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Colorado College’s Bold Move: Breaking Free from U.S. News College Rankings

In February, Colorado College announced it would no longer cooperate with U.S. News & World Report’s annual ranking of best colleges. The private Colorado Springs school, ranked 27th nationally among liberal arts colleges, said the list “privileges criteria that are antithetical to our values and our aspirational goals.”

Colorado College called the ranking methodology flawed, and pointed to three main shortcomings: a questionnaire that asks institutions to rank each other’s reputation subjectively, a reliance on high school grades and standardized test scores that result in schools offering merit aid instead of need-based aid, and a metric related to student debt that creates incentives for schools to admit wealthy students.  

READ: Guest Column — Closing the Racial Wealth Gap With Education and Financial Planning

Leadership at Colorado College says feedback on the decision has been good. “We surveyed our staff, faculty, students, parents and alumni, and we had an overwhelmingly positive response,” says L. Song Richardson, president of Colorado College. “We aren’t afraid to take bold and courageous action to support our vision.” Colorado College does not actively participate in other publications’ rankings, and those organizations often use data that the school provides to the U.S. Department of Education.  

Other schools such as Columbia University, Bard College, Stillman College and the Rhode Island School of Design have also stopped participating in the rankings. Richardson adds that Colorado College will pay attention to its future ranking. “If we drop precipitously, this should engender further questions about the legitimacy of the rankings because a precipitous drop would not make sense simply because we decided not to submit data to U.S. News.” 

There are other lists. The Princeton Review published The Best 388 Colleges 2023. Forbes has its America’s Top Colleges List. There are other online lists based on various surveys. While imperfect, the rankings do serve a purpose. “Many of the metrics actually are good metrics,” says Corinne Lengsfeld, senior vice provost of research and graduate education at the University of Denver. “It’s a nice feedback loop that you are making improvements that really count.” The information helps DU leadership reflect upon the programs it put in place and areas where it improved.  

For prospective students and their families, graduation rates and retention rates are the most important metrics to consider. “You don’t go to a university with the intent to drop out,” Lengsfeld says. “You go with the intent to graduate.”  

One metric that can use improvement is employment outcomes, because Fortune 500 companies tend to skew those results by hiring large numbers of graduates every year. “The smaller businesses that get one or two graduates, their voices won’t be heard,” Lengsfeld says. 

People should consider rankings as part of a larger set of data. “It’s one source of information,” says Lori Kester, associate provost of enrollment management for Colorado School of Mines. “I don’t know that I would say it should be the primary source.” The best way to predict a good fit, she says, is to visit the campus.  

READ: Is it Possible to Get an Education Without Debt?

For employers, the rankings are less important than graduates’ preparedness. Kester says Mines has a good reputation among employers because graduates show up for their jobs ready to do the job they are hired for.  

One benefit of the rankings is they help Mines communicate the important work the school is doing. “We are a public institution, so we don’t have this gigantic recruitment staff,” Kester says.  

That awareness helps other schools too. “People value certain rankings because we’re all trying to find ways of standing out amongst a very crowded field,” says Chris Beiswanger, director of admissions at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. “There is not one tried-and-true source of who’s the best.”  

The rankings serve as a shorthand. “I think students, parents, outsiders, businesses, we all like the cleanliness of, ‘You went to the number one place, you must be good,’” Beiswanger says. He adds that that’s especially true for international students who want the reassurance that rankings provide.

For employers, accreditation and experiences should matter more than rankings. “If you look at successful people,” Beiswanger says, “you find they didn’t all go to top schools in the country.”  

 

Nora Caley is a freelance writer specializing in business and food topics.

Is the She-Cession Over? Not for Many Women in the Workplace

For many working mothers, the pandemic delivered a disproportionate kick in the teeth. Because the most affected industries tended to be those dominated by women, they lost their jobs at record levels in 2020. Despite being only 47 percent of the workforce at the beginning of 2020, women accounted for 54.5 percent of all jobs lost.

With kids home from school and daycare centers closed, even moms who remained employed took on so many extra hours caretaking, it was like having an additional part-time job. This nearly impossible balance led many women to step out of the workforce or avoid stepping back in when jobs began to recover.

READ: Balancing Work and Motherhood — Strategies for Success in a Busy World

Now, in the summer of 2023, the pandemic has receded and employment for women has recovered to levels from before, but there remain problems in the systems that support women’s ability to be in the workforce. What was true before 2020 is even more true today: For moms, life and work often do not work well together.

As a working mother, I can attest to the fact that our institutions are not built for working moms. Consider daycare centers that close by 6 and charge by the minute for lateness. School plays that start at 11 a.m. on Wednesday morning or doctor and dentist appointments that are offered only during work hours. Not enough slots in before- and after-school programs and widely varying start times for different schools. Limited spots and some of the highest costs in the country for summer childcare for school-age kids.

Recently I heard about one mom whose multiple children’s school start times are vastly different; one needs to be dropped off at 7:30, but the other does not start until 9 a.m. This mom was motivated to choose the school that started at 9 a.m. for her special needs child because of the before-school program it offered. But the program was not funded, and the mom was caught in a lurch. While her family needs her to bring in an income, she has not found a flexible employer to accommodate her schedule.

I am a working mom, but I am also a working mom with resources. I am married and was able to split drop-off duties with my husband when we were in the thick of parenting young kids. I recall spending years in a fog of guilt. I remember the relief I felt when, because of concerns about allergies, we were no longer allowed to bring homemade cupcakes to the classroom parties so my store-bought cupcakes were welcomed. The memories of the scramble at the beginning of every school year to find a college student to pick up my kids and help them with homework make me shudder. It rarely worked perfectly, and it was always stressful.

