which failed in the state legislature. However, the Metro proposal is even more conservative when it comes to ensuring Colorado taxpayers would not financially support the education of illegal immigrants.
The ASSET bill would have set a rate comprised of in-state tuition plus the amount the student otherwise would have received through the state College Opportunity Fund. The Metro proposal goes further, asking students to make up for another type of state funding and to contribute toward the taxpayer-funded buildings on campus.
The idea is to guard against accusations that Metro is violating state law prohibiting illegal immigrants from getting state benefits. (K-12 education is a major exemption to that prohibition, one that was carved out by federal courts.)
If Metro approves the new rate, illegal immigrant students who attended Colorado high schools for three years would be charged a tuition of $6,716 annually for 12 credit hours. In-state students would pay $4,304. Out-of-state tuition, which these students would otherwise have to pay, is $15,985 — out of reach for many since they get no government-funded financial aid. The rates would take effect this fall.
About 500 students statewide could benefit from the new rate in the first year, and Metro officials expect as many as 250 might enroll.
We would have preferred that state lawmakers passed ASSET, and have hopes they will do so next year. And Congress should pass the DREAM Act, which offers a conditional path to citizenship after two years in college or the military.
In the meantime, we support Metro’s move. We also wouldn’t be surprised to see other Colorado public colleges and universities follow suit.
This is a unique group of students, largely educated in Colorado’s K-12 schools, most of them brought here as young children. These kids are motivated achievers. And they are poised to become contributing members of society should immigration reform pass. Extending them an affordable tuition rate is a compassionate way of offering them a helping hand on that journey.
