2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 23 - POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION (§§ 23-1-101 — 23-81-102) › STATE UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES (§§ 23-1-101 — 23-56-111) › GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE (§§ 23-1-101 — 23-19.9-102) › Article 1 - COLORADO COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION (§§ 23-1-101 — 23-1-143) › Section 23-1-113.5 - Commission directive - resident admissions - report - definitions

(1)
It is the intent of the general assembly that all state-supported institutions of higher education operate primarily to serve and educate the people of Colorado. The general assembly therefore directs the commission to develop admission policies to ensure that, beginning with the fall term of 1994 and for the fall term of each year thereafter, not less than fifty-five percent of the incoming freshman class at each state-supported institution of higher education are in-state students as defined in section
23-7-102 (5)
. Commencing with the fall term of 1995, this requirement shall be met if the percentage of in-state students in the incoming freshman class for the then current fall term and the two previous fall terms averages not less than fifty-five percent. Such fifty-five percent requirement shall also apply to the percentage of incoming freshmen students who are admitted based on criteria other than standardized test scores, high school class rank, and high school grade point average pursuant to section
23-1-113 (1)(b)
. In addition, the commission shall develop admission policies to ensure, beginning with the fiscal year which begins July 1, 1994, and for each fiscal year thereafter, that not less than two-thirds of the total student enrollment, including undergraduate and graduate students, at each campus of each state-supported institution of higher education, except the Colorado school of mines, are in-state students as defined in section
23-7-102 (5)
and that not less than sixty percent of the total student enrollment, including undergraduate and graduate students, at the Colorado school of mines are in-state students as defined in section
23-7-102 (5)
. This requirement shall be met if, commencing with the fiscal year that begins July 1, 1995, the fraction of in-state students, as defined in section
23-7-102 (5)
, enrolled at each state-supported institution of higher education, except the Colorado school of mines, averages not less than two-thirds of the total fiscal year student enrollment for the then current fiscal year plus the two previous fiscal years. For the Colorado school of mines, this fraction of in-state students shall be not less than three-fifths. Such policies shall be implemented no later than July 1, 1994.
(2)
(a)
The provisions of subsection (1) of this section regarding the fraction of students who are in-state students attending the Colorado school of mines shall also apply to Western Colorado university.
(b)
Repealed.
(c)
After one hundred percent of all qualified Colorado applicants have been accepted by Adams state university, Colorado Mesa university, and Western Colorado university, the provisions of subsection (1) of this section regarding the fraction of students who are in-state students ceases to apply to said three state institutions of higher education.
(d)
After one hundred percent of all qualified Colorado applicants have been accepted by Adams state university, Fort Lewis college, Colorado Mesa university, and Western Colorado university, the provisions of subsection (1) of this section regarding the fraction of students who are in-state students ceases to apply to said four state institutions of higher education.
(3)
The provisions of subsection (1) of this section regarding the fraction of students who are in-state students at institutions of higher education do not apply to any Native American student who attends Fort Lewis college. The calculation of the fraction of students at Fort Lewis college who are in-state students shall exclude any Native American student attending the college.
(4)
(a)
The provisions of subsection (1) of this section regarding the percentage and fraction of students who are in-state students, as defined in section
23-7-102 (5)
, do not apply to the university of Colorado system, Colorado state university, the university of northern Colorado, or the Colorado school of mines if the following requirements are met:
(I)
The percentage of incoming freshmen admitted to the institution who are in-state students calculated on a three-year rolling average and excluding foreign students, is not less than fifty-five percent;
(II)
The percentage of students enrolled at each campus of the university of Colorado system, at Colorado state university, at the university of northern Colorado, or at the Colorado school of mines who are in-state students is not less than fifty-five percent of the total student enrollment at each campus of the university of Colorado system, at Colorado state university, at the university of northern Colorado, or at the Colorado school of mines, respectively, including undergraduate and graduate students, calculated on a three-year rolling average and excluding foreign students and students enrolled solely in online courses;
(III)
The institution continues to admit one hundred percent of all Colorado first-time freshman applicants who meet the guaranteed admissions criteria;
(IV)
The percentage of in-state students admitted to each campus of the university of Colorado system, to the university of northern Colorado, or to Colorado state university based on criteria other than standardized test scores, high school class rank, and high school grade point average pursuant to section
23-1-113 (1)(b)
does not fall below the average of the percentage admitted to the campus or to Colorado state university, respectively, for the three preceding academic years; and
(V)
The total number of foreign students enrolled at each specific campus of the university of Colorado system, at Colorado state university, at the university of northern Colorado, or at the Colorado school of mines does not exceed fifteen percent of the total student enrollment, including undergraduate and graduate students, enrolled at the campus, at Colorado state university, at the university of northern Colorado, or at the Colorado school of mines, respectively.