I recall each January, as I looked ahead to the coming summer with dread. Summer break felt like a big black hole that needed to be filled. And I remember the dollars we spent on summer camps or the summer babysitter so we could continue to work.

I was fortunate because I had the flexibility at work to tell everyone I would arrive late each summer morning when the camps did not start until 9 a.m. When I recently saw that the statistics on labor force participation rates (LFPR) for women with kids drop by several percentage points every summer, it was no surprise to me. For some women, working in the summer months is not worth it.

Things are not getting better. The pandemic led to the closure of over 16,000 childcare centers across the country. Today, 51 percent of Colorado is in a childcare desert, with more kids needing care than there are slots.

While the numbers of women back in the workforce tell a strong story of post-pandemic recovery, it is not the full story. These pressures that come from a shortage of affordable childcare affect women in numerous ways. Of all women likely to be employed today, women with a college degree or more are most likely, meaning they probably also have the resources to throw money at their childcare problems. Having children at home, especially young children, depresses employment for prospects for women, particularly when compared to women without children.

READ: Navigating the Post-Pandemic Workplace — Struggles, Solutions and the Return to Office Culture

It is time for us to talk openly about the Motherhood Penalty. In 2023 about 72 percent of women with children at home are working. But the earnings potential for mothers is less than for women without children. Claudia Goldin from Harvard University just won the Nobel Prize in Economics for her work showing that today much of the gender earnings gap arises with the birth of a woman’s first child. And even though women tend to increase their work as their children get older, they are not able to catch back up.

Research supports that hiring managers are less likely to hire women with kids and when they do, they offer lower salaries. While there is no hard data to prove this, women with children at home are perceived as being less committed to their jobs. These statistics are ironic given that it is well documented that women around the world reinvest up to 90 percent of their incomes back into their families, compared with men who invest 30-40 percent.

Because the children of today are the community leaders of tomorrow, a village approach to raising children feels as though it would set us all up for success. Universal Preschool, which just rolled out this fall, is a good start but only guarantees part-time care without having to pay for full days. Colorado’s Childcare Assistance Program (CCCAP) could be expanded to broader income levels to help make childcare more affordable.

Childcare centers, with whom we entrust our most precious family members, need help to support these low-margin businesses — possibly through help with rent in underutilized real estate so more of the fees can provide better pay for notoriously underpaid childcare workers.

While licensed childcare centers may not be able to meet all the needs in our communities, support for family, friends and neighbors who provide care could make a big difference in helping families feel more supported with their childcare needs.

Today I have two teenagers and can feel the pressures I felt as a mother with young children receding. However, I work with and manage women with small kids and I try to ensure I am understanding and accommodating, never assuming my coworkers are any less committed because they have young children. Instead, I remember the future of our community is in the hands of the children they are raising.

 

Tamra Ryan headshotTamra Ryan is the Common Sense Institute Coors Economic Mobility Fellow and CEO of the Women’s Bean Project, a social enterprise providing transitional employment in its food manufacturing business to women attempting to break the cycle of chronic unemployment and poverty

Daniels Scholarship Program Applications Now Open — Why Your Kids Should Apply

The Daniels Fund recently announced the opening of the application for the Daniels Scholarship Program, providing a life-changing opportunity for students looking to pursue their higher education dreams. Colorado high school seniors are encouraged to apply to become a 2024 Daniels Scholar at www.DanielsFund.org/Scholarships by 4:00 p.m. MST on Oct. 15 to be considered for the scholarship.

The Daniels Scholarship Program provides the opportunity for motivated students to attend the college of their choice. The scholarship can be used at any two- or four-year nonprofit, accredited college or university in the United States. The Daniels Fund expects to award approximately 200 scholarships to the graduating class of 2024 in March. Since 2000, the Daniels Fund has provided more than $250 million to over 5,000 scholars.

High school seniors in Colorado, as well as New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, are eligible to apply.

“Bill Daniels believed a great education can be game-changing for young people with great potential, strong character, and big dreams,” said Daniels Fund President and CEO Hanna Skandera. “We look forward to supporting the next generation of leaders, and the positive impact they will make with this opportunity.”

READ: Guest Column — Closing the Racial Wealth Gap With Education and Financial Planning

Eligibility requirements:

  • Be a graduating high school senior.
  • Be a resident of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah or Wyoming.
  • Be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States.
  • Earn a minimum grade point average of 3.0 in high school (on an unweighted 4.0 scale).
  • Earn a minimum SAT math score of 490 and a minimum evidence-based reading and writing score of 490, or a minimum ACT score of 18 in each category (writing score not required).
  • The applicant’s parent(s) or legal guardian(s) must have an adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less on their 2022 tax return on which the applicant is claimed as a dependent.
  • Additional income is allowed for additional dependents. visit the Daniels Fund website for specific details and examples.

What the scholarship covers:

Daniels Scholars’ full cost of attendance will be covered at partner schools within Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. A full list of partner schools is available at DanielsFund.org/partnerschools. Scholars who choose to attend a school outside the Daniels Fund’s four-state region can receive up to $100,000 over four years for educational expenses. Scholars attending schools within the four-state region outside of the partnership agreement can receive $30,000 over four years for educational expenses.

All Daniels Scholars also receive a laptop computer, networking opportunities, leadership development opportunities and career development.

2024 Daniels Scholars will be announced in March 2024. To learn more about the Daniels Scholarship Program or to apply, please visit www.DanielsFund.org/Scholarships.

 

About the Daniels Fund:

The Daniels Fund, established by cable television pioneer Bill Daniels, is a private charitable foundation dedicated to making life better for the people of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming through its grants program, scholarship program, and ethics initiative. Visit DanielsFund.org to learn more.

