This comes as Colorado State University President Tony Frank is asking deans and department heads to consider how they would cut their budgets by 17 percent.

In a lengthy message to the campus community, Frank said asking departments to consider making such massive cuts will help "frame" the overall discussion about Colorado State University's financial health. Frank said he in no way believes CSU will be forced to make such deep cuts.

"Our purpose in asking people to consider this scenario is not to signal in any way that we really think we will be looking at cuts of this magnitude, but because we believe that having asked and answered the question in a planning format will allow us to frame a context for our discussions and choices," Frank wrote.

Colorado's elected officials are cutting the state's budget as tax revenues tank due to the economy. They have used federal stimulus funds to largely protect CSU, but there's a widespread concern on campus that the university will eventually see a significant reduction in taxpayer aid.

CSU has about an $800 million annual budget, and state assistance has dropped from $130 million to $100 million.

Because much of CSU's spending is connected to people - the professors who teach students and the university staff who support them - Frank has warned the university doesn't have a great deal of flexibility in cutting costs.

In his message to campus, Frank said he's asked administrators to consider cutting 6 percent from their budgets in each of the next three years, but exempting salaries, benefits and utility costs.

"I want to try and be very clear on this point: We have a responsibility to plan for all contingencies, but I also understand that the current mix of uncertainty and worst-case scenario planning creates exceptional fuel for the campus rumor mill," Frank said. "I will be doing everything I can to keep you accurately informed about the budget as we learn more."

Frank has previously said making small, planned-for cuts now, especially through attrition, will help keep CSU in the black and permit it to avoid making much larger cuts later.

The talk of further cuts comes as members of the university's governing board continue their discussion of options that could in part set CSU free of the constant ups and downs of the state budget.

One option being discussed would see portions of the university privatized, with tuition raised to whatever the market will bear. Other possible options include capping low-cost admissions and requiring anyone above that cap to pay a much higher rate, or seeking greater autonomy from state lawmakers.

CSU Chief Financial Officer Rich Schweigert told the board last week that legislators don't generally see a connection between the amount of state aid CSU gets and how many students are admitted each year. He said strengthening that connection would help lawmakers understand their cuts have consequences and said one possible solution would be to grant CSU more flexibility to decide how to raise and spend money.

Frank said while state lawmakers give CSU a relatively small percentage of its annual budget, they maintain control of how much tuition is allowed to rise each year. Frank said he'd welcome the flexibility to alter tuition across different colleges within the university, noting that many liberal arts students cost less to educate, and thus their tuition subsidizes students studying more costly subjects, such as chemistry.

This story written by Trevor Hughes, Fort Collins Coloradoan.