(b)
The university of Colorado and Colorado state university shall annually report to the commission information demonstrating that qualified in-state students are not displaced or denied admissions as a result of the provisions of this subsection (4) and that any increase in the enrollment of foreign students at a specific campus of the university of Colorado system or at Colorado state university is a result of increased capacity at the campus or at Colorado state university, respectively.
(c)
For purposes of this subsection (4), "foreign student" means a student who is counted as foreign and present in the United States on a nonimmigrant visa.
(d)
(I)
(A)
Beginning October 15, 2018, and every three years thereafter, the department shall submit a report to the joint budget committee and to the education committees of the house of representatives and of the senate, or their successor committees, demonstrating that the institutions included in this subsection (4) have met resident admission and enrollment requirements set forth in this section for the prior fiscal year; reporting the total number of resident and nonresident students enrolled in each institution of higher education before and after Colorado scholars are counted as two in-state students pursuant to subsection (5)(a) of this section; reporting how state institutions of higher education that utilize the Colorado scholars program use associated tuition revenue for purposes of merit- and need-based scholarships for resident students; and reporting the number of entering first-year Colorado residents, by county, who qualify as a Colorado scholar.
(B)
Notwithstanding the provisions of section
24-1-136 (11)(a)(I)
, the reporting requirements in subsection (4)(d)(I)(A) of this section continue indefinitely.
(II)
The department and the institutions shall ensure that the data required for these calculations is consistently included in the state's student records database, including data on the number of students with in-state classification and out-of-state classification, the number classified as international students for purposes of the calculation, the resident and nonresident students classified as online only students for purposes of the calculation, and the number of students classified as Colorado scholars pursuant to subsection (5) of this section. The report shall include both the nominal numbers of students in each relevant category and the calculation demonstrating the institution's compliance with this section.
(III)
As part of the report required pursuant to this subsection (4)(d), in collaboration with the institutions, the department shall demonstrate that the institutions are complying with the provisions of section
23-1-113 (1)(a)
that require that the academic admission standards for students who do not have in-state status, as determined pursuant to section
23-7-103
, are equal to or exceed those established for determining admission of in-state students, and the requirements of subsection (4)(b) of this section, that require that certain institutions annually report information demonstrating that qualified in-state students are not displaced or denied admission as a result of the provisions of this subsection (4).
(5)
(a)
Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, beginning in the fall semester of 2013, a state-supported institution of higher education or a campus of the institution may count each Colorado scholar who enrolls at the institution or the campus of the institution as two in-state students for purposes of calculating the percentages and fractions of in-state students required in this section.
(b)
Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, beginning in the fall semester of 2013, a state-supported institution of higher education or a campus of the institution meets the requirements specified in subparagraph (IV) of paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of this section if the percentage of in-state students admitted to the institution or to each campus of the institution based on criteria that are in lieu of the established statewide criteria as provided in section
23-1-113 (1)(b)
plus the percentage of in-state students enrolling as Colorado scholars exceeds the percentage of nonresident students admitted to the institution or to each campus of the institution based on criteria that are in lieu of the established statewide criteria.
(c)
The provisions of this subsection (5) apply only to a state-supported institution of higher education, or to a campus of the institution, that establishes and funds a Colorado scholar program.