Assessing the Value of an MBA for Future Entrepreneurs: A Cost-Benefit Analysis

Entrepreneurship has never been more accessible than it is today. There are so many low-overhead online businesses that entrepreneurs can start, plus more options than ever for connecting with people who want to invest in growing startups.

With that said, being a successful entrepreneur is far from easy. In the beginning, most new business owners really have to get their hands dirty and handle every part of the process, from providing a product or service to understanding tax withholding. 

So, what kinds of skills and education are needed to build and sustain a successful startup? Do new entrepreneurs need an MBA (Master of Business Administration) degree to have the best chance of success? Let’s take a look at the cost-benefit analysis. 

READ: From Employee to Entrepreneur: Top Tips for Making a Successful Switch 

Understanding the MBA degree 

Each MBA program is slightly different, but the main goal of these programs is to give students a comprehensive understanding of how businesses run and the tools they need to be successful as strategic administrators or entrepreneurs. Generally, students will learn about the following topics in an MBA program: 

  • Operations management — business processes required to keep a business running 
  • Marketing — market research, customer behavior and communications
  • Strategy — long-term planning for larger business goals 
  • Finance and accounting — money management
  • Product management — product development and the role of demand
  • Business ethics — understanding what is and isn’t ethical within domestic and international business 
  • Behavior management — team dynamics and behavior for managing people

Some schools also offer courses in topics like innovation and entrepreneurship. Some classes are required for all MBA students, while others are elective courses based on the student’s goals and interests. 

READ: What Are the Safest Industries to Start Your First Business in 2023?

The benefits of an MBA for entrepreneurs

Getting an MBA can make a lot of sense for future entrepreneurs. The most significant benefit is that it provides a solid foundation of knowledge and a suite of skills that can make running a business easier. Instead of learning everything on the fly, entrepreneurs will already undersstand the basics and can progress more quickly than their self-taught peers. 

Another major benefit of pursuing a master’s degree in business before becoming an entrepreneur is networking opportunities. MBA programs are full of ambitious and intelligent people who want to make connections. Those connections forged during a master’s program can lead to lots of opportunities later on. 

MBA students will get lots of real-world business examples they can learn from, which can help when they face challenges and opportunities in their own businesses down the line. Mentorship and guidance are also available, which can be another resource even after graduation. Some students also get internship opportunities for real-world experience. 

READ: Maximize Your Impact — The Power of Intentional Network Building

Evaluating the logistics and costs of pursuing an MBA

There’s a lot of potential value for entrepreneurs in earning an MBA. However, if it was easy or inexpensive to earn an MBA, almost every entrepreneur would do it. The costs and logistics involved can be a major roadblock that ends up reducing the overall value of getting a degree. 

First, the actual cost of an MBA: Tuition, fees and other expenses are an upfront investment that may or may not pay off. If someone gets an MBA and goes on to start a business but then ultimately decides that entrepreneurship isn’t for them, they might not recoup their investment and have lots of debt to pay off. 

There’s also the opportunity cost of getting an MBA. The hours dedicated to schoolwork and classes can’t be spent on other activities, such as work, personal enrichment or relaxation. Those hours invested might be worth it in the long run, but they do require sacrifices in the short term. 

READ: Avoiding Founder Burnout: A Guide on Fighting Hustle Culture for Entrepreneurs

Analyzing potential career advancements with an MBA

So, what’s the cost-benefit of an MBA for entrepreneurs? Does it make sense for those who want to run their own businesses to get an advanced degree? It depends. 

An MBA can be helpful for career growth and opportunities for those looking for traditional employment. However, entrepreneurs don’t really need someone else’s stamp of approval to start their own businesses. 

With that said, having the foundational skills and professional network that an MBA provides can be extremely valuable for entrepreneurs. Sometimes, it can also help to have a business degree in terms of attracting investors and understanding growth strategies.  

To MBA or not: a personal choice 

The cost-benefit analysis of an MBA looks a bit different for each person. Those who have dipped their toes into entrepreneurship might choose to go back to school after they’ve already started their businesses. Some have their education sponsored by an employer. Others decide to use free online resources and go it alone.

There are lots of options for business education. An MBA can be a great way for entrepreneurs to set themselves up for success. For others, learning along the way makes the most sense. 

 

Andrew Deen HeadshotAndrew Deen has been a consultant for startups in a number of industries from retail to medical devices and everything in between. He implements lean methodology and is currently writing a book about scaling up business.

Good Company — Becky Takeda-Tinker & CSU Global

Explore an insightful interview with Becky Takeda-Tinker, President and CEO of CSU Global, discussing the value of online education, the evolving role of AI in learning and her personal journey in higher education. Gain valuable advice on pursuing a post-secondary degree and discover the future of education in a post-pandemic world.

READ: Good Company — R.T. Custer & The Vortic Watch Company

Hometown: Danville, California

What she’s reading: “2030: How Today’s Biggest Trends Will Collide and Reshape the Future of Everything,” a book by Mauro F. Guillén about trends that are rapidly changing our world. “Especially coming out of Covid, I love looking at what people think the future may hold.”

Becky Takeda-Tinker

President and CEO of CSU Global

Denver

ColoradoBiz: From artificial intelligence to the evolution of online education, there’s a lot to cover. Before we dive in, though, can you share advice for readers who are working full-time, thinking about pursuing or completing a post-secondary degree? 

Becky Takeda-Tinker: If you’re considering going back to school to earn a degree, start by researching programs that are asynchronous, where coursework can be completed on your own time, from any location, to fit within your schedule. In addition to flexibility, prospective students should consider the value and return on investment expected from the education. How will a degree help propel your professional and personal goals? That’s the key. For many students, particularly adult learners, online education is the best solution. Look for a program that provides curriculum aligned with the latest industry standards, and always seek programs from a regionally accredited nonprofit university that emphasizes career-relevant pathways. 

