{"data":{"id":"us-co/c.r.s.-23-1-143","jurisdiction":"us-co","citation":"C.R.S. § 23-1-143","heading":"Commission directive - first-generation-serving institution designation - legislative declaration - definitions.","body":"(1) The general assembly finds and declares that:\n\n(a) In 2017, the Colorado commission on higher education, in its master plan, Colorado Rises: Advancing Education and Talent Development, set a statewide attainment goal for sixty-six percent of Colorado's adult population to hold a postsecondary credential;\n\n(b) Colorado has made progress, but as of 2023, the state has still not met this goal;\n\n(c) One of the ways to increase the number of people holding a postsecondary credential is to increase the number of first-generation students attending institutions of higher education;\n\n(d) By recognizing and designating institutions of higher education that serve a large number of first-generation students, the state shows incoming students at those institutions that the students may share a sense of belonging with others of similar backgrounds and that the institutions are committed to meeting the needs of first-generation students;\n\n(e) Institutions of higher education serving first-generation students incur increased costs; and\n\n(f) It is therefore necessary to establish a designation to recognize state institutions of higher education serving first-generation students.\n\n(2) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:\n\n(a) \"First-generation-serving institution\" means a state institution of higher education:\n\n(I) Whose average resident first-generation undergraduate student population share, as defined in section 23-18-302, for the most recent year that the information is available and the two previous years equals or exceeds the statewide average resident first-generation undergraduate student population share as reported by the department for the fall 2022 term; or\n\n(II) That has secured a First Scholars Network of Institutions designation from the Center for First-generation Student Success or a similarly rigorous independent third-party designation.\n\n(b) \"State institution of higher education\" has the same meaning as \"public institution of higher education\" as defined in section 23-4.5-102.\n\n(3) Within thirty days after the annual public release of enrollment, retention, and graduation data from each state institution of higher education in 2024 and each year thereafter, the department shall:\n\n(a) Identify institutions of higher education that meet the definition of first-generation-serving institutions for that school year;\n\n(b) Post on the department's website the names of the first-generation-serving institutions for that school year; and\n\n(c) Notify each first-generation-serving institution and the Colorado general assembly of the designations.","path":["Title 23 - POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION","Article 1 - Colorado Commission on Higher Education","Part 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS"],"source_url":"https://olls.info/crs/crs2026-title-23.htm","current_through":"Colorado Revised Statutes 2026","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:37:45Z","sha256":"47137a0c835f6a68f845cd6d565440aa9a547dd74bd1ca84c367bbca3d3d8fcb","source_id":"us-co","stale":false,"prev":"us-co/c.r.s.-23-1-142","next":"us-co/c.r.s.-23-1-144"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}