Supporting First-Generation & Minoritized Students at CU Boulder

Enrollment, Retention & Graduation

73%

Seventy-three percent of minoritized students who started their first year at CU Boulder in 2017 graduated within six years – one percentage point higher than the previous cohort in 2016 and the highest on record at CU Boulder.

3 Points

The graduation gap between minoritized students and students who identify as white who entered CU Boulder in 2017 was 3 percentage points – a one-point reduction in the gap reported for the 2016 cohort.

67%

The six-year graduation rate for first-generation students who entered CU Boulder in 2017 was 67% – an all-time high exceeding the previous record of 65% set by first-generation fall cohorts in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

87%

The one-year retention rate for minoritized students who entered in fall 2022 was 87% – an increase of two percentage points from the previous year; the one-year retention rate for minoritized students hovered at 85% or 86% during the previous seven consecutive years.

77%

The "third fall" retention rate for minoritized students who entered CU Boulder in 2021 was 77% – a one percentage point decrease from the previous year.

Note: Minoritized students include first-generation, Asian American and Pacific Islander, Black and African American, Latine and Native American and Indigenous students.

Source: Office of Data Analytics. Data visualizations and other information are available on the ODA website, including 2023 fall enrollment , first-year student profiles and CU Boulder retention and graduation rates.

Financial Aid & Affordability

College affordability is important to current and prospective students. CU Boulder is committed to providing the most aid possible to all students. Financial aid awards can include federal Pell Grants, work study, federal parent and student loans, state and institutional grants and scholarships and private scholarships.

CU Boulder disbursed more than $183 million in financial aid awards to 12,339 resident undergraduate students in 2022-23.

CU Boulder disbursed $157 million in financial aid awards to 6,982 nonresident undergraduate students in 2022-23.

The CU Promise, which the university expanded for 2023-24, reflects CU Boulder’s commitment to affordability and increased access to higher education. The program provides free tuition and fees to resident students with the greatest financial need.

CU Boulder also leverages the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative, matching state dollars with fundraised dollars to provide financial support to first-generation students and students from historically minoritized communities with up to 250% Pell eligibility.

Source: Office of Financial Aid

For more information by student group see:

Precollege Support

Precollege programming and academic advising and other services are available to first-generation students and students from minoritized communities before they enter college. These resources can help prospective students navigate campus life, succeed academically and find peers, mentors and other supportive allies.

CU Boulder Office of Precollege Outreach and Engagement supported 4,247 Colorado middle and high school students between 2017 and 2022, including 3,983 first-generation students, introducing them to academic communities and practices to help them succeed at CU Boulder or another university or college.

Precollegiate Development supported 1,850 Denver-area middle and high school students between 2017 and 2022.

Partnership Outreach supported 2,020 students in rural Colorado between 2017 and 2022.

Precollege Bridge supported 127 Colorado students who participated in a precollege program and chose to attend CU Boulder between 2017 and 2022.

CU Upward Bound, the only program of its kind nationwide, supported 250 high school students from Native American and Indigenous communities in Colorado and four surrounding states between 2017 and 2022.

Source: Office of Precollege Outreach and Engagement

Affinity, Belonging & Academic Support

The CU Boulder Center for Inclusion and Social Change offers affinity programs, scholarships and support for first-generation students and students from minoritized communities. The center promotes community building and a sense of belonging, provides academic and career readiness and supports students’ intersectional identities. CISC’s guiding principles are:

Cultivating a welcoming space on campus for students and student organizations to gather, be in community and access resources.
Delivering transformational educational and community-building programs that support students in making friends, building a sense of belonging and learning new skills to effectively communicate across differences.
Providing one-on-one support services to assist students with resources that support academic success, holistic well-being, financial proficiency and the many other ways students show up on campus as unique beings.

Highlights

Between 2018 and 2022, some 3,200 students visited CISC, and 729 first-generation students received programming based on five areas that first-generation undergraduate students said they would like to learn more about during their first year on campus.

According to the results of a 2022-23 survey, 97.7% of a cohort of 142 first-generation students “strongly agreed” that the center’s academic success workshops provided them with study techniques and strategies that improved their academic experience.

Between 2021 and 2023, some 3,565 students participated in dozens of affinity and community-building programs at the center; during the 2023-24 academic year, CISC added three new staff positions to support students in their identities.

