CO Higher Ed Commission Seeks Input on Funding Formula

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a restorative holiday season.

???As we approach a political transition at the national level – and in many state and local communities – I am committed to bringing updates and analysis that spans policy perspectives and issue areas. I will continue to keep an eye on Colorado, particularly when national conversations and federal policy have a bearing on what is happening in the Centennial State. I hope you will offer input and feedback on topics – and perspectives – that you find valuable in your work. You can always write to me directly,?here?or simply hit ‘reply’ to any week’s?Boundless Potential?newsletter.

???In keeping with the above promise: if you are curious to learn more about the possible policy agenda of the new Trump administration, a review of the?work?from the?America First Policy Institute?offers a few hints of the forthcoming direction Secretary of Education designee Linda McMahon may take. The full America First higher education agenda can be found?here, and a few of the policy ideas in the postsecondary and?workforce?policy realm are closely aligned to many of the policy reforms we have seen in Colorado in recent years. Most notably:

• how can grant aid (in this case, federal Pell Grants) be expanded to cover workforce training programs;
• how can the federal government clarify and perhaps expand flexibility with credit hours to better support competency-based education;
• can we create better pathways to apprenticeship; and
• identifying new alignments and efficiencies across agencies to better align education and workforce initiatives.

As President Trump announces additional agency leaders across the Departments of Education and Labor, I will share those updates each week.

Related:?in case you missed it, before the holiday break, Congress did deliver two “gifts” for higher education including new FAFSA deadlines and hazing policy reform. President Biden signed the?FAFSA Deadline Act?on December 11 and the?Stop Campus Hazing Act?on Christmas Eve. Read more about both pieces of legislation?here.

???Taking a look a little closer to home, it was great to read about?Colorado Mountain College?this week in Paul Fain ’s?The Job newsletter. As a dual mission institution, CMC offers academic programs – with stackable credentials – that connect learners directly to?local?jobs in Colorado’s rural, resort mountain communities. Read more?here?and subscribe to?The Job?here.

???As the Colorado General Assembly reconvenes and state policy leaders begin to work on legislation for the year ahead, the?Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE)?is also busy gathering input from stakeholders on the funding formula for higher education. Input is being collected through January 17 and those with interest in sharing a perspective on the state’s formula can respond to the CCHE survey?here.

???A final note: the?Jobs for the Future (JFF) Horizons?team is seeking ten ambassadors for the 2025 Horizons Summit. Ambassadors are between 16-26 and represent the voice of learners and early career talent in the Horizons experience. For more information and the application (the deadline is February 7!), connect?here.

All my best for a great week ahead,

Alison

Spotlight on Colorado Education and Workforce

???Talent Pipeline Report: On January 15, the?Colorado Workforce Development Council (CWDC)?alongside state agency partners in education and labor will release the 2024 Talent Pipeline Report. The annual report highlights issues that influence the supply and demand for talent across key industries in Colorado, and offers insights and recommendations for workforce and economic development, education and training business, and program and policy leaders.

CWDC will host a hybrid launch event from 10:30am until 12pm MT and will feature a panel with state agency leaders. Register for the event?here.

??Opportunity Now Round 3: This week, state leaders opened the third phase of Opportunity Now Colorado. In Phase 3, the?Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT)?will award up to seven $1 million grants to industry, employers, intermediaries, educational institutions, and workforce innovators who are working to scale proven models or approaches to addressing Colorado’s talent gaps. Specifically, three $1 million grants will support programs operating in the infrastructure, health care, education and/or early childhood sectors and four $1 million grants will support programs operating in the behavioral health sector.?

All Phase 3 grantees must be able to realize outcomes – meaning placing individuals into jobs – by the end of the grant period in June and/or October 2026, depending on the scope of the project. For more details, and application materials, visit the Opportunity Now website?here.

What We’re Reading (and Listening To…)

K-12 Education

• BoardHawk Podcast: Our friends at?BoardHawk?– Alan Gottlieb and Alexis Menocal Harrigan – have released a new podcast. The BoardHawk team keeps a sharp eye on Denver Public Schools and its board of education. You can subscribe and listen?here.

Postsecondary Education

• Return on Investment: In her latest piece, CSU Global President, Becky Takeda-Tinker, Ph.D. ?argues?students need to know what they can expect to earn as they complete a higher education credential. Regardless of how students learn, she argues that all postsecondary education providers should re-evaluate course and program offerings to ensure a positive return on investment (ROI) upon program completion. Her assertion is not much different from that of Preston Cooper , who in the fall of 2021 published ROI figures for over 30,000 bachelor’s degrees and made the data publicly available. Look up your favorite program?here.?

Future of Work

• Skills Based Hiring:?Americans without college degrees represent roughly two-thirds of the country’s population over the age of 25. Brookings’?Annelies Goger explains?how skills-based hiring practices can go beyond eliminating degree requirements to create more job opportunities.
• English Language Access:?The Migration Policy Institute (MPI), in partnership with the Colorado Office of New Americans (ONA) and with support from The Colorado Trust, released a first-of-its-kind report assessing the state of language access across Colorado state agency programs and services. The?report?highlights over 300,000 Coloradans' primary language is not English and further illuminates the state’s efforts to expand language access across state initiatives.

Upcoming Events and Opportunities

• NEW! Education Commission of the States:?What Current Education Policy Trends Can Tell Us About 2025, January 15, 1pm MT (Virtual)
• Josef Korbel School of International Studies:?2024 Denver Democracy Summit, January 23-24, Denver, CO
• NEW! Public Education & Business Coalition:?Elevating Women Who Lead: Dr. Susana Cordova, Colorado Commissioner of Education, January 24, 11:30am-1pm MT, Hybrid-Denver, CO
• South Central Tech Start, FEDC, & Emergent Campus:?Empowering a Rural Tech Renaissance, January 28, 1-2pm MT (Virtual)
• NEW! Colorado Business Roundtable:?State of the State with Governor Polis: Competitiveness, Collaboration, and Growth, January 29, 11am MT, Denver, CO
• Postsecondary National Policy Institute:?2025 Microcredentials Boot Camp, January 30-31, 2025 (Virtual)
• New America:?Class of 2026 Fellows Program, applications due February 3, 2025
• Heterodox Academy:?2025 HxA Conference, June 23-25, 2025, New York City, NY

Colleagues on the Move

• Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon?has been named as the next Chair of Education Commission of the States for 2024-25. He will follow current Chair Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, and will assume the position in July 2025.
• Kenneth Christensen?has been named the new Chancellor of the University of Colorado-Denver. He previously served as Provost, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Chief Academic Officer at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
• Naropa University?in Boulder has opened its search for a new president, anticipating to conduct interviews in early 2025 and aiming for the new president to start in the summer.
• NEW!?Social Science Fellow?with the CO-WY Engine Fellowship Program, Hybrid-Fort Collins, CO
• NEW!?Director of Portfolio Operations & Impact Investing?with Gary Community Ventures, Denver, CO
• NEW!?Director of Research?with the Common Sense Institute, Denver, CO
• NEW!?Director of Community Engagement?with the Common Sense Institute, Denver, CO