84D293A6B09049D987258366006FFC50 Hearing Summary

Sen. Hill invited Dan Baer, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE), came to the table to begin his presentation.  He distributed a copy of his presentation (Attachment A); the department's annual report (Attachment B); and the department's budget requests and legislative agenda (Attachment C). He talked about the department's progress and goals in terms of statewide degree attainment, and provided information and statistics about those in Colorado who do not have a 2-year, 4-year, or vocational degree.

Mr. Baer discussed the department's master plan and goals, known as "Colorado Rises," which was distributed to the committee (Attachment D).  The strategic goals include increasing credential completion and erasing equity gaps.  He talked about high and low demand credentials, teacher shortages, and lower enrollment in teacher preparation programs.  Mr. Baer answered questions from the committee.

Mr. Baer continued to answer questions from the committee.

Mr. Baer spoke about pell-eligible student completions and stated that the percentage of students need remediation has dropped.  He also spoke about increasing enrollment in concurrent and dual enrollment programs and other strategies to improve student success.  He discussed the department's final strategic goal, which is to invest in affordability and innovation.