(d)
Notwithstanding any provision of this subsection (5) to the contrary, the number of Colorado scholars that each institution counts for purposes of subsections (5)(a) and (5)(b) of this section in an academic year must not exceed fifteen percent of the total number of in-state students that the institution counts in the applicable fraction or percentage in that academic year.
(d.5)
An institution of higher education shall make an effort to recruit in-state students who graduated from a high school that is a rural school or in a rural school district, as defined in section
23-76-102 (4)
.
(d.6)
An institution of higher education shall make an effort to retain scholars from each demographic background with disproportionately low retention rates.
(e)
As used in this subsection (5):
(I)
"Colorado scholar" means an in-state student who is eligible to participate in an institutional Colorado scholar program and is designated by the state-supported institution of higher education as a Colorado scholar. A student is eligible to participate in a Colorado scholar program only if the student graduates in the top ten percent of the student's high school class or graduates with at least a 3.75 grade point average, having completed a highly rigorous college preparatory curriculum, and meets any additional criteria established by the institution.
(II)
"Colorado scholar program" means an institutional program or group of programs that awards institutional financial aid or scholarships to undergraduate, degree-seeking, in-state students, with the goal of attracting in-state students to and retaining them in Colorado institutions of higher education. A state-supported institution of higher education shall provide each student who is designated as a Colorado scholar for purposes of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection (5) at least two thousand five hundred dollars in annual financial aid or scholarship moneys through the institution's Colorado scholar program.
Amended by 2024 Ch. 34,§ 12, eff. 3/22/2024.
Amended by 2023 Ch. 62,§ 1, eff. 4/11/2023.
Amended by 2019 Ch. 400, § 9, eff. 7/1/2019.
Amended by 2018 Ch. 372, § 2, eff. 8/8/2018.
Amended by 2013 Ch. 383, § 1, eff. 6/5/2013.
L. 93: Entire section added, p. 2124, § 6, effective June 11. L. 94: Entire section amended, p. 1676, § 1, effective May 31. L. 95: (1) amended, p. 55, § 4, effective March 20. L. 96: (1) amended, p. 1236, § 79, effective August 7. L. 97: (2)(b) repealed, p. 25, § 1, effective March 20. L. 2002: (2)(c) added, p. 1281, § 5, effective July 1; (2)(d) added, p. 1260, § 18, effective July 1. L. 2010: (4) added, (SB 10-003), ch. 1846, p. 1846, § 20, effective June 9. L. 2011: (2)(c) and (2)(d) amended, (SB 11-265), ch. 1365, p. 1365, § 16, effective August 10. L. 2012: (2)(c) and (2)(d) amended, (HB 12-1080), ch. 757, p. 757, § 11, effective May 19; (2) amended, (HB 12-1331), ch. 1268, p. 1268, § 9, effective August 1. L. 2013: (5) added, (HB 13-1320), ch. 2245, p. 2245, § 1, effective June 5. L. 2018: (4)(a) amended and (4)(d) added, (SB 18-206), ch. 2266, p. 2266, § 2, effective August 8. L. 2019: (2) amended, (HB 19-1178), ch. 3544, p. 3544, § 9, effective July 1.
(1) Subsection (2)(d) was originally numbered as (2)(c) in House Bill 02-1419 but has been renumbered on revision for ease of location.
(2) Amendments to subsections (2)(c) and (2)(d) by House Bill 12-1080 and House Bill 12-1331 were harmonized.
For the legislative declaration contained in the 1996 act amending this section, see section 1 of chapter 237, Session Laws of Colorado 1996. For the legislative declaration contained in the 2002 act enacting subsection (2)(c), see section 1 of chapter 307, Session Laws of Colorado 2002. For the legislative declaration contained in the 2002 act enacting subsection (2)(d), see section 1 of chapter 303, Session Laws of Colorado 2002. For the legislative declaration in the 2010 act adding subsection (4), see section 1 of chapter 391, Session Laws of Colorado 2010. For the legislative declaration in the 2011 act amending subsections (2)(c) and (2)(d), see section 1 of chapter 292, Session Laws of Colorado 2011. For the legislative declaration in SB 18-206, see section 1 of chapter 372, Session Laws of Colorado 2018.