The Coordinating Commission at its Dec. 9 meeting approved its 2010 Biennial Report. This report, required by statute, provides an "insider's view" of the Commission during the past two years.
The Commission uses this report to spotlight its activities and accomplishments during the previous biennium, and how those relate to the Commission's overarching goals and mission.
Among the report's highlights:
- Information about the Access College Early (ACE) scholarship program, which the Commission administers. The ACE program awards scholarships to low-income high school students who enroll in a college course. The success of this program is staggering: Nearly 81 percent of ACE scholarship recipients go on to college, compared to only 51 percent of other low-income students.
- An overview of the Commission's responsibilities related to capital construction projects at the state's public colleges and universities. During the past two years, the Commission reviewed six capital construction projects, which called for a total of $27.8 million in state funding for construction, plus tax funding requests of $2.2 million/year for increased operating and maintenance costs. Of these requests, one was withdrawn and one project's budget was reduced by $2.4 million because of the Commission's review.
- The Commission continues to be very successful in securing federal funding for programs crucial to the state's higher education goals. In 2010, the Commission received $1.5 million in federal funds for the College Access Challenge Grant Program, which is designed to increase the number of underrepresented students who enter and remain in college.