The opportunity to grow means different things to different campuses. The funds have helped Fort Lewis College near Durango and Colorado State University in Fort Collins recover from natural disasters and keep their plans for campus improvements intact. Community colleges and urban campuses, which have relied significantly on expensive leased classroom space in the past, have asked for money to buy space for growing campuses such as Front Range Community College in Longmont. While some such dreams have been paid for, the boom cannot meet all needs. He will seek private and corporate money in addition to state dollars.
Legislators encourage that pursuit.
I don't think the state is going to have the money to meet all the needs. Proposals to build new buildings on campus are among the most scrutinized requests for state money. The Legislature has a standing committee on capital construction that studies building proposals. The Colorado Commission on Higher Education requires colleges to maintain both campus and program master plans to ensure that building needs are appropriate to academic or research program needs. Perhaps most important is the question of targeting capital money to control growth, said Sandy Bracken, a commissioner on the Colorado Commission for Higher Education.