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Aca:SS TO HIGH-QUAUIY. AFFORDABLEEDUCAll0N FORAlL COl.DRADANS

PROGRESS EpORTFEBRUARY 2003

1380 Lawrence Street,Suite 1200. Denver, Colorado 80204. (303) 866-2723TIMOTHY E. FOSTER, XECUTIVEDIRECTOR


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As seen from the data presented above, there is a direct correlation between familyincome and higher education participation and completion. The majority of recent highschool graduates from the top income quartile are more likely to attend an institution ofhigher education and obtain a bachelor's degree by age 24 than not, compared to a similarstudent from the bottom quartile, who has a 35% chance of going on to higher educationand only a 7% chance of obtaining a bachelor's degree by age twenty-four.Furthermore~ national data suggest a strong relationship between educational attainmentlevels and income. People who live in households in the United States with increasingincome levels have higher educational levels and people in households with decreasingincomes have lower educational attainment levels. According to the U.S. Census BureauCurrent Population Survey the average ncome for a high school graduatewas $30~400~while a college graduate earned 72% more at $52~200.

In order to address he current opportunity gap and avoid a potential accesscrisis in thefuture, the Colorado Commission on Higher Education developed the Governor'sOpportunity Scholarshipprogram. The Governor and the Commission,with the support,of the General Assembly and the state's nstitutions of higher education,are addressingthe access ssue by focusing its commitment to low-income families by providingfmancial assistanceo residentswho otherwisewould not be able o attendcollege. Froma policy perspective, the program is designed to change enrollment and graduationpatterns and, at the same time, extend greater economic stability to low-incomeColoradans. State and federal fmancial assistancehas been focused on Coloradoresidents who are least likely to attend college becauseof financial barriers. The

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Governor's Opportunity Scholarships as allowed more than 1,700 Coloradans o attendinstitutions of higher learning since 1999. An important part of the program s to trackthe progress of the scholarship recipients. The purpose of this report is to provideprogress nformation and o suggestways to improve the program n future years.Parameters of the Governor's Oooortunitv Scholarshio Proe:ramRecipientsof the GOS are first-time freshmenwith significant financial need. Accordingto the Free Application for StudentAid (FAFSA), thesestudents ome rom families withincomes of less than $27,800. The recipients attend community colleges, vocationalschools, and various public and private four-year Colorado institutions. Participatinginstitutions actively assistapplicants n completing admissionsand financial aid forms.Studentsare often the flfSt in their families to attendhigher education. Recipients eceiveboth academicand financial assistanceor 2 or 4 years dependingon the type of degreeor certificate program in which the studentenrolls. Institutions also provided academicsupport systems,which include tutoring, study groups, academic counseling, and peermentoring o ensurestudent etention and academicperformance.Financial assistances renewed as long as the student maintains academiceligibility atthe institution, enrolls full-time, and continues o meet the institution's policy regardingsatisfactory academicprogress or hours completed. Each institution offers a self-helpcomponent of work-study and exclude loans from the student's fmancial aid package.The studentsare tracked throughout heir postsecondary areer o determine he effect ofthe GOS and to measure he academicperformanceand retention rates.Financial Aid Received bv GOS StudentsA student may initially qualify for the Governor's Opportunity Scholarship in one of twoways; the family must have an annual income less than $27,800 or an expected familycontribution of zero. In FY 2002, the average family income of a GOS recipient was$19,317, and for those families who met the income criteria, average expected familycontribution was $658. Each recipient receives, at a minimum, a federal Pell Grant, awork-study award, and the Governor's Opportunity Scholarship. Institutions are highlyencouraged and expected to offer an institutional award as well. In FY 2002, in terms offinancial aid received by a GOS recipient, the average Pen grant received was $2,911, theaverage work-study award was $822, and the average GOS was $5,665. Institutions, onaverage, awarded $899 in institutional aid. For FY 2002, the total average amount offmancial aid received by a GOS student was $10,759. It is important to note that the totalaid received is 100% grant aid, scholarship aid, and work-study.