The center also leads meetings during the academic year for all first-year, first-generation students to support their transition into their second year of college and their persistence to graduation.

CISC’s Men of Excellence initiative enhances the experience of men of color, including first-generation students and students from historically minoritized communities. According to a survey, 20 students participated in 2022, and 100% strongly agreed the program enabled them to feel more connected to other men of color on campus.

Source: Division of Student Affairs

Academic Centers & Student Support

The CU Boulder Center for African and African American Studies offers a co-curricular and community-building space for first-generation and minoritized students, faculty and staff of color and community allies. The CAAAS Student Services Program focuses on leadership development, community-building and belonging, academic success, identity cultivation and the exploration of Black history and the Black diaspora.

The Center for Asian Studies strives to be a space of community, curiosity and respectful engagement with Asia and views the area studies endeavor as a necessary yet distinct complement to disciplinary knowledge. CAS recognizes the historic and geographic centrality that Asia has and continues to play in the human venture.

The Latin American and Latinx Studies Center provides an institutional space for research, teaching and discussion on Latin American studies and Latine* studies within the U.S. context.

*Includes students who identify as Latinx, Latina, Latino, Latin and Hispanic

The CU Boulder Center for Native American and Indigenous Studies provides first-generation and other Native American and Indigenous students, faculty and staff an intellectual and social home at CU Boulder. CNAIS promotes collaborative research focusing on local and global Indigenous knowledge and fosters wide-ranging Native American and Indigenous studies projects.

The Center for Teaching and Learning offers programs focused on creating inclusive classrooms and supports CU Boulder’s community of educators through free consultations, teaching resources, programs, seminars, workshops and other events.

University Libraries provides an assortment of diverse reading materials and other resources, events and initiatives for students, faculty, staff, alumni and Colorado residents.

Legislation, Policy & Outreach

Lowering Barriers to a College Degree

CU supports legislation to lower barriers and increase access to Colorado students seeking a college education, including first-generation and other minoritized students.
In 2021, CU supported legislation to allow the state's colleges and universities to make standardized tests optional based on data indicating that such tests can reflect socioeconomic and racial biases. That same year, CU ended legacy admissions and supported legislation to end the practice across higher education in Colorado.
CU Boulder changed its first-year merit scholarship criteria based on data indicating that the policies were a barrier during the admissions application process to promising first-generation students and students with other minoritized identities.

Advocating for Students

CU Boulder advocates on behalf of students who qualify for the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and Colorado’s Advancing Students for a Stronger Economy Tomorrow (ASSET) program, providing a variety of campus resources.
CU Boulder advocates for doubling Pell Grant awards.
In 2022, CU Boulder received $250,000 in congressionally directed spending to develop precollege programs in the San Luis Valley and in Fort Morgan for first-generation students, many with minoritized identities.
In 2023, CU Boulder initiated a legislative bill to raise funds for the expansion of the CU Promise program, which supports Colorado resident students who are Pell-eligible with up to $65,000 of annual family income.
CU Boulder supports bills to help students with disabilities from the foster care system, expanding their access to accessible bathrooms and other critical services.

Advocating for Education

CU Boulder supported legislative bills in 2022 and 2023 to provide stipends to lower-income student teachers, many with minoritized identities, giving them much-needed financial support during their year of student teaching.
In 2022, CU Boulder participated in the All in Campus Democracy Challenge to encourage more students, faculty and staff to vote and engage in the democratic process. Specific outreach and programming was identified and created for students and staff with minoritized identities. Frontline employees received information on how to vote in nearly two dozen languages.
CU Boulder in 2022 established Finish What You Started, a program that supports students who left college with fewer than 90 credits left to graduate and encourages them to re-enroll, including nontraditional students, minoritized students and students from lower-income circumstances. Since Spring 2022, the program has re-enrolled 107 students, helped 17 students graduate and awarded $237,000 in scholarships and additional financial assistance to program beneficiaries. The program awarded $59,000 in scholarships to 40 students in 2023.
CU Boulder hosts the American Heart Association’s STEM event for high school students in the Denver metro area. The daylong event inspires female students, including minoritized students, to enter STEM education pipelines and provides information about financial aid and student services.

Source: Office of Government and Community Engagement

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