For Colorado to meet its future workforce demands, state officials say it must put more residents on a path to a postsecondary degree or credential. The Colorado Department of Higher Education and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education have set an ambitious goal that 66 percent of Coloradans will attain a postsecondary degree or credential by 2025 to address this need.
A new report from the Colorado Department of Higher Education, however, shows decreases in the college-going rate for the Class of 2020. The report says that the college-going rate was 50.5 percent for 2020 graduates—more than a 5 percent decrease from 2019. In addition, the state’s rate is more than 10 percent lower than the national average. The report does note several bright spots: The percentage of students who earn a college credential while in high school continues to increase. According to the report, when factoring in students who earned a credential through concurrent and dual enrollment programs, the total postsecondary success rate increased to 52 percent.