CB: That’s right, CSU Global is the country’s first 100 percent online accredited public university. What degrees are offered, and how do enrollment and degree progression work?  

BT: We offer career-relevant bachelor’s and master’s degree programs, along with certificates, mainly for working adults and nontraditional learners. Our eight-week courses start every four weeks throughout the entire year, and we offer every course every term. The whole idea is to make an advanced degree accessible to all learners.   

CB: It’s hard to talk about accessibility without also talking about the rising cost of college. I think many of us are wondering if a post-secondary degree is still worth the price tag. And while we’re on the topic, is an online degree a more economical option?  

BT: What we know based on third-party data is that the ROI for every 1,000 dollars spent at CSU Global is 4.9 times the investment, which is strong. How does that compare to other institutions? That’s anyone’s best guess. It’s worth noting that pursuing an online versus in-person program can eliminate costs associated with on-campus housing, student fees and transportation. Plus, online programs at institutions that serve nontraditional students often have pathways to apply previously earned college credits toward their programs. CSU Global, for example, accepts up to 90 credit hours toward a bachelor’s degree. I’ll add that debt isn’t always a bad thing if you have a plan, and if earning your degree will help you move beyond where you are today. I really believe education is an investment in one’s future. That’s why I’m back at CSU Global.  

CB: You helped build CSU Global in 2008, then you took a hiatus. Why’d you come back? 

BT: I started my career in private equity, but I found myself in a phase of life where I felt it was time to give back to society. I got my Ph.D. in 2007, with the intent to teach higher education. In 2008, I applied to be a community college instructor, and somebody passed my resume along to CSU Global’s HR department. I got a call asking if I wanted to work on the school’s career-relevant curriculum. We opened in 2008 to 200 students. By 2009, CSU Global had about 900 students, at which point I knew we needed to apply for regional accreditation. Being the first fully accredited, public online university was unique at the time. Back then, there were seven other state systems that had tried to create a similar entity, but they were unable to get stabilized. We were driven to be nimble because of the nontraditional students we were created to serve. When I left in 2020, to work on Colorado’s economic recovery, we’d graduated over 20,000 students. I was asked to return to help facilitate the next chapter of CSU Global, and who can ignore a challenge like that coming out of Covid?   

CB: Why the interest in higher education? 

BT: My husband is retired Air Force, and I am very much about American competitiveness. Not everyone needs a college degree, but for those who want it, it’s important to be able to have credible, high quality, affordable education. But it’s more personal than that. My dad was the first in his family to go to college. This was after the war, after they got out of the camps, and I understood that education made a difference in our lives, in how our family was living compared to others in our neighborhood. My dad worked three jobs while going to Berkeley. That’s how he was able to pay for school, but he didn’t really get the full academic experience. CSU Global represents, in my mind, a way for students having to work full-time to still be connected to their peers and have relationships with their instructors. 

CB: Are you referring to the Japanese American internment camps? 

BT: Yes, it was the internment camps. My dad was in them starting as a toddler until about 7 years old. When they were released they had no money/savings, no place to live etc., so they somehow made it back to Sacramento where they had been living prior to the war, and ended up running a hotel in a not-so-good part of town. There were five kids and my grandmother, who spoke very little English at that time, but at least they had a place to live and food to eat. From that environment my dad decided that getting a degree could provide a better life, so as he grew up, he put himself through UC Berkeley to earn an electrical engineering degree, and from that he married my mom and started our family of three girls and helped the rest of his family. 

CB: OK, I’m bringing up the elephant in the room now. There used to be a stigma with online education. How have online degrees evolved over the past few decades? 

BT: In the early days, to prove online education credibility, the institution provided extensive annual third-party data regarding student workforce success, to show that high quality online education could provide a return on investment. Online programs have grown exponentially since then, with many brick-and-mortar campuses launching their own fully online courses, so they, too, have become proponents of online education. Even before the pandemic, interest in online programs was growing, due in part to its flexibility, as well as technological advances making online courses more engaging. With new tools and resources, the student experience keeps getting better, and the quality of content has improved. One result of the pandemic is we’re seeing a significant shift in higher education in general, including fewer high school students choosing to pursue a traditional, in-person, four-year degree program. There’s a greater trust, today, in online and hybrid programs from accredited schools. A number of online institutions are now regionally accredited, meaning they went through a comprehensive, peer-reviewed process that ensures a consistent standard of quality. But it is not just online education that has changed. The interests and needs of students changed, too. In early 2000, the number of American high school graduates going to college began declining. What I think we’re seeing is a market that’s very differentiated. People who are looking for higher education are very clear in what they want now.  

CB: So, is online education the future for all learners in the wake of the pandemic, or is this still a niche group of working and nontraditional students?  

BT: The future is solutions that can be customized to meet students where they’re at, and give them what they’re seeking. Hybrid is a popular option now, not just at school but work. Everyone wants to do a couple days in and a couple days out. I think having the options available and transferability is big now, along with stackability.  

CB: Did the pandemic help to legitimize online programs? 

BT: At the beginning of the pandemic, on one hand we saw an unprecedented opportunity for innovation in online learning. On the other, many misconceptions grew around the quality of online programs. Many schools were forced to move quickly to what we consider emergency remote learning. Teachers and students moved to virtual platforms in a matter of weeks, which does not reflect the quality of a truly robust online program like ours. And yet thanks to the technological advances that have taken place in every industry sector during the pandemic, there has also been a positive shift in perceptions of online learning. The pandemic not only altered education — it also altered the way we work, and students who earn a degree online are equipped with the skills needed to succeed in a fully remote or hybrid work environment. 

CB: Speaking of contemporary changes, what do you see as the increasing role of artificial intelligence in education? 

