Cañon City Schools social worker Shantell Lynch considers herself lucky that 15 years after she earned her master’s degree, she has only $35,000 in student loans left to pay off. Some of her colleagues are carrying as much as $100,000 in education debt. Still, it’s a heavy weight for Lynch, 51, who became an educator […]
Colorado Department of Higher Education
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Let’s help college graduates get on their feet so Colorado can retain top talent
A college degree or credential is more important than ever in today’s economy. The majority of jobs in Colorado already require some sort of education beyond high school. The Colorado Department of Higher Education set the goal to ensure 66% of our population has a college degree or credential by 2025, and the state Senate […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
CU chancellor: Colorado needs more funding for college diversity
Every winter under the gold dome of the Colorado Capitol, the state legislature comes together to literally write Colorado’s history. In 2014, with little fanfare, they established a scholarship to help low- and middle-income students — disproportionately students of color, first-generation and underrepresented. Since then, tens of thousands of Coloradans who may not otherwise have […]
Posted inColoradans, Education, News, Politics and Government
Textbook costs can bust college students’ budgets. Colorado professors are turning the page with free resources.
Before Brandon English developed his own learning materials for the organic chemistry classes he teaches at Red Rocks Community College, his students were spending close to $600 for textbooks, in addition to paying tuition and fees. And those costs pushed many of his promising students to drop out. “There’s this huge financial barrier to entry, […]
Posted inColoradans, Education, News, Politics and Government
Republicans put education atop their priority list at the Capitol. We look at 8 of their ideas.
A school safety assessment for each district. A bonus for high-rated teachers. A scholarship for students who graduate high school early. And a tax credit for teachers who buy school supplies for their students. The ideas are part of a package of 24 bills put forward by Republican lawmakers on the opening day of the […]
Posted inColoradans, Education, News
35% of Colorado high schoolers are earning college credit as they study for their diplomas
More Colorado students than ever are graduating from high school with experience taking college courses, with a record number completing degrees and certificates at the same time they’re earning diplomas. About 35% of all public high school juniors and seniors – 45,787 students – were concurrently enrolled in postsecondary courses during the 2017-18 school year, […]
Posted inEducation, News
Colorado wants to steer more students toward college by driving down higher education costs beyond tuition
The rising cost of a college education is a roadblock for many Colorado students, but the state’s higher education leaders are pledging to expand the possibility of getting a college degree using a new “roadmap” focused on affordability. Colorado universities and community colleges are “really the best tool we have to create opportunity for Coloradans, […]
Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government
A new Colorado report tries to show what higher education is worth. The value is clearer for some degrees than others.
The mountain of student debt that many college graduates now face has state policymakers asking a question that was once viewed as a no-brainer: Given the rising cost of tuition, is a college degree still worth the price of admission? The answer, according to the Colorado Department of Higher Education, is yes — with a […]
Posted inEducation, News
Teachers living in campers: How rural Colorado districts are coping with growing teacher shortage
Steve Wilson has spent 35 years in education in rural Colorado, the past 14 as superintendent of the Big Sandy School District that stretches across ranchland in Elbert and El Paso counties. In his second year as superintendent there, four teachers retired, wiping out more than 132 years of experience. Back then, the vacancies posed […]
Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government
Colorado pits big colleges against small campuses in a “zero-sum game.” Gov. Polis wants a truce.
Teacher protests and a push for full-day kindergarten are dominating the education debate in Colorado, but policymakers are quietly working to address the state’s other school crisis: higher education. The problem is significant. Colorado is effectively trying to sustain one of the most educationally demanding economies in the country, while spending the fourth least of […]