Colorado Mountain College announces housing initiative, approves budget

On June 22, the Colorado Mountain College Board of Trustees announced a $40 million housing initiative that will bring apartment-style student housing to four of its campuses.

CMC campuses in Breckenridge, Edwards at Vail Valley, Spring Valley at Glenwood Springs and Steamboat Springs are each slated for 38 units (with approximately 50-60 beds) of on-campus housing with the potential to add units in the future. These campuses were selected based on anticipated student demand, escalating housing scarcity in these high-cost mountain resort communities and the availability of CMC-owned land in these locations.

The plan for the new apartments is based, in part, on CMC’s experiences with a similar residential project for students adjacent to its Breckenridge campus. New

apartments will be designed primarily for upper-division students who reside and work in mountain communities year-round and are finishing their degrees.

Plans call for a variety of one bedroom and studio apartments. Residents will sign 12-month leases and reside on campus year-round. Rent prices will be offered at an attainable price point, likely 10% to 15% below market rates.

“Local housing is becoming out of reach for CMC students, who are often working and contributing to our local mountain communities and economies,” noted CMC President Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser. “The pandemic has made this challenge even more acute,” she added.

“Our goal is to provide affordable housing that allows CMC students to focus on their studies, graduate and be qualified for good jobs in our communities,” Hauser said.

Challenges related to affordable housing

Lack of affordable housing affects many aspects of the college experience. Though Colorado Mountain College maintains very affordable tuition and fees, housing is the single largest part of a student’s college costs.

“It’s so important to keep the pathways to higher education barrier free in our communities,” said Chris Romer, CMC trustee for Eagle County who is also president and CEO of the Vail Valley Partnership. “That pipeline from high school to college to careers is central to a healthy economy. We can’t continue to lose the best and the brightest because they can’t afford to live here.”

CMC students are often essential members of the local workforce. So, investments in year-round housing can help solve multiple community and regional needs. Adding to the inventory of student housing can relieve pressure on an already scarce and high-cost housing market, which helps people get a firm footing in the community to stay longer term. The college continues to consider and discuss housing solutions in other locations where it has campuses.

Timeline and partnerships

The board approved the issuance of $40 million in debt for the housing initiative at its May meeting. The college was able to qualify for financing due to low interest rates and its favorable Aa3 rating from Moody’s.

The college hopes to complete construction by June 2023 and open for leasing prior to the fall 2023 semester, while continuing to create avenues to address local housing challenges.

“CMC is exploring potential partnership opportunities and keeping a close eye on state and federal grant and stimulus programs,” explained Hauser. “If we can leverage our projects to provide additional relief to the housing crises in our communities, we will consider it.”

Other board actions

At the final meeting of the 2020-21 fiscal year, CMC trustees passed a balanced operating budget of $76.4 million, with an expected 2.93% increase in expenditures compared to the current year. The budget includes a 3% cost-of-living increase for employees, aligned with the anticipated rate of inflation.

Finally, the board approved President Carrie Besnette Hauser’s 2021-22 goals, which serve as the collegewide workplan for the upcoming year and extended her contract through 2024-25.

CMC Aspen opens 'Shared Earth' gallery exhibit

Reception June 17 to feature over 50 ceramic artists from Colorado's Western Slope

ceramic artwork with earth tones and geometric shapes

"Nest" by ceramic artist Julie Anderson.

Colorado Mountain College Aspen will host an opening reception on June 17 for “Shared Earth: Ceramics of the Western Slope of Colorado,” an exhibit featuring the work of over 50 regional artists.

This inclusive exhibition focuses on artists who live on the western side of Colorado’s Continental Divide including Grand Junction, Rifle, the Roaring Fork Valley, Aspen and beyond. Showcased are all levels of makers whose primary medium is clay. Among the artists featured are Andre Wille, Dianne Kenney, Doug Rhinehart and Yan Kong, among many others.

“In a time when the world seems divided, let us find a common ground, celebrate community and our shared passion for clay,” said K Rhynus Cesark, CMC Aspen Gallery director, associate art professor and the exhibit’s curator.

“Shared Earth” will open with a reception from 3-7 p.m. on June 17. Admission is free, and the public is welcome and encouraged to attend. The exhibit will remain at the campus through Sept. 3. Gallery hours vary, so plan your visit by calling ahead.

For more information, contact CMC Aspen at 970-925-7740, asgallery@coloradomtn.edu. More at https://coloradomtn.edu.