BT: In a lot of ways, AI is a very helpful technology, and since all industries are now tech-driven, I think it can help us learn what we need to do to get to the next level of global competitiveness. When I look at AI, I’m not at all afraid of it. I’m very comfortable with it, but the education has to be there on how to use it to help students learn. When I came back to CSU Global, I knew we needed to do some course revisioning. Our mission is to serve nontraditional students toward professional success. Beyond academic success, we want to provide the skills needed for workplace advancement. How do we make assignments relevant to a workplace application, so that students understand the value of the work that’s assigned? That’s what we’re tackling right now during this exciting time.  

 

Jamie Siebrase is a freelance writer based in Colorado.

Auraria Higher Education Center Creates ‘Historic Auraria Consortium’ to Support and Honor Displaced Aurarians and Indigenous Groups

The Auraria Higher Education Center (AHEC), the State of Colorado agency that stewards the 150-acre Auraria Campus in downtown Denver, has created the Historic Auraria Consortium. Composed of campus and community partners, the Consortium will develop and execute a strategy to honor and celebrate the heritage of the Indigenous tribal nations that once called this area home and Ninth Street Historic Park in the Auraria Neighborhood, which pre-dates the founding of Denver by two years. AHEC has hired David Olguín as the cultural and community engagement director to spearhead several strategic initiatives. Olguín will be working with the Displaced Aurarian communities and Indigenous communities to help amplify the stories and reconcile the history of Auraria while creating a space for information, connection and healing. 

“We recognize the many opportunities to pay homage to and honor the rich history of the land and communities who lived, worked and worshiped here before it was the Auraria Campus,” said Colleen Walker, CEO of the Auraria Higher Education Center. “David will be an integral part of this work to help preserve the legacies of the Indigenous Peoples and the families displaced by the formation of campus who were the previous stewards of this land. It’s an important time to align our actions to meet the communities’ desires and uplift the generational work already being done.”

To create the Historic Auraria Consortium, AHEC will collaborate with the Auraria Board of Directors, Community College of Denver (CCD), Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver) and University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver). The Consortium will include community members representing the Displaced and Indigenous Aurarian communities, representatives from Auraria’s four institutions and collaborators from the Colorado legislature, History Colorado, Downtown Denver Partnership and Historic Denver. As the first project, the Consortium will create and oversee a long-term stewardship plan for Ninth Street Historic Park. The initiatives to be addressed by the Consortium will also include developing a historical archive of Ninth Street Park, fostering collaboration with impacted community members and establishing healing spaces. 

In addition to this work, Olguín will work with Lulu Lantzy, chief activation officer, on community outreach and activation of the campus, specifically for Ninth Street Historic Park. 

Olguín follows a restorative, community-first approach to his reconciliation and advocacy work. He previously served as the student advisor to the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, the co-chair of the Equity Champions Coalition at the Colorado Department of Higher Education, legislative liaison to the State Student Advisory Council of the Colorado Community College System, RISE Education Fund selection committee member, as well as a proud member several student organizations. Olguín continues to serve Denver’s Latino community as a mayoral appointee and vice chair of the Latino Commission of Denver’s Human Rights and Community Partnerships. 

Olguín, a first-generation adult graduate, obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Public Service from the School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado Denver and an Associate of Arts from Front Range Community College Westminster. Olguín completed his degree with distinction by intentionally fusing his degree pathway to ethnic studies research, gaining knowledge of the histories and epistemologies of Black, Indigenous, Chicano and Latino communities. Olguín credits his many mentors and advisors for guiding him toward degree completion and connectivity to the community. Olguín is the happiest in community. 

Olguín is passionate about equity and community building because of his lived experience and his fervor to drive forward the social, political and economic mobility of marginalized communities. Olguín says his “ambition was born out of a fundamental desire to reconcile history and, in the tradition of the ancestors and elders, to bear witness and make our testimonios known.” He is rooted in his desire to connect la comunidad to restorative healing and recognition.

ABOUT AURARIA HIGHER EDUCATION CENTER

Auraria Higher Education Center (AHEC) is a 150-acre dynamic and vibrant campus conveniently located in the heart of downtown Denver. It is shared by three separate and distinct institutions of higher learning: Community College of Denver, the University of Colorado Denver and the Metropolitan State University of Denver. The Auraria Campus, has a rich history as the center of the city and is now home to nearly 40,000 students (about twice the seating capacity of Madison Square Garden), several cultural attractions, including museums, 9th Street Historic Park, St. Cajetan’s church and more. AHEC focuses on enhancing the experiences of those who study, work, live and play on the campus. To meet the needs of a complex and ever-changing urban campus, AHEC encompasses three pillars, including Experience Auraria, Elevate Service and Expand Impact, as our teams work to meet the needs of the campus and community in new, innovative ways. In addition to being an education hub in the middle of the city, the campus is an urban center used as a gathering space for family-friendly community events, festivals and celebrations and for corporate meetings and conferences. We invite you to experience Auraria! For more information, visit www.ahec.edu, and follow us on social media on Facebook,  Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Why We Need to Build a Better Trades Workforce — And How to Build It

Forget, “No one wants to work anymore.” The lament now might be, “No one knows they can launch a high-paying career without incurring student debt.” Employers in construction, manufacturing and other skilled trades are facing an ongoing labor shortage. Meanwhile, students are attending four-year colleges, borrowing large sums and accepting entry-level jobs that do not cover the loans plus living expenses.

READ — How to Recover From Your Law School Student Loan Debt Faster

Why don’t people just sign up for classes in welding, machining or carpentry, earn a certificate, and make a high-paying salary right away? Employers and educators say the answer is complicated.  

According to the Common Sense Institute in its report, “The Price of Higher Education in Colorado,” since 2002 tuition and in-state fees have grown more than 240%. Separately, the Inflation Calculator, using CPI data, notes that inflation from 2002 to October 2022 was 53%.  

