Gov. Jared Polis and the Colorado Department of Higher Education released a multi-pronged plan Tuesday to make college more affordable and to address a growing need for post-secondary degrees to keep Colorado’s economy a leader in the nation.

The “Roadmap to Containing College Costs and Making College Affordable” sets a goal of 66% postsecondary certificate or degree attainment by 2025, up from the current 56.9% attainment rate.

According to a statement from the governor’s office, 75% of all Colorado jobs, and 97% of those “that pay a living wage and have high growth rates” require a postsecondary degree or certificate beyond a high school diploma. That’s especially true in science, technology, engineering and math jobs. 

“Our institutions of higher education are key drivers of our growth by making sure we have the workforce we need to power the private sector,” Polis said in a news conference at the Community College of Denver on Tuesday.

But the cost of higher education is rising faster than the rate of inflation, he said, making it harder for students to achieve the Colorado dream. “And the worst thing you can do” is to go to college and not finish, and you’re stuck with debt, Polis said. “We are targeting policies” on completion, he said. 

Many of the strategies outlined in the report have been available for years, such as concurrent enrollment, a program to ensure that those who start postsecondary programs finish them, and educating students about college debt. 

What’s new: an expectation that those programs produce results and that someone – commissioners on the Colorado Commission on Higher Education – will keep an eye on those outcomes.

In the short term, the plan calls for lower costs for textbooks and course study materials. The College Board reported that for 2019-20, students will spend on average $1,290 for textbooks and other materials per year, even in an era when textbooks are often available online or in electronic form.

Toward that goal, lawmakers have twice passed legislation to add Colorado to states using Open Educational Resources, worldwide digital media collections often available for free. The statement said that a $550,000 CDHE grant program designed “to scale these free or low-cost teaching and learning materials on campuses is expected to yield savings nearly seven times greater than the initial investment.”

The roadmap also calls for a review of institutional programs “to address unnecessary duplication of offerings and services,” an area that has caused angst among state colleges and universities in the past. Efforts at this type of streamlining have led to big fights with the institutions, who have pointed out that those duplicative programs – often in the liberal arts – may be required for accreditation by national accrediting bodies. 

Polis’ signature issue – reducing health care costs – has a nexus with the roadmap unveiled Tuesday. That includes reducing health care costs for students, including more affordable insurance and prescription drugs. Students can stay on a parent’s health insurance until age 26 under the Affordable Care Act; for those who don’t have that for whom that is not an option, according to the College Health Association, student health insurance ranges from $1,500 to $2,500 per year. 

“We know that when Coloradans have more access to affordable educational opportunities, they thrive, and the benefits ripple across our state and help our economy,” Polis said in a statement Tuesday. “This roadmap lays out ways we can lower costs while maintaining high standards. We must work together to help bring down college and community college costs, encourage innovation, and support the next generation of students.”