CU ǸԹ to participate in Colorado Free Application Day
In a statewide effort to reduce barriers to higher education, all 32 public universities in Colorado – includingCUǸԹ – and several private colleges will waive admissions application fees for state residents on Oct. 15.
For the second year in a row, the Colorado Department of Higher Education is leading,an initiative to inspire more Coloradans to pursue postsecondary education opportunities.During last year’s campaign,Colorado colleges received 23,000 applications,which was12%higher than the sameperiodin 2017.Students of colorsubmitted half of the applicationsand first-generation studentssubmitted a third.
College officialsare encouragingColorado high school students to preparein advancefor free application day to ensure they have the best chance for admission,notingthat colleges will waivethose applicationfees in bulkonly on “free app day.”
The day will cap off, a four-weekstatewide campaign that encourages high school seniors tosubmit an applicationto a higher education program and file theor FAFSA.
ClarkBrigger, executive director of admissions for CU ǸԹ,who has hadmore than a decade of experience leading admissions at major universities,encouragesColoradansto “jumpstart their dreams” by submitting a free applicationfor admission to one more colleges oruniversities.
“Affordability counts among our guiding missions as Colorado’s flagship public research university,”Briggersaid. “We want to open our doors to students who are eager to learn andsucceed in higher education and in life.Feewaivers canlower barriers tocollegeadmissionsandcreate greater access toour academic programs, which are among the finestin the country.”
Over the past six years,CU ǸԹhas introduced a series ofaffordability efforts,includingtheelimination of course and program fees, afour-year lock on tuitionڴǰԳdzԲܲԻܲٱ, automatic scholarshipsfor academically qualified Colorado resident students, scholarships for academically qualified transfer students andgrants for low-income students. Under theCU Promiseprogram, resident students from low-income families receive grants to help pay tuition and an estimated work-study award to help pay for educational expenses.
Colorado hasone of the most educated workforces in the country. However, according to the,only 56%of Colorado high schoolgraduatesenrolled ina postsecondary institutionin Coloradooranother stateduring the fall semesterfollowinghigh schoolgraduation. Of the 2016 high school graduates, 42.9% enrolled at a Colorado college or university and 13% attended college out of state.
To reverse that trend, the state’s higher education officials and campus leaders are calling on Coloradans to apply for college on Free Application Day.ǸԹ 33% of first-year collegestudents in Colorado received a federal Pell Grant in 2016, which tends to imply that a free college application day may encourage students to explore more colleges.
In itsmaster plan, the CDHE set an ambitious goal of reaching 66 percent attainment by 2025 to erase equity gaps within the state’s higher education system.
However, to get there, state higher education officials believe Colorado must significantly increase the number of high school seniors who enroll in college.
Higher education officials said research from the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce shows that by 2020 nearly 75 percent of jobs in Colorado will require some education beyond high school.