“That is not to say that there was not good work that was happening,” he said. “But was it happening at scale?”
Building a culture and network to push equity
Montoya said 24 of 31 colleges in Colorado have a senior equity officer.
But a small group can’t do all the work, he said. He wants the work those equity officers do to become part of the culture of every school and reach every employee. If the whole school works to help clear the roadblocks, he said, then it makes it easier for students of color to enroll and graduate.
Montoya added budget constraints shouldn’t stop the work. State funding for higher education has improved in recent years, but it’s still well below that of most states.
Instead, he said the state and schools can find ways to do the work under tight budgets. He said they can push for more partnerships that don’t cost money to get the work done, including working with foundations and community organizations.
He’s asking: “How do we partner with the institutions and find those very creative and innovative ways to do the work?”
The work that needs to be done for students
So what are those challenges that Montoya sees students facing?
They can include not enough food, or needing to take care of a parent, or working late hours. Students don’t see enough role models among people in power, and they don’t get enough support to take care of their mental and physical health.
He doesn’t want to just make schools aware of these problems; he wants to tackle them head on.
He has limitations. The state’s higher education office cannot demand colleges and universities do anything, he said. But he does hope by pushing the issue of equity, his office can bring greater awareness to what students need.
So far, there’s some progress. He succeeded in advocating to pass a bill that will help students with disabilities, he said. And the state is planning a second symposium to bring together college leaders to talk about how to tackle problems. “We all must work together,” he said.
“We’re not an authoritative body,” Montoya said. “This work is to lift up and to serve as that amplifier and conduit to the promising practices.”
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization covering public education.
Jason Gonzales is a reporter covering higher education and the Colorado legislature. Chalkbeat Colorado partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage. Contact Jason at jgonzales@chalkbeat.org.
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