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GOS Student PopulationAs of the Fall 2002 semester,1,710 Coloradans eceived the Governor's OpportunityScholarship. Approximately two-thirds of the GOS studentpopulation s female. This isconsistentamong all four entering classesacross he two-year and four-year institutions.More than three-fifths of all GOS studentsattend a public four-year institution. Nearlyhalf of the GOS students are from an ethnic origin other than white, non-Hispaniccompared o the state's undergraduate tudent population of 74% white, non-Hispanicpopulation. Becauseof the unique qualifications to obtain a Governor's OpportunityScholarship the studentmustbe a first-time, ull-time, degree eeking ndergraduatethe statewide student population used as a comparisongroup to the GOS population isalso first-time, full-time, degreeseekingundergraduates.FY 2001 data s being used forthe comparisongroup, the most recent data available. The table below reports he ethnicbreakdown of the GOS population ~d for the Fall 2001 undergraduate studentpopulation.

Ethnic Breakdown of GOS Population and the Undergraduate Student Population of ColoradoGOS Students Enterine; InFY 2003(Fall 2002) Fall 2001Underl!radEthnic Origin FY 2002Y 2000 FY 2001 58%25%7%5%2%4%

77%90/03%3%1%7%

57%26%8%6%2%2%

46%3~/o7%4%3%1%

56%26%8%7%2%1%I Asian/PacificIslanderIAmerican Indian, Unknown/NotRe"~dTotal Number ofStudents 23,45541 47119 374% Non-White, Non-Hisnanic 23%3% 42%4% 44%Source:The Colorado Commission on Higher Education SURDS reports

About 44% of the GOS student population totals are classified as minority students(Asian, Black, non-Hispanic, Hispanic and Native American) as a share of thosereporting an ethnic classification. This is compared with a total 23% minorityclassification for the FY 200 resident, undergraduate, Irst-time, full-time, degreeseeking comparison group. Over the fIrst four years of the program, Asian Americanscomprised 6% of the reported total, Black, non-Hispanics 7%, Hispanics - 29% andNative Americans 2%. Thus he GOSstudent opulation, n average, ontains wicethe number of Asian and Native American students,more than twice the number ofBlack, non-Hispanic students,and three times the number of Hispanic students han theoverall studentpopulation.

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Given the current controversy over affinnative action and the current SupremeCourtdeliberations on the two University of Michigan cases, t is important to note that theColorado Commission on Higher Education has chosen o take a different approach othis issue. Instead of focusing on racial and ethnic quotas, Colorado higher educationpolicies are geared oward increasingaccess nd participation for those ndividuals whosefamily income places hem in the lower brackets.Thus, the GOS program has served oenhance college admissions of low-income students and has also served to increaseminority students at higher education institutions, an outcome consistent withCommission policies. By using economic factors as a qualification rather than race orethnic considerations, he GOS studentpopulation is significantly more diverse than theoverall studentpopulation.There s a significant difference n the age of GOS recipientsbetween our-year and two-year institutions. Of the studentsattending four-year institutions, 96% are twenty-fouryears of age or younger compared to 82% at the two-year institutions. The agedifferencesbetween our-year and two-year nstitutions are similar for the first-time, ful1-time degree-seeking undergraduate student population as compared to the GOSpopulation. Approximately 80% of studentsat the public two-year institutions are agetwenty-four or younger and 99% at the four-year institutions. Only 2% of the GOSstudentpopulation attending a four-year institution is twenty-five years of age or older,whereas13% of the two-year GOS population s at least wenty-five yearsold.Academic Preuaration of the GOS StudentsThe data summarizing he academicpreparationof the GOS students s reported for thefour-year institutions only. In addition, the averagehigh school grade point average,averageACT compositescore,and CCHE admission's ndex is not reported or all GOSstudents attending a public four-year institution. Of the data reported, the academicpreparation of the GOS recipients has changedsubstantially over the four years of theprogram. As an example, he averagehigh school GPA rose from 2.6 for the FY 2000class to 3.5 for the class entering Fall 2002. In addition, the averageACT Compositescore umped significantly from 19.9 o 21.9 for the respectiveyears. In FY 2000, only41% of the GOS recipients met the inStitutions minimum admission's index. It isimportant to note that GOS students admitted in FY 2000 who did not meet aninstitution's admissions ndex were not included in the institution's window calculation.Of the GOS recipients entering in FY 2001, 90% met the minimum index, 85% forFY 2002 and 89% in Fall 2002. The table below summarizeshe academicpreparationofthe entering GOS recipients rom only the four-year public institutions.

