Health Equity Strategic Plan | Department of Higher Education
Visit the Department of Higher Education website, call 303-862-3001, or contact CDHE for more information or assistance with direct services.
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Problem statement
According to the Lumina Foundation’s 2024 Stronger Nation Report, Colorado has the highest college attainment rate in the nation at 62.9% for adults ages 25-64 based on 2022 data. While that is good news overall, persistent gaps remain by race and ethnicity. By comparison, Black and Hispanic educational attainment rates were at 41.6% and 30.3% respectively for ages 25-64 during the same time period.
With the attainment of higher education, there is an increased likelihood of community members understanding more and better health information to make informed decisions. Further, the economic mobility associated with higher levels of attainment improves people’s ability to afford and access quality healthcare services. Education, as a social determinant of health, is strongly linked to many aspects of health, including life expectancy, disease prevalence, and access to care and resources. Completion of higher education credentials ensures a greater likelihood of higher earnings through better paying jobs with access to health insurance, preventative care, and holistic care.
It is the Colorado Department of Higher Education’s (CDHE) goal to eradicate the educational attainment gaps.
Community engagement
The CDHE has worked with a diverse group of CEOs, students, and senior officers at private and public higher education institutions (IHEs) within the state to communicate and create equity-minded practices that yield results and are replicable.
The communities of equity practice include other state agencies, local industry partners, and a diversity of schools that represent rural, urban, suburban, 2-year and 4-year constituents. This group of higher education equity practitioners is called the Equity Champions Coalition.
Equity Champions Coalition Cohort 3 - Senior Equity Officers
The Equity Champions Coalition (ECC) advances statewide policy and informs higher education support and services for Colorado's most vulnerable students to remove educational completion gaps in the state by race, ethnicity, and income. Members of the Coalition serve as advisors to CDHE by developing a collective vision and strategic direction to guide the Office of Educational Equity. The Equity Champions Coalition works alongside CDHE to guide the implementation of high-impact strategies across institutions, collaborate on best practices, collect and analyze disaggregated data, and identify necessary work to continue to close gaps. This work aligns with the Colorado Commission on Higher Education’s strategic plan approved by the Governor.
Communities prioritized by this strategy:
- Low-income communities
- Communities of color
- LGBT+ communities
- People living with disabilities
- Historically marginalized communities
- Cumulatively impacted communities
- Rural communities
Areas of impact
This strategy will impact Coloradans statewide.
2024 milestones
- CDHE will develop and host the Higher Education Equity Day of Action Symposium for higher education equity practitioners at Colorado State University at Ft. Collins. [Complete]
- The Chief Educational Equity Officer (CEEO) will visit CO higher education campuses to meet with the leadership cabinet to discuss our partnership in their equity work. These visits include meeting with equity teams and students to discuss their structures, policies, data, accomplishments, culture, and challenges, as appropriate. [Complete]
- CEEO will host ECC convenings each quarter that include speakers as an endeavor towards sharing information and offering professional development. [Complete]
2025 milestones
- Co-host a Higher Education Summit.
- Convene quarterly meetings with ECC and expert speakers in way of professional development and sharing of best practices.
- CEEO will visit CO higher education campuses to meet with the leadership cabinet to discuss our partnership in their equity work. These visits include meeting with equity teams and students to discuss their structures, policies, data, accomplishments, culture, and challenges, as appropriate.
2026 milestones
- CEEO will continue to visit ECC campuses.
- Develop a first generation serving best practices document.
By December 2024:
- The ECC purpose document will have been created and approved by the ECC. [Complete]
- CDHE will host the Higher Education Day of Action. [Complete]
By December 2025:
- CEEO will physically visit 25% of ECC campuses.
- CDHE will host 4 quarterly ECC meetings.
- CDHE will co-host data summit.
By December 2026:
- CEEO will physically visit 25% more of ECC campuses and host 4 ECC meetings.
- CDHE will host 4 additional quarterly ECC meetings.
- CDHE will develop a first generation serving report with best practices from at least 50% of first generation designated campuses.
Social Determinants of Student Success
CDHE and the Office of Educational Equity is focusing on the Social Determinants of Student Success as part of the Higher Education Equity Framework to work with existing resources on college campuses and offer a variety of options to ensure that the needs of students are met. There was a robust partnership for this strategy with organizations like the Young Invincibles, Hunger Free Colorado, the National Mental Health Innovation Center as well as national experts and our state agency partners. Food insecurity, defined as “the condition of limited or uncertain access to food,” impacts over 45% of college students in the United States. When students are concerned about where their next meal is coming from, food insecurity can lead to a lower GPA, poor mental health and a limited social life. Through this partnership, the Hunger Free and Healthy Minds campus checklists and designations were created as a way to record and celebrate the good work of campuses. This strategy also serves as an example for higher education campuses who aspire to create and sustain structures of support.
Communities prioritized by this strategy:
- Low-income communities
- Communities of color
- LGBT+ communities
- People living with disabilities
- Historically marginalized communities
- Cumulatively impacted communities
- Rural communities
- Students attending college
Areas of impact
This strategy will impact Coloradans statewide.
2024 milestones
- Celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month in May with a social media video campaign. [Complete]
- Celebrate Hunger Action Month in September. [Complete]
- Create the Higher Education Basic Needs Coalition. [Complete]
- Enhance the Healthy Minds and Hunger Free checklists to determine alignment of some components of the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Checklists (WSCC). [Complete]
2025 milestones
- Provide supports to increase the number of Healthy Minds and Hunger Free campus designations.
- Continue collaboration with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) division at CDHS to explore and expand eligibility of college students for SNAP benefits.
2026 milestones
- Provide a report that demonstrates best practices and outcomes of students.
By December 2024
- Publicly recognize 6 colleges for their Healthy Minds designation during Mental Health Awareness month. [Complete]
- Enhance the Healthy Minds and Hunger Free checklists to include data metrics and innovation components. [Complete]
By December 2025
- Increase the number of Healthy Mind Campuses from 16 to 31.
- Increase the number of Hunger Free Campuses from 22 to 31.
By December 2026
- Summarize student outcomes of those schools with designations.
Colorado Hispanic Serving Institution Consortium
As of Fall 2021, 54,496 Hispanic/LatinX students were enrolled in public postsecondary education. This accounted for 21.46% of the total Fall enrolled population statewide. The Colorado Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) Consortium is a statewide community of collaborators who are leading HSIs across Colorado. The purpose is to provide a collaborative community of HSIs aimed at strengthening our organizational capacity to intentionally serve Latinx/Hispanic students.
The steering committee for the Colorado Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Consortium consists of 39 members from HSIs and emerging HSIs. The number of HSIs increased from 13 in 2021 to 16 in 2023.
Communities prioritized by this strategy:
- Low-income communities
- Communities of color
- Historically marginalized communities
Areas of impact
This strategy will impact Coloradans statewide.
2024 milestones
- Co-host the Hispanic Serving Institutions Summit with MSU Denver. [Complete]
2025 milestones
- Co-host Hispanic serving institution conference.
2026 milestones
- Increase the number of Hispanic Serving Institutions in Colorado.
By December 2025
- Co-host at least 75 attendees at the Hispanic serving institution conference.
By December 2026
- Increase the number of CO Hispanic Serving Institutions from 16 to 18 institutions.