{"id":91700,"date":"2019-11-13T00:25:46","date_gmt":"2019-11-13T00:25:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/gov-jared-polis-targets-soaring-costs-of-higher-education\/"},"modified":"2019-11-13T00:25:46","modified_gmt":"2019-11-13T00:25:46","slug":"gov-jared-polis-targets-soaring-costs-of-higher-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/gov-jared-polis-targets-soaring-costs-of-higher-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Gov. Jared Polis targets soaring costs of higher education"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Gov.
Gov. Jared Polis rolled out a plan Tuesday to lower the cost of college in Colorado. Thousands of college graduates in the state are burdened with student loan debt.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald photo illustration<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis rolled out a plan Tuesday to combat the high cost of college tuition across the state, and in doing so, highlighted Fort Lewis College\u2019s work to help students financially.<\/p>\n

Cost-saving steps in the new Roadmap to Containing College Costs and Making College Affordable<\/a> should allow colleges to pass on savings to students, Polis said.<\/p>\n

\u201cCosts have spiraled out of control. \u2026 Students and families are concerned across our state and want reassurance they are getting value for their investment in higher education,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The proposals released by Polis and the Colorado Department of Higher Education are also aimed at encouraging students to finish their degrees, so they do not leave school without a degree and burdened with debt, Polis said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t serve anybody when you are not able to get across the finish line,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The debt students have taken on while earning a degree has risen substantially in recent years.<\/p>\n

A January report by New Era Colorado found 733,700 Coloradans have $26.4 billion in outstanding student debt.<\/p>\n

The proportion of the cost of higher education degrees paid for by the state has also dropped dramatically, according to a report released this year by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In fiscal year 2000-01, the state paid 68% of students\u2019 cost for college. By 2016, state funding covered only one-third of the cost, the commission found.<\/p>\n

FLC is the most affordable four-year institution in Colorado, but it also has increased tuition in recent years.<\/p>\n

The most recent tuition increase was in 2018, when FLC tuition and fees increased 5% up to $9,041. The governor\u2019s plan to reduce higher education costs features short-term steps, such as increasing opportunities for high school students to earn college credit, increasing access to federal aid and creating a dashboard that will provide financial information to help students select colleges.<\/p>\n

The state also plans to promote the use of open-access educational materials among colleges to cut the cost of textbooks. Students can spend between $900 to $1,800 for textbooks a year, according to the plan.<\/p>\n

More ambitious steps in the plan include restructuring degree programs to give students credit for prior work experiences.<\/p>\n

The plan also encourages colleges to look at how to bring down the cost of health care for employees and to transition to renewable energy to bring electricity costs down.<\/p>\n

In the long term, the plan aims to pursue innovation that fosters new delivery models for education and strengthens partnerships with industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cTruly, institutions of higher education are key drivers of our growth by making sure that we have the workforce that we need to power the private sector,\u201d Polis said.<\/p>\n

FLC President Tom Stritikus spoke during the governor\u2019s announcement, outlining how the school has worked to help reduce costs.<\/p>\n

\"Fort
Fort Lewis College President Tom Stritikus speaks Tuesday during Gov. Jared Polis\u2019 rollout of a plan to reduce college costs.<\/span>Courtesy of the Colorado Department of Higher Education<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

FLC has reduced administrative overhead costs, including eliminating two of its five vice president positions in the last 18 months, he said.<\/p>\n

The school also rolled out two grant programs to help students financially. The FLC Tuition Promise<\/a> ensures that students from families earning $60,000 a year or less can go to school tuition-free next fall.<\/p>\n

The Skyhawk Emergency Grant<\/a> fund provides gifts of $200 to $800 to students to help with personal expenses, such as housing and car repairs, to help them stay in school.<\/p>\n

Stritikus committed to continuing to make education affordable for students.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look forward to the future of innovation and how we do this work well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

mshinn@ durangoherald.com <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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