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Academic Preparation of GOS Population and the Undergraduate Student Population of ColoradoGO~_tudents Enterin2 InFY 2003(Fall 2002)

Fall 2001Underllrt!4Academic Preparation FY 2002Y 2000 FY 2001

3.48-(N -174) 3.32(N=1 7.193)Average HS GPA 2.62(N=173) 3.39(N =181) 3.32(N=246)21.3(N 229) 21.9(N -lJ~ 22.7~~4.00j)19.9(N - 33) 21.6~~I Average ACT Composite 89.1%(N =183) 79.6%(N=17.449)% Meeting Institution'sMinimum Index 40.8%~~~9) 90.1%(N = 181) 84.6%~=~Source:The Colorado Commission on Higher Education SURDS reportsGOS Student Proe:ressAcademic progress and retention rates are important indicators in measuring studentsuccess. GOS studentsare required o maintain full-time status. Full-time is defined as12 credit hours per semester. The table below presents cumulative credit hourscompleted hrough he Fall 2002 semester. At the end of the Fall 2002 term, eachcohortexceeded he minimum requirement of full-time emollment. As an example, thoseentering n Fall 1999, cohort 1, at the end of the Fall 2002 term, completed,on average,84 credit hours at the four-year institutions and 67 at the two-year institutions. Afterseven semesters,a recipient is expected o complete 84 credit hours at the four-yearinstitutions. Cohort 4, entering n Fall 2002, is expected o complete 12 credit hours.The recipients at both the two-year and four-year institutions, on average,significantlyexceeded he minimum, averaging 14.6 and 17.5 credit hours respectively. Comparingthis cohort to the undergraduatestudent population, the GOS students, on average,accumulatedmore credit hours than the total population. In addition to credit hourscompleted, academicprogress s also measuredby grade point average. GOS studentsmust maintain satisfactory academicprogress o remain eligible to receive the award.The table below reflects cumulative gradepoint averages n a 0 to 4.0 scale hrough theFall 2002 semester. At the two-year institutions all GOS cohorts, on average, areperforming at least as well as the undergraduate comparison group (within one-hundredth of a point). For example, cohorts 1,2,3 and 4 have cumulative GPAs of2.75, 2.77, 2.79 and 2.49 respectively as compared to 2.50 for the overall two-yearstudent population. For the four-year institutions, GOS students have earned GPAsof 2.62, 2.98, 2.75 and 2.69 all within one-tenth of the undergraduate studentpopulation GPA of 2.72.

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Retentionratesare a key measureof the program's success.The statewide etention ratesfor all first-time, full-time, degree-seeking reshmen one-year retention rates at theoriginal institution entering Fall 1999 is 73.1% for four-year public institutions and50.7% for two-year institutions. For Fall 2000, he retention ates were 72.6% and 50.1%for four-year and two-year public institutions respectively. The table below reportsretention rates at the original institution for all entering cohorts after one, two, and threeyears after entry. After one year, 65.6% of cohort 1,78.3% for cohort 2, and 77.4% ofcohort 3 were retainedat the original institution in which the studentsenrolled. Retentionrates for cohort I at the four-year nstitutions are slightly lower than its QIS comparisongroup. However, cohort 2 exceeds ts QIS comparison group by one percentagepoint. Looking at the two-year institutions, cohort 1 exceeds ts QIS comparisongroup by seventeen percentage points and cohort 2 again exceeds its QIScounterpart by thirteen percentage points. Overall, GOS students are performingat or above their peers.

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Retention Rates of GOS Students at Entering Colorado Public InstitutionsGOS CohortEntering inSummer/FaIl

EnrolledOne-YearAfter EntryEnrolledTwo-YearsAfter Entry

EnrolledThree-YearsMter EntryEnterin2 Fall 1999Four-Year Public 65.6%67.3% 49.4%37.4%

-40.6%12.1%wo-Year PublicEnterin~ Fall 2000Four-Year Public 78.3%632% 63.00/034.6%wo-Year PublicI Ent~rin~ Fall 2001Four-Year Public 77.4%.