While students are pursuing careers that demand four-year degrees, the skilled trades are facing a talent gap. “In construction, we have 185,000 employed in Colorado,” says Dave Davia, executive vice president and CEO of Rocky Mountain Mechanical Contractors Association (RMMCA). “By 2030 we will need 50,000 more.”  

Davia, who is on the CSI board of directors, says there is a stigma associated with these jobs. “High schools in the ’80s started taking shop and hands-on learning out of the schools, and it was replaced by college for all,” he says. “The perception is trades are a fallback.”  

Training Tradespeople  

To change this perception, RMMCA and other contractor associations established Western States College of Construction, which offers professional programs for HVAC/R (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, Refrigeration), pipefitting, plumbing and sheet metal. The programs, which are located on 10 campuses throughout the state, consist of four to five years of on-the-job and related instruction. Students do not pay tuition, as employers sponsor them.

The school’s website notes that during apprenticeships, students can earn salaries of $78,000 to $80,000, and earn more after completion. That’s higher than the average annual salary in Colorado, which ZipRecruiter reported at $56,716 in October.

READ — Want to Set your Business Apart From the Rest? Consider Apprenticeship

According to the Colorado Talent Pipeline Report, there has been strong demand for workers in construction and manufacturing, and the pandemic played a role. There has been a surge in residential construction in the state, with building permits increasing by 50 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis between April 2020 and July 2021. Supply chain disruptions sped up the shift from global to domestic manufacturing.  

Also according to the report, organizations that are struggling to find talent need to shift from degree-based hiring to skills-based. Some educators agree. “We should all be thinking about our skills and our trades and what it is we want to do,” says Linda Van Doren, Ed.D., vice president of education for Emily Griffith Technical College. “It doesn’t have to happen in that traditional pathway of college right after high school.”   

That pathway is not necessary for everyone, Dr. Van Doren says, and it’s not financially attainable for many. Emily Griffith Technical College offers financial aid and scholarships, and some programs are Pell Grant eligible. Students can work at job sites where they get feedback, learn how to work with teams and improve their problem-solving skills. “Softer skills like teamwork, critical thinking, communication, those are things that are still valued by employers,” she says. “Those are elements we bake into all our programs as well.”  

Another challenge is that some parents don’t want their kids to attend trade school. “We’re in a place where we’ve tended to devalue certain professions and held others up,”  Van Doren says.  

Changing Careers 

According to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, the mean hourly wage for construction and extraction in 2021 was $26.18. That’s lower than the $30.24 for the state mean hourly wage for all occupations, but higher than sales and related ($25.73) and food preparation and serving ($16.26).  

Many trades students are adult learners leaving low-paying jobs. “The workforce of tomorrow is in the workforce today,” says Matthew Sweeney, dean of workforce services at Rocky Mountain Education Center (RMEC) of Red Rocks Community College. “We identify how we can better identify where there might be people who are underemployed and can transition.”

READ — Veteran Unemployment: Untapped Workplace Resources

High school students are not the best audience for this messaging. “They are not thinking about stability or job benefits,” Sweeney says. “They are thinking, I am so sick of school.” Adult students are making a transition, or in some cases, are sent to RRCC by employers to update skills such as safety training to comply with OSHA regulations.  

Trades jobs have become safer over the years, and that has helped generate interest. “If you go back in time, trades were dangerous, dirty and looked down upon because of those factors,” says Kevin A Dowell, lead trainer in welding and corporate training at Community College of Denver Advanced Manufacturing Center. “That’s no longer the case.”  

Dowell adds that students like the idea of starting a new career without the time and expense of a four-year degree, and are interested in specific attributes of each trade. For example, the machining classes appeal to people who like the predictability and consistency of the work. Welding is attractive to people who like repetitive work, and to creative people. (In fact, CCD also offers a noncredit welding-for-artists workshop.) “Some of these occupations really only attract a small part of the population,” Dowell says. “But to people who it does appeal to, nothing is a better fit.”   

At BuildStrong Academy of Colorado, the average age of students is low to mid-30s, and they see opportunities in construction. “A lot of times, they have no experience,” says career coach Kristin Davenport. “They have never picked up a tape measure or worked with a circular saw. We are empowering them to see there is this whole world out there.”  

BuildStrong Academy offers boot camps that are four weeks (four sessions a week) or eight weeks (two nights per week), as well as courses in concrete, carpentry, electrical and others. The classes cover construction skills and life skills. “One hundred percent of the employers say they are looking for people who show up and do the job,” Davenport says. “They have tried the more traditional methods of hiring, and if they are getting applications at all, they are getting people who may not even schedule an interview, or they may last a week.”  

A scholarship fund covers the cost of tuition, and employers are hiring graduates quickly. “We’re going to see a lot more programs like this,” Davenport says. “Employers are willing to be open-minded about their hiring practices.”  

Employers are also building their own workforce development programs. The general contractor Swinerton in 2020 launched the Swinerton Craft Technical Skills Training Program. It is based on National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) curricula and offers carpentry, drywall and construction craft labor apprenticeship programs.  

“When we think about our approach to workforce development, it isn’t just to get people out of high school and into apprenticeships,” says Kerry Swain, director, field talent partner. “We created a career blueprint for them.”  

Swinerton also offers the Foremen Development Series, which focuses on helping foremen develop the soft and technical skills they need to become better foremen and prepare them to take the next step in their career to superintendent. “Some of the people we recruit, we realize they may not work with us for their whole career, and that’s fine,” Swain says. “Our goal is to raise the competency levels.”

