Kiowa County Public Library District

The Colorado Department of Higher Education is using this first-in-the-nation, student-friendly, fiscal approach to tackle the state's challenges of low participation and depleting financial resources.

This issue brief provides an overview of the formula and mechanisms for distributing state funds from the General Assembly to public IHEs in Colorado.

Colorado has a reputation for meeting its workforce needs in part by importing a large share of highly educated workers; the state must also ensure that the education and training pipelines within the state are adequately preparing youth and adults for the workforce and are aligned with the needs of the economy. Our conventional talent pipeline--as measured by the number of 9th graders that complete a Colorado public high school degree, directly enter...

Today more than ever, our Colorado economy demands an educated workforce. Estimates suggest that nearly three in four jobs in Colorado and as many as 97 percent of top jobs--in-demand jobs that pay a living wage--require a postsecondary credential, whether a certificate, two-year, or four-year degree. Yet 43 percent of Colorado's adult population currently lacks education beyond high school. The costs of college also continue to rise: Over the last...