As we settle into summer, I want to share an important update on work that will shape Colorado College's path forward for years to come beginning this fall.
We have received a draft report from Baker Tilly following their comprehensive Institutional Review of Colorado College—a process that engaged our campus community through interviews, focus groups, and institution-wide surveys of employees and students. I am grateful to everyone who participated so thoughtfully and openly. You provided essential insight and perspective.
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Baker Tilly’s findings affirm what we already know: Colorado College has real and distinctive strengths. The Block Plan remains one of our most powerful differentiators. Our faculty and staff demonstrate exceptional commitment to students. We have a strong financial foundation, significant endowment resources, and deep institutional pride across our community.
At the same time, the review surfaces challenges we must take seriously. Across six areas—Fiscal Health, Strategic Enrollment Management, Student Experience and Success, Academic Portfolio, Resource Optimization, and Organizational Effectiveness—Baker Tilly identified a consistent through-line: our greatest opportunities lie in how we coordinate, share information, and communicate decision-making authority so that our people and resources work together more effectively on behalf of students.
A few topline themes:
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- Enrollment. Declining yield rates are the central enrollment challenge. Students are interested in CC; yet, we need to be more compelling at the moment of decision, and we need better analytics and coordination to support that work.
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Student Experience. Fragmented support services make it harder for students to get what they need when they need it. A more coordinated, student-centered model for advising, wellness, financial aid, and academic support would strengthen outcomes, satisfaction, and long-term alumni connection.
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Financial Sustainability. Our financial model is healthy due to our strong endowment, stable revenue, and generous donor support. The review notes that, relative to peers, we rely more heavily on tuition and investment returns as primary revenue sources. In addition to centralized financial planning, the report recommends that we explore mission-aligned revenue-generating opportunities, with the goal of supplementing long-term resilience.
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Academic Portfolio. Our programs are well-aligned with our mission, and our faculty’s commitment to teaching and scholarship is one of CC’s defining strengths. The review recommends developing a shared framework—built with faculty through shared governance—for understanding where student demand is growing, where we have capacity to invest further, and how we sustain the programs that are most central to who we are. This is faculty-led work, and it will unfold through the deliberative processes that characterize academic decision-making at CC.
- Operational Infrastructure. Behind many of the day-to-day frustrations people named in interviews and surveys is a common culprit: systems, processes, and data that are siloed and difficult to integrate. Digital infrastructure improvements and stronger data governance would help across virtually every area.
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Organizational Effectiveness. The review points to governance and organizational clarity as a foundation for progress in nearly every area. Clearer roles, stronger accountability structures, and more transparent communication will help us move faster and more effectively as an institution.
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Collectively, these findings validate the direction of our strategic plan, while also providing greater specificity about the structural changes needed to sustain progress.
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While the overall themes are well-founded, we are finalizing the nuances of the report, verifying data accuracy, and ensuring specific findings reflect changes that have occurred since Baker Tilly’s data collection concluded in the spring. Once that work is complete, the Board of Trustees will convene in mid-July to review the findings in depth and work alongside the Cabinet and me to prioritize recommendations. I will share more with you following that meeting.
Additionally, Baker Tilly’s recommendations will be woven into our divisional strategic plans and the ongoing work already underway across the College. I will provide regular updates as we move from findings to action, beginning with two Work of the College Series presentations on Sept. 1 and Sept. 3. I encourage you to read the executive summary ahead of time, as these are community-wide opportunities to engage with what we learned and what it means for our work together. How we implement recommendations will require the voices of faculty, staff, and students, so please mark your calendars.
We are in a strong position. We have the people, the mission, and the will. This review helps us see more clearly where to focus.
I look forward to continuing this conversation with you throughout the year ahead.
Warmly,
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14 E. Cache La Poudre St. | Colorado Springs, CO 80903 US
You are receiving this email because you are a member of the Colorado College community. Thank you for the important work you do each day.
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14 E. Cache La Poudre St.
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
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