Chris Castilian has been named a strategic advisor for Colorado Mountain College’s outdoor industry programs. Photo by Evan Semón

Colorado Mountain College puts renewed focus on outdoor industry programs

New strategic advisor to help lead CMC into an era of innovation and inclusivity

Chris Castilian has joined Colorado Mountain College as a strategic advisor to better position the college as a premier educational partner in the outdoor industry.

Castilian has long been a staple in Colorado’s outdoor industry bringing 20 years of experience in the public, private and non-profit sectors. He recently announced his departure from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) after serving four years as executive director.

Prior to leading GOCO, Castilian was appointed by Governor John Hickenlooper to the Colorado Parks & Wildlife Commission, serving as chair in 2015-16. In previous roles, he was deputy chief of staff to Governor Bill Owens and served as executive director of Colorado Counties, Inc.

In addition to and complementary to his new role with CMC, Castilian will become the CEO of the National Ski Patrol on July 12.

“It is such a timely and exciting occasion to welcome Chris to the team at Colorado Mountain College,” said CMC President & CEO Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser. “His experience, breadth of relationships and creative thinking will push the college to work even more effectively with employers to better prepare our students to become the outdoor industry leaders of tomorrow.”

Castilian’s scope of work includes coordinating CMC’s various outdoor-industry related programs across multiple campuses and a large geographic region. He will work to better align CMC’s academic and training pathways to provide students with meaningful short-term (internships, apprenticeships, etc.) and long-term (career) placements.

“My charge is to amplify the amazing work the college is already doing in Colorado’s mountain communities,” explained Castilian. “CMC was an early leader in outdoor education and has decades of experience not only on the academic side of learning but how important it is to provide practical, affordable and relevant education and training. Frankly, it’s the breath of fresh air Colorado’s economy needs right now.”

In his new strategic advisory role, Castilian will also assist CMC leadership on developing strategies that seek to diversify the outdoor industry workforce pipeline and serve as a model for access, equity and inclusion.

“Having been involved in the outdoor industry for many years, it’s great to see CMC take outdoor industry workforce training to the next level and add someone with Chris’ depth of experience to the team,” said Len Zanni, co-owner at Big Agnes, based in Steamboat Springs.

“I’ve interacted with Chris in various ways over the years and it’s clear that he has his finger on the pulse of the outdoor industry, conservation, public lands stewardship and equitable recreation here in Colorado. We’re excited to see where CMC takes its revitalized leadership approach in the coming years.”

Nathan Fey, director of the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office called Castilian “an unashamed ambassador” of Colorado and all of its residents.” He added Castilian is best situated to advance CMC through strong partnerships, a practiced eye towards policy and legislation, and a commitment to civic engagement.

"Chris brings to CMC a depth of experience and personal passion within the outdoor industry, as well as an impressive career that has centered around supporting businesses and communities across Colorado,” said Fey. “This is exactly what is needed to strategically position CMC as the institutional leader in meeting the real needs of our outdoor economy.”

Castilian is a fourth-generation Coloradan, and is an avid outdoor enthusiast. He has completed the Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race eleven times and several other ultra-endurance mountain bike races, including the Breck Epic.

Buzz worthy: Honey Stinger collaborates with CMC on new beehive

This story appeared on the front page of the Steamboat Pilot & Today on June 10, 2021

By Suzie Romig, Steamboat Pilot & Today

After 20 years as a Steamboat Springs-based company specializing in energy foods made from honey, Honey Stinger now has its first local, company-managed beehive.

In partnership with Colorado Mountain College Steamboat Springs and biology professor Becky Edmiston, the Honey Stinger hive was installed last month in an electrified enclosure on the hillside above the college campus. The location is home to three other hives managed by Edmiston and the college’s student Beekeeping Club that started in 2012. Read more.

Bees and beekeepers at CMC Steamboat's apiary

At CMC Steamboat’s apiary, Honey Stinger beekeepers, from left, Kate Burleson and Shannon Grasser search for healthy signs of the queen bee, which means finding eggs or larvae. Photo Stephanie Stocking

Los cambios demográficos y la mejoría del rendimiento obtienen la designación HSI nacional de CMC

Por la Dra. Carrie Besnette Hauser

A veces tiene que fijar la mirada en un objetivo que pareciera estar fuera de su alcance y dedicar su energía a lograrlo.

Hace varios años, el equipo de Colorado Mountain College estableció la meta de convertirse en la próxima Institución al Servicio del Hispano (HSI) de Colorado, designación federal asignada a colegios y universidades que apoyan con éxito a una población estudiantil latina del 25% o más. Basado en la historia de CMC, era un objetivo que parecía demasiado arrogante. Pero, al implementar las estrategias correctas, sabíamos que se podía lograr.

