Every Coloradan deserves an affordable path into the workforce; Together we can make it happen. When this occurs, there are several beneficiaries.
Denver, CO
80202
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As noted by the General Assembly in the 2014 Session, most of the jobs in Colorado will require some form of postsecondary credential by 2020. Workforce requirements demand that more Coloradans will need to attend institutions of higher education, increasing their employment rate, salaries, and career prospects. Increasing levels of student debt, however, could have the effect of discouraging some students, particularly those from lower income households, from attending a postsecondary institution. While institutional aid provides a significant source of funding for students, student debt levels remain high. Average cumulative loan debt at graduation from public four-year institutions ranged from $15,000 to $31,000, and the average debt for baccalaureates was over $25,000 in 2013. At Colorado public four-year institutions, the average student loan debt for a Baccalaureate Degree has increased from $20,000 in 2008 to over $25,000, a 26.3 percent increase in five years. In 2013, the average student debt ranges from approximately $22,000 at Fort Lewis College to $29,000 at CU Denver. In 2014, the General Assembly passed the bi-partisan H.B. 14-1384, creating the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative and providing for a corpus of funding with which to award tuition assistance and support for students. This program ultimately seeks to assist as many high performing students as possible with significant enough financial assistance to motivate their successful completion of a post-secondary degree. This legislation contained state start-up funds of $34.6 million for FY 2014-15, including $1.0 million General Fund and $33.6 million of one-time cash funds and is expected to generate private funding that can be matched with state funds to promote opportunities for Colorado students. The goal of H.B. 14-1384 and the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative is to launch a public-private commitment to create a scholarship network that is linked to the student success best practices that improve value and promote an increase workforce-ready graduate across Colorado. In this model, General Fund is leveraged as a match and thus used most efficiently, going further to serve more students in need. The match will encourage and incentivize private and non-profit donations to the Scholarship. The program is building a strong network of at least 500 program supporters and advocates who can spread the word about the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative. Community awareness will focus on key communities, including rural and first generation college students. Outside of a reduction in tuition costs, increasing tuition assistance is the means to reduce student debt. Private tuition assistance helps to eat into the reliance on student debt. Today in Colorado, approximately $25.7M is awarded to incoming freshman by foundations, institutions, and businesses to help them afford post-secondary education. These efforts increase affordability and lower barriers to access. About $6 million of this sum came from private foundations, with the remainder from programs administered by public higher education institutions. The current level of tuition assistance giving is a true asset to Colorado’s education system, but it is giving that that is uncoordinated and often unlinked to the best practices that ensure maximum return on investment. Programs such as the Denver Scholarship Foundation, the Daniels Fund, Colorado GEAR UP, and others have demonstrated that when scholarship awards are paired with student success services, award dollars go farther. Students make better decisions about their intended post-secondary pathways; they earn their credentials faster; and they place into the workforce with far more intentionality. When this occurs, there are several beneficiaries. Funders benefit because their money goes farther and the result of giving is more tangible. Students benefit because they avoid unnecessary debt burden in relation to their ultimate earning potential. Taxpayers benefit because less money is wasted on remedial services and inefficient expenditures on students who do complete. All of these benefits are linked the Department of Higher Education’s Master Plan and, in effect, transfer its operating principles over to the private foundation sector of the post-secondary economy.
