The act extends to July 1, 2027, certain requirements in existing law related to money appropriated to the Auraria higher education center (AHEC) for operational costs, including a requirement to use the money in accordance with baseline service level agreements entered into by AHEC's constituent institutions.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
In current law, a person who is a member of the Colorado National Guard who is accepted for enrollment at a designated institution of higher education (member) has all their tuition costs waived. All tuition waiver costs are currently funded by the state from money in the Colorado National Guard tuition fund. The act changes the funding mechanism of the Colorado National Guard tuition waiver program by requiring each designated institution of higher education to waive the remaining balance of a member's tuition cost in excess of the amount of any private, state, or federal financial assistance received. The act requires the department of military and veterans affairs to reimburse each institution for 50% of the cost of tuition waived by the institution and requires the general assembly to appropriate money to the Colorado National Guard tuition fund to cover the reimbursement.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
This bill updates how Colorado state colleges and universities receive performance-based funding starting in the 2027-28 fiscal year. It renames "performance funding" to "results-informed funding" and modifies the metrics used to calculate these funds, including graduation rates, student retention, and Pell-eligible student enrollment. The legislation also introduces a new definition for "co-located degree partnerships" and excludes students in these programs from certain graduation rate calculations. Additionally, the bill changes how funding components are ordered and removes requirements for sequential calculation of funding amounts.
The act allows off-campus courses to be included in concurrent enrollment programs when the off-campus courses meet the requirements for concurrent enrollment programs and the requirements of an accrediting agency recognized by the United States department of education. The act provides that additional concurrent enrollment courses shall not be approved after July 1, 2028 unless the general assembly indicates in a footnote in the general appropriations act that the department of education (department) has sufficient funding for course and audit oversight requirements to allow approval of additional concurrent enrollment courses. For the 2026-27 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $66,056 from the general fund to the department and reduces the general fund appropriation for the college opportunity fund program by $80,178 with a corresponding decrease in reappropriated funds for the regents of the university of Colorado.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The bill creates a working group to make findings and recommendations concerning how to implement the college opportunity fund for persons who are incarcerated in Colorado, including whether fee-for-service contracts for participating institutions of higher education need to be modified. The bill requires the working group to report its findings and recommendations to the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate on or before December 1, 2026.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The act requires an entity that requires an individual to provide a social security number for a background check for a non-employment-based educational opportunity to accept an individual's taxpayer identification number in lieu of a social security number, including in clinical educational experiences for health-related academic programs, subject to certain exceptions. A licensed or certified hospital or covered school, or a state institution of higher education or local district college that offers a non-employment-based educational opportunity that involves work with a vulnerable population, shall accept either an applicant's taxpayer identification number or a fingerprint-based background check in lieu of a social security number. An applicant for a non-employment-based educational opportunity that involves work with a vulnerable population at a licensed or certified hospital or covered school, or a state institution of higher education or local district college, is permitted to have their fingerprints taken by a local law enforcement agency or an entity approved by the Colorado bureau of investigation for taking fingerprints for the purpose of a background check. A licensed or certified hospital or covered school, or state institution of higher education or local district college, must determine who pays the fee for the fingerprint-based background check. The attorney general is authorized to bring a civil action to enforce the provisions of the act. An entity that violates this act is subject to a civil penalty of $2,000 for the first violation and $5,000 for each subsequent violation.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
On or before December 31, 2027, the act requires the department of higher education (department) to establish thriving institution designations and, on or before January 1, 2027, to establish an advisory committee to provide input to the department on the outcome and recognition standards and continuous improvements set by the department to identify institutions of higher education (institutions) that meet the requirements for one or more thriving institution designations. The act requires the department, with input from the advisory committee, to:Identify institutions that meet the outcome and recognition standards to be designated as a thriving institution;Notify each institution that meets the outcome standards to be designated as a thriving institution and request the institution to respond within 10 calendar days with the institution's decision of whether to be recognized as a thriving institution;Post on the department's website the names of the institutions that earn a thriving institution designation and agree to be listed as a thriving institution; andNotify the general assembly of the names of the institutions that are recognized as thriving institutions.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The bill creates a tuition waiver for qualified dependents of disabled veterans to attend state colleges or universities.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The act expands the Colorado commission on higher education (commission) from 11 to 13 members by adding 2 nonvoting student members who are enrolled at a state-supported institution of higher education (student members). Specifically, the act adds:One student member from a graduate research university or a 4-year institution of higher education; andOne student member from a community college, local district college, or area technical college. The governor shall make initial appointments of student members on or before July 1, 2027. Student members serve on the commission for a term of 2 years. The act shrinks the advisory committee to the commission from 13 to 12 members by removing the advisory committee member designated to represent the students of the state.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, the members of the Auraria board of directors (board) who are the representatives of the student advisory committee and faculty advisory committee are nonvoting members. The act makes the student board member and the faculty board member voting members of the board. Concerning the student board member, the act repeals the requirement that the student be a full-time student and reduces the Colorado residency requirement from 3 years prior to the member's election to one year prior to the member's election. The faculty advisory committee is expanded from 6 to 9 members. One of the additional members is elected from each constituent institution of the Auraria higher education center. The act states that board members are fiduciaries of the Auraria higher education center and requires board members to recuse themselves from a vote or executive session of the board when they have a conflict of interest.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