Project Greer Street: Guiding Young Black Scholars 

Ron Sally’s high school experiences were pivotal to his future success, and he wants today’s African American male students to have a similar opportunity. The longtime Denver business executive is the founder of Project Greer Street, a nonprofit aimed at helping African American male students fulfill their potential academically and gain admission to elite colleges and universities.  

“One of the reasons that I started Project Greer Street was my belief that high school was the last formative stage in one’s life that can have a significant impact on your life trajectory,” he says. “High school is a fork in the road.”  

Sally grew up on Greer Street in North St. Louis, an area that he describes as different from how most people picture St. Louis. “It hasn’t changed, which is part of the problem,” he says. “It’s always been a stereotypical inner city terrible neighborhood.”  

What changed Sally’s path was that he attended an excellent college preparatory school located 40 minutes away from his home. “It wasn’t 100 percent positive,” he says. “But it gave me some building blocks.” 

Project Greer Street Wes Ogsbury Sports Center Interview Photo 1
Project Greer Street and Harvard alumnus Wesley Ogsbury on ESPN’s Sportscenter.

Sally went on to Duke University, where he played quarterback and captained the football team while earning a bachelor of arts degree and making the Dean’s List. After a year of pro football with the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League, Sally returned to the classroom, earning his law degree from UCLA’s School of Law. Over the course of his career, he’s worked as an attorney and business executive in the sports, entertainment, and venue development industries. 

Project Greer Street is an academic enrichment program open to African American male students at Denver East High School. Each cohort has 10 to 20 students who meet approximately once every two weeks to listen to Sally or to guest speakers talk on topics such as leadership, self-esteem, ambition and work ethic. The sessions also cover college preparation, written and oral communications, and employment and internships.  

The students are selected from a list, provided by East High School, of ninth-grade students who show academic promise. “We are not a correction program,” Sally says. “It’s not parents saying, ‘Can you fix him?’” Many of the students have high test scores and low grades and have the potential to excel with motivation and the right environment. Project Greer Street provides a safe place for these students to be academic superstars, Sally says, and the environment encourages competition. Students end up wanting to have the highest GPA, to be accepted to a summer program, or to land an internship. Some are striving for an academic scholarship to an elite university.  

Those goals are different from students’ often misguided ambitions. Many students think the only way they will be able to attend college is with an athletic scholarship, Sally says, and that points to several misconceptions. Students don’t realize that athletic scholarships represent only one-year agreements, and the student can lose the scholarship due to injury or poor performance. Academic scholarships that are based on financial need and academic merit are a better option.  

That’s an important distinction for students who overestimate their own athletic skills. “I get people who think they are the second coming of [NBA player] Kevin Durant, particularly if they are halfway decent as a 13-year-old,” Sally says. “This has been exacerbated by media attention to the financial aspect of sports.”  

The same goes for youth who hope to become the next superstar rapper, so Sally tries to show students there are other careers. His own executive positions have included president and chief operating officer of the arena football team Colorado Crush, senior vice president of Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, general counsel for the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche and Pepsi Center, and assistant general counsel and director of business affairs for the Denver Nuggets.  

He and the Project Greer Street guest speakers help students reevaluate how they view success. Instead of striving for the extreme unlikelihood of being the next sports or entertainment superstar, students learn they can have careers in vital but less visible roles in these and other fields. Guest speakers have included Mayor Michael Hancock, attorney C.J. Chapman, culinary historian Adrian Miller, Nike executive Ramsey Watkins, and others.  

Ray Pryor, who graduated from East High School in 2015, says Project Greer Street expanded his horizons and also taught him specific tasks he needed to address to succeed. “I had good grades,” he says. “I had no idea what it took to go to college.”  

The after-school sessions included exercises such as drafting a resume, writing an email to someone they hoped to network with, or researching a successful person with a compelling story. Sessions also covered preparing for the SATs and completing college applications.  

Pryor went on to graduate from Duke University in 2019. “It meant a lot to me to graduate in four years,” he says. “Mr. Sally kept in touch with me to make sure I was on track to do that.” Today, he works for an educational nonprofit that, similar to Project Greer Street, helps high school students through the college prep process.  

Ron Sally and his wife, Yvette Sally, started Project Greer Street in 2009. Yvette Sally, also a graduate of Duke University, is chief visionary officer for Project Greer Street. In 2014 the Sallys were awarded the Beyond Duke Service and Leadership Award. Locally, the program won an Everyday Hero Award from the ABC affiliate Denver7.  

“We expand what’s possible,” Sally says. “When we talk about the definition of success, it’s not so narrowly focused.”   

Alex Cranberg marks 20 years as champion for school choice

Alex Cranberg | Founder and Chairman, Aspect Energy LLC | Co-founder of ACE Scholarships

Age: 65
Raised in: Los Alamos, New Mexico; Charlottesville, Virginia; Austin, Texas
What he’s reading: “The Virtue of Nationalism,” by Yoram Hazony; “Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism,” by Dennis Prager

Alex Cranberg attended high school in Austin, Texas, then earned his degree in petroleum engineering from the University Texas-Austin and an MBA from Stanford. The son of the late nuclear physicist, professor and inventor Lawrence Cranberg, Alex founded Denver-based Aspect Energy LLC in 1993. The exploration and energy investment company has participated in oil and gas projects in more than 15 countries.

Alongside his entrepreneurial interests, Cranberg is co-founder of ACE Scholarships, now in its 20th year and operating in eight states. In 2019, the organization awarded more than 2,500 scholarships to K-12 Colorado students from low-income families to attend schools of their choice and has granted more than 25,000 scholarships worth more than $53 million to Colorado students since its inception. Colorado’s ACE scholars posted high school graduation rates of 97.9% and 99% in 2018 and 2019 respectively, and on average 73% go on to earn a bachelor’s degree or higher. Typically, the recipient’s family pays one-third of the cost so that everyone has a vested interest, and the scholarships are based on need, not merit.