Hay poco más de 500 Instituciones al Servicio del Hispano en los Estados Unidos (aproximadamente 10% de aproximadamente 5,000 colegios y universidades en todo el país). Estas universidades se encuentran en 21 estados, así como en Puerto Rico y el Distrito de Columbia y, con mayor frecuencia, se concentran en estados con grandes poblaciones latinas, como California y Texas, y en áreas metropolitanas. En Colorado, solo alrededor de un tercio de las universidades públicas del estado han obtenido el estatus de HSI. CMC será la primer HSI ubicado en la parte rural de Colorado, región turística montañosa de alto costo.

Cuando llegué a CMC en 2013, la universidad estaba iniciando sus ofertas de licenciatura autorizadas recientemente. En ese entonces, la población latina de CMC era aproximadamente el 13% del total de inscripciones, lo cual no era representativo de la población general. Es preocupante que, en ese momento, los estudiantes latinos de CMC tenían un rendimiento inferior en cuanto a retención y término en comparación con la mayoría de sus contrapartes. De hecho, el rendimiento de los estudiantes latinos era menor en dos dígitos.

Rápidamente adoptamos objetivos de rendimiento para cada uno de nuestros once campus y la universidad en conjunto. En cada categoría – inscripción, retención, acumulación de créditos y término de cursos – nos enfocamos en las diferencias entre estudiantes latinos y no latinos.

Para 2020, las mejorías en CMC fueron dramáticas y positivas. En casi todas las métricas, el rendimiento de los estudiantes latinos no solo mejoró, sino que finalmente se cerraron las diferencias resistentes en retención y término. De hecho, los estudiantes latinos tuvieron el rendimiento de término más alto entre todos los grupos en 2019-20. Cabe destacar que estas mejorías no se produjeron a expensas de nadie más. Durante los últimos cinco años, las diferencias de equidad se han disuelto y TODOS los estudiantes de CMC se han vuelto más exitosos. Un beneficio mutuo verdadero.

Aunque no podemos aislar ninguna estrategia como una "panacea", varias iniciativas fueron importantes.

Primero, la universidad "duplicó" su compromiso de ofrecer clases de inscripción simultánea en las escuelas secundarias del área. Sabíamos que la población en muchos distritos escolares locales era latina en 50% o más. Entonces, en lugar de esperar a que estos estudiantes vinieran a CMC después de la escuela secundaria, hicimos que la universidad fuera más accesible para ellos a una edad más temprana. Actualmente, más de 2,000 estudiantes de escuelas secundarias locales se inscriben en CMC anualmente. Junto con su diploma de escuela secundaria, muchos también obtienen certificados postsecundarios o títulos asociados, sin costo de inscripción para ellos o sus familias.

En segundo lugar, aplicamos millones de fondos de subsidios estatales y filantrópicos, así como programas de ayuda financiera diseñados recientemente en donde más se necesitaban. La universidad también destinó cientos de miles de dólares a los distritos escolares locales para cubrir los costos de inscripción y libros para estudiantes de secundaria y, a través de nuestra Beca del Presidente, se garantizaron fondos para todos los graduados de último año en la región de CMC.

Finalmente, agregamos de manera intencionada nuevos certificados y programas de grado enfocados en la carrera, concentrando nuestra energía en programas que conducen a un empleo estable en nuestra región, como enfermería, educación de maestros, aplicación de la ley y negocios. Y nuestra evolución hacia una institución de "doble misión", una que ofrece títulos de licenciatura además de certificados y títulos asociados relevantes a nivel local, les brindó a los estudiantes vías perfectas para continuar su educación cerca de casa mientras contribuían a la economía local.

Estos esfuerzos no fueron diseñados para aumentar la matrícula, los ingresos o "hacer crecer" la universidad per se. En cambio, nos enfocamos en mejorar los resultados y convertirnos en una institución altamente efectiva donde los estudiantes completan el programa de su elección sin obtener deudas pesadas.

Y funcionó. Actualmente, nuestra matrícula de estudiantes es modestamente más baja que en 2013, pero hemos duplicado la cantidad de títulos y certificados otorgados de manera anual. Más de nuestros estudiantes, que ahora son cerca de 28% de latinos, se inscriben a tiempo completo y terminan lo que comenzaron.