63.5%wo-Year PublicSource:The Colorado Commission on Higher Education, SURDS Enrollment Files

ConclusionData show the long-tenD benefits of acquiring a bachelor's degree are great. Theknowledge-based conomy,which sets he United Statesapart from the rest of the world,has made a college educationmore impo~t than ever. Nearly 60 percentof jobs todayrequire at least some college. This will only increase n the future. The baccalaureatedegree s becoming the equivalent of a high school diploma in the old economy. Yet,students rom low-income families do not pursue a postsecondary ducation. The mostsignificant barrier to entry into higher education for these students s financial: theysimply are not able to pay for college. Low-income families also do not view studentloans as a way of overcoming hat barrier. On the other hand, they do view grants andscholarshipsas ncentivesbut fmd limited resources t both the federal and state evels.Students rom low-income families also face cultural issuesas first generationattendeesat institutions of higher learning. An important goal of the GOS program is to provideassistanceor students o not only enroll in an institution of higher educationbut also toprovide counselingso that thesestudents omplete heir program.In order to narrow the gaps in postsecondaryparticipation, persistence and degreecompletion, the Commission, n its master plan, has made student accessan importantgoal. The state's financial aid systemshould ensure,at a minimum, that the decision oflow-income students to attend an institution of higher education should not beconstrained solely by unmet need. In order to achieve this, the Commission hasrefocused inancial aid, in particular, need-based rants, oward those studentswho mightnot otherwise go to college without the assistance. The Governor's OpportunityScholarship epresentsan effort by the Governor, the Colorado Commission on HigherEducation,and the GeneralAssembly o change he postsecondary mollment patternsoflow-income students.

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The Commission will continue to monitor this program and encourage nstitutions tosupport hesegoals. The Commissionwill partnerwith Colorado high schools,non-profitoutreach organizations, and the institutions to search out and encourage ow-incomestudents o emoll and complete postsecondary ducation. In addition, they will workwith institutions to assure hat eachGOS studentsucceeds.

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Colorado Commissionon Higher Education CCHE)January 10, 2003 Agenda tem VI, APage 1 of 2R~rt

TOPIC: QUALITY INDICATOR SYSTEM REPORT FOR FY 2001-02PREPAREDBY: RA Y KIE FI'I. SUMMARY

The results from the annual administration of the Quality Indicator System (QIS) is requiredby statute (CRS 23-13-105 (5) (a to be reported to the Governor, Joint Budget Committee,Senate and House Education Committees, and the governing boards. The results of the FY2001-02 3li~stration ofQIS are included in the attached report (Attachment A).The governingboards, n turn, are equiredby statute CRS 23-13-105 6 to respond o theQIS Report. In their responses,he governingboardsare asked o provide a description ofstrategiesand/orprograms hey ntend to undertake o address ny areasof substandard rdeclining perfonnanceas ndicatedby QIS.


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Colorado Commissionon Higher Education CCHE)January 10,2003 Agenda tem VI, APage2 of 2ReQort

Appendix A

STATUTORY AUTHORITYC.R.S. 23-13-105 5) (a) On or before December1,1998 and on or beforeDecember1 of eachyearthereafter, he commissionshaltprovide to the persons pecified n section23-1-105(3.7) a), to theeducationcommitteesof the houseof representatives nd he senate, nd o eachgoverningboard areport of the datacollected hrough he quality ndicatorsystem ndicating he overall performance fthe statewidesystemof higher educationand eachgoverningboard's and nstitution's performancein achieving he statewideexpectations nd goals.C.R.S. 23-13-105 (5)(b) It is the general assembly's ntent that the governing boards and theinstitutions shall respondappropriately o the nfonnationprovided n the quality ndicator eport andtake such corrective actions as may be necessaryo improve the quality of educationprovided byeach nstitution.C.R.S. 23-13-105 (6) On or before January30, 1999, and on or before January 30 of each yearthereafter, he commissionand he governingboardsshall report o the educationcommitteesof thehouse of representativesand the senateand to the joint budget committee on the infonnationreceived rom the quality indicator systemand he actionsbeing akenor plannedby the governingboards n response o the information.

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