Colorado seeks to ease access and boost retention with vouchers.

DENVER -- It has long been a maxim of community colleges that students vote with their feet. In Colorado that's taken on new meaning with the Legislatures plan to cerise de facto funding for state colleges and universities, instead allocating most funding on a per-student basis.

The new legislation, enacted in May 2004, and going into effect with the upcoming fall semester, adds up to about $2,400 per student per year.

Dubbed the "College Opportunity Fund," the state has set up instant online registration to make it easy for students to enroll in the program. Nearly 150,000 students have registered so far, and the state expects around 180,000 enrollments in all

But this is no free ride. The $2,400, or approximately $80 per credit hour, is essentially the same amount the state would have contributed per student before the voucher system was enacted. That means that students will still pay the same amount per credit hour they paid before the vouchers. As the information sheet provided to students says, "The stipend is designed to increase public awareness that the state helps offset the costs of undergraduate tuition at public and participating colleges and universities."

Most, but not all, of the state schools are included in the plan. Local district colleges and some vocational schools are funded differently by local taxes, and students at those schools are not eligible for the stipend. Also, some classes that currently are not supported by state funding will not be eligible, such as general education and AP courses.

The maximum stipend is set at $2,400 for the first year of the program, though the Legislature plans to review the sum during the budgeting process each spring. In most cases, students will max out of the plan at 145 credit hours. There is no age or time limit (At the same time, two Colorado high schools have sparked controversy by using secondary school funds to send students to community colleges. See related story, p. 14.).

The voucher system is part of a plan by the state's lawmakers to counteract the "Colorado Paradox": While the state had the third-highest percentage of residents over the age of 25 with college degrees in the nation in 2004, just 88 percent of Colorado adults had a high-school degree--placing the state 16th in the nation.

Another part of the law is a requirement that state colleges and universities sign performance contracts. The stipend system frees the schools from state oversight in many ways, and the new contracts are an effort by the state to raise the bar on education quality.

"These contracts demand more from schools, a stronger core curriculum and require, for the first time in the nation, that tuition increases not outpace the rate of inflation," Rick O'Donnell, executive director of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, said in a statement.

Among other requirements, the contract introduces pay-for-performance in faculty positions and, perhaps most pertinent to two-year schools, requires postsecondary schools to focus on access, retention and graduation as determined by the state on a school-by-school basis, focusing on low-income, male and minority students.

For schools, the benefit of the new law allows CCHE to waive many regulatory requirements when a school is operating under a performance contract. "We are raising standards while reducing bureaucratic regulations," O'Donnell said. "This makes it a win-win for students and colleges."

So where once CCHE played a prominent role in every step of the curriculum, schools will now meet basic requirements and then be free to design courses of study in a timely manner, such as being able to quickly implement a workforce-training program in response to employers' needs.

In some ways the program should help schools perform better and have the independence necessary to respond quickly in today's ever-shifting education environment. In other ways, however, the onus is being put even more squarely on schools' shoulders--attract and retain students, or lose funding.

One way the voucher system could be a huge boon for community colleges is through cost-effectiveness. When students are faced with a dollar amount, the lower tuition of community colleges is likely to be an appealing way to stretch funds.

And while the voucher program covers only a portion of tuition now, there's a chance students might get a free ride, if Colorado Gov. Bill Owens gets his way--he'd like to see the voucher amount set high enough to cover community-college tuition, his spokesman said.