Bill to Strengthen Colorado's Opportunity Scholarship Initiative Passes Senate
2020 COSI bill aims to align scholarship initiatives with financial aid best practices
Denver, CO – Today, the Senate passed SB20-006, Senator Zenzinger's bill to strengthen the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative (COSI) program. The bill would broaden COSI’s assistance approach to a more holistic and inclusive model–– tying scholarships to the rising costs of attendance rather than to tuition alone. It also improves student success and support services and allows more institutions to receive funding. The vote was approved by the Senate unanimously and now moves on to the House for consideration.
"Going to college is becoming more of a workforce necessity, yet higher education costs are growing exponentially–making it less and less accessible," said Senator Zenzinger (D-Arvada). "Our college students need scholarships and wrap-around support programs like the ones offered in COSI so that they have opportunities to pursue their goals without being saddled with a lifetime of debt."
A 2013 Georgetown study predicted that by 2020, Colorado’s economy will require the second-most educated workforce in the nation, with 74% of jobs needing some kind of postsecondary degree. But right now, only about half of Colorado adults have a degree or certificate.
What SB-006 does:
• Changes "tuition assistance" to "financial assistance" tied to cost of attendance
Changing this definition allows funds to be utilized for wraparound services, and would provide clarification around eligible expenses for financial aid administrators.
• Removes funding cap requirement to improve student success and support services
Removing the cap will allow for the expansion of wraparound support programming, which directly impacts COSI recipients by increasing student retention and degree completion.
• Allows more government agencies such as colleges, universities, and school districts to receive funding directly, in addition to community organizations and related foundations
"As a result of the proposed changes, COSI will be administered more efficiently to allow the program to align with research and national best practices and aid the Department in reaching 66% educational attainment by 2025. I'm proud to see how far COSI has come since our early days working on the program, and can’t wait to achieve even more success," said Sen. Zenzinger.
The Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative is Colorado’s premier scholarship program– serving over 75,000 students in 61 counties across the state since 2014. Program participants also graduate at a 15% higher rate than their peers and are largely composed of students of color.