college

Colorado should help districts create a culture in the schools in which all students believe they can succeed by increasing the number of counselors, ensuring the student-to-counselor ratios are lowest in the schools that serve the most low-income kids, and encouraging greater use of and coordination with pre-collegiate programs throughout the state.

We must encourage the development and expansion of dual enrollment and other innovative programs throughout the state. If the state Department of Education and Department of Higher Education and their governing boards cannot agree on how to do this, the legislature should by-pass them and make it happen

Increasing the stipend and holding down tuition should be a top priority. We should increase the stipend to at least $3,000 per full-time student in 2007, and higher if possible. And we should make sure COF stipends keep pace with inflation after that. Colorado should also double need-based financial aid and work-study opportunities.

A presentation on the low level of public funding state colleges receive in Colorado as a result of the restrictive TABOR amendment.

A Boulder Daily Camera commentary summarizing the Bell Policy Center's Education White Papers, which explore the education pipeline, who gets into college, who finishes college, who educates low-income and minority students, and who defaults on student loans.

A Point & Counterpoint in the Rocky Mountain News analyzing the Bell Policy Center's Education White Papers, which look at college accessibility and affordability.

A Boulder Daily Camera commentary comparing America's rate of graduating college students to that of other countries, exploring the demographics of college graduates and projecting future needs for highly educated workers in the global economy.

After more than a decade of declining state investment, Colorado???s system of public higher education and adult training is nearing the breaking point. The implications are severe for our families, our businesses, our communities and our future. How did this happen? What is at stake for Coloradans and their communities? And what can be done about it? This booklet offers straightforward answers to these questions.

In Alamosa and Huerfano counties, for a family of four (two adults, one preschooler and one school-age child) to be completely self sufficient, their income must exceed the median earnings of a worker with an associate degree.

Mesa State College makes life better in Western Colorado. The college offers more than 100 degree and certificate programs to residents of Grand Junction and neighboring communities. Nine out of 10 Mesa State graduates are Colorado residents, and eight out of 10 live and work in Colorado after graduation.