ColoradoBiz: What experience – besides being a parent yourself – motivated you, with others, to create ACE?

Alex Cranberg: I’ve always felt that education is the most fundamental, powerful process by which people become better people, nations become better nations. I know as an entrepreneur, solutions come with having to figure out how you do something better so you can be successful in your enterprise and serve people.

CB: How did your early support of school vouchers help lead to the formation of ACE?

AC: In 1998, I believe it was, there was a voucher initiative in Colorado, and I got very interested and involved in that. It failed. But I thought, well, it would be kind of hypocritical if the only thing I’m willing to do is argue for other people, like the taxpayers, to spend money if we’re not spending money ourselves. So I thought, we’ll do what we can as private people to make a difference. There were several other ACE founders.

We don’t say or think private schools are always better or public are always better. It’s just that parents need a lot of choices because there are a lot of different kids. Anybody who has more than one kid knows every kid is different.

CB: One striking quality about ACE is that the scholarships are based on need, not merit. Explain the reasoning behind that.

AC: e have agreements here in Denver with, I think, 150 schools. We don’t try to say which one’s the best, because there is no such thing as ‘best.’ We let the parents decide which schools they want to send their kids to, and we let the principals of the schools decide which kids who apply are the best fit for their school. They’re not necessarily the ‘good kids.’ Most of these are kids who are not doing well in school; otherwise their parents wouldn’t be desperate to try to find an alternative. No poor parent is saying, ‘Oh my gosh, my kid’s doing great in school, but I want to pull them out and spend money to do that.’ Nobody with a lot of other stresses and problems in their life is trying to fix what’s not broken.

CB: Some people may be surprised to learn you’re a product of public schools. 

AC: I’m a product of good schools and some mediocre schools. I will say this: I’ve become more and more appreciative of the fact that faith-based schools are more focused on values in a way public schools used to be. Public schools – they’re great for a lot of kids. But I think they’re also suffering a certain identity crisis, which occurs in any kind of enterprise that doesn’t have much competition.

CB:  There’s a lot of opposition to school vouchers. Do you have discussions on that with the public-school sector?

AC: Lots of times. It’s not about being anti-public schools. If anything, it’s pro-public schools, because we feel public schools that operate in environments where there are choices get better themselves. And why wouldn’t that be true? It’s true in every other facet of our life. There’s nothing that’s magically different about education, except that it’s so important that it’s even more critical that we bring all the tools in the toolbox to bear.

CB: What initially attracted you to the oil and gas business?

AC: My family moved from Charlottesville (Virginia) to Texas when I was 15 or 16. When you’re a certain impressionable age and you get to a new state, you think, ‘How do I fit in here?’ In Texas, that’s oil and cattle. I got cowboy boots, I got a hat, and I got interested in the oil business (laughs). As a kid, I was involved in debate, drama and music. Music was my No. 1 love. I played the cello. I thought I was going to become a professional cellist. Ironically, Texas had a lot more really good young cellists than Virginia did. I was the No. 1 cellist of my age group in Virginia. In Texas, I was like, way down. I didn’t want to be a journeyman musician all my life. When I got to the University of Texas, I took a course, just out of curiosity, in petroleum engineering – introduction to the oil industry – and I just loved it. Loved its practicality, loved the students who were there. Something I could really sink my teeth into. My dad was a nuclear physicist who I thought was way more brilliant than I could ever hope to be, so I didn’t want to be a journeyman physicist either. But I was interested in business, and engineering is a combination of science and business. And petroleum is Texas, so those three things come together — why I’m a petroleum engineer.

CB: Your father’s outspokenness as a professor at the University of Virginia (he was also chairman of the Central Virginia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union) ultimately put him at odds with academia despite his distinguished status. How did that shape your views? 

AC: My dad, he learned the hard way that your freedom and your rights to speak are driven by your ability to make your own living in life, particularly as an entrepreneur. He became an inventor/entrepreneur, and he didn’t make a lot of money, but he kept the family fed, because he couldn’t be a professor anymore. He was too outspoken at the University of Virginia. What I learned, what our whole family learned, is that your ability to get access to the marketplace is the ultimate guarantor of free speech. I think it’s pertinent to K-12 as well as higher education. If all K-12 is one big government bureaucracy, then your ability to teach freely, to learn freely, is compromised by what’s politically acceptable. And these days, what’s politically acceptable is not necessarily aligned with a lot of families’ values, but you may not have any choice but to accept that. That’s another version of the lesson my dad learned.

CB: One of the books you’re reading is “Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism.” What spurred your interest in that book?

AC: My dad was Jewish, my mom was Christian, so I thought I knew something about Judaism, but it turned out I didn’t really. I’m deeply respectful of both Jewish and Christian religions, but I’m learning so much about Judaism and realizing, reading this book, that I’m probably more of a Jew than a Christian. What’s interesting in the book is, it says Jews’ No. 1 concern is about acts, and Christians’ primary focus is on faith. I have an easier time being a person who acts than a person of faith. You should try to do both, obviously. As you can tell, I’m somebody who believes in acting. Part of being an entrepreneur is, you grab onto the end of a string, whatever you’re working on … I guess that’s where faith comes in; you have faith it’s going to unravel something good.

CB: What do you like most about being an entrepreneur?

AC: The sense of possibility. That you’re forced to learn and respond. It’s always about learning the possible, what you can do.

CB: Do you still play the cello, and do you see parallels between music and business?

AC: I still play a little bit — particularly when I need to commune with myself. I really loved playing in orchestras and ensembles. As in team sports or ‘team music,’ learning to work with other people is pretty critical to being a good businessperson. I’m not a great manager, but I like working with smart people who play together well with me.