El nuevo estado de HSI de CMC marca el final del principio, no un fin en sí mismo. Aún hay un esfuerzo considerable por hacer, incluida la búsqueda de subsidios federales para los que ahora somos elegibles, recursos que mejorarán la experiencia de CMC para todos.

Y, sin duda, esta nueva designación es un testimonio del hecho de que cosas grandes suceden cuando miles de personas talentosas aplican su energía hacia un objetivo compartido: nivelar el campo de juego para que cualquiera que asista a CMC sea bienvenido, apoyado y exitoso.

Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser es President & CEO de Colorado Mountain College. Puede ser contactada en president@coloradomtn.edu o en @CMCPresident.

Hard work levels the playing field

Changing demographics and improved performance earn CMC national HSI designation

Colorado Mountain College President & CEO Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser. October 2020

By Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser

Sometimes you have to set your sights on a target that’s seemingly out of reach and pour your energy into accomplishing it.

Several years ago, the team at Colorado Mountain College established a goal to become Colorado’s next Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), the federal designation assigned to colleges and universities that successfully support a student population that is 25% or more Latino. Based on CMC’s history, it was a seemingly overconfident objective. But, by putting the right strategies in place, we knew it could be achieved.

There are just over 500 Hispanic Serving Institutions in the United States (about 10% of roughly 5,000 colleges and universities nationwide). These colleges are found in 21 states as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia and are most often concentrated in states with large Latino populations, such as California and Texas, and in metropolitan areas. In Colorado, only about one-third of the state’s public colleges have been granted HSI status. CMC will be the first HSI located in Colorado’s rural, high-cost mountain resort region.

When I arrived at CMC in 2013, the college was launching into its newly-authorized bachelor’s degree offerings. Then, CMC’s Latino population was approximately 13% of overall enrollments, which was not representative of the general population. Troublingly, at that time, CMC’s Latino students were underperforming with regard to retention and completion compared to their majority counterparts. In fact, Latino student achievement lagged by double-digits.

We promptly adopted performance objectives for each of our eleven campuses and the college as a whole. In every category – enrollment, retention, credit accumulation, and course completion – we focused on disparities between Latino and non-Latino students.

By 2020, the improvements at CMC were dramatic and positive. On nearly every metric, Latino student performance not only improved but stubborn gaps in retention and completion finally closed. In fact, Latino students had the highest completion performance among all groups in 2019-20. Noteworthy, these improvements did not come at the expense of anyone else. Over the past five years, equity disparities have dissolved and ALL students at CMC have become more successful. A true win-win.

Though we cannot isolate any one strategy as a “panacea,” several initiatives were important.

First, the college “doubled-down” on its commitment to offering concurrent enrollment classes in area high schools. We knew the populations in many local school districts were 50% or more Latino. So, instead of waiting for these students to come to CMC following high school, we made the college more accessible to them at an earlier age. Today more than 2,000 local high school students enroll at CMC annually. Along with their high school diploma, many also earn post-secondary certificates or associate degrees – free from any tuition costs to them or their families.

Second, we applied millions of state and philanthropic grant funds as well as newly designed financial aid programs where they were most needed. The college also directed hundreds of thousands of dollars to local school districts to cover the costs of tuition and books for high school students, and through our President’s Scholarship, guaranteed funding to every graduating senior across CMC’s region.

Finally, we intentionally added new career-focused certificate and degree programs, concentrating our energy on programs leading to stable employment in our region, such as nursing, teacher education, law enforcement and business. And, our evolution into a “dual mission” institution – one that offers bachelor’s degrees in addition to locally-relevant certificates and associate degrees – gave students seamless pathways to continue their education close to home while contributing to the local economy.

These efforts were not designed to increase enrollment, revenues, or “grow” the college per se. Instead, we focused on improving outcomes and becoming a highly effective institution where students complete their program of choice without incurring burdensome debt.

And, it worked. Today, our student enrollment is modestly lower than it was in 2013 but we’ve doubled the number of degrees and certificates awarded annually. More of our students – now approaching 28% Latino – enroll full time and finish what they started.

CMC’s newly minted HSI status marks the end of the beginning, not an end to itself. Considerable effort still lies ahead including pursuing federal grants for which we are now eligible – resources that will improve the CMC experience for everyone.

And, without question, this new designation is a testament to the fact that great things happen when thousands of talented people apply their energy toward a shared goal – to level the playing field so that anyone who attends CMC is welcomed, supported and successful.

Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser is President & CEO of Colorado Mountain College. She can be reached at president@coloradomtn.edu or @CMCPresident.