In Colorado, fewer than half of high school graduates go on to college, well below the national average. In recent years, universities across the state have stepped up efforts to change that by offering free tuition to low-income students.
Colorado Mesa University is one of the latest. As the fall semester gets closer, university President John Marshall is touring mostly rural high schools across the Western Slope. In communities like Nucla, Craig and Cedaredge, he’s sharing this message: College is possible.
In a town of 10,000 people, Rifle High School is surrounded by bright-green cow pastures and distant mountains. On a recent morning, Marshall spoke to an auditorium filled with many students who could become the first college graduates in their family.
Read more from Colorado Public Radio.
