Phil Castle, The Business Times

A tour of sorts to every high school in 22 Western Colorado counties is planned to promote what’s termed as a promise.

Students from lower- to middle-income households that earn $65,000 or less a year who attend Colorado Mesa University or CMU Tech will have their tuition fully covered.

“The CMU Promise is a way to put our money where our mouth is,” CMU President John Marshall said in announcing the initiative at a news conference in Grand Junction.

Scheduled to begin with the fall semester, the initiative will ensure finances don’t pose a barrier to higher education, Marshall said. “College is possible, and we’re going to help you figure it out.”

CMU and CMU Tech will help qualified students through a combination of assistance that will include federal and state grants, various scholarships and government and private contributions, Marshall said.

The initiative also is made possible through collaborations with the City of Grand Junction and Mesa County as well as both the city and county of Montrose, he said. “We don’t do anything without partnerships.”

Four other officials participated in the news conference and praised the effort.

“This is a very exciting opportunity we have,” said Lori Buck, a member of the CMU Board of Trustees.

Grand Junction Mayor Anna Stout said she likely would have qualified for the initiative if it had been available when she attended CMU. Stout said she’s pleased cost will no longer constitute a barrier to college. “I’m  honored we’re doing this as a community.”

Mesa County Commissioner Cody Davis said the initiative will promote workforce development in Western Colorado and address a problem business owners face in hiring skilled labor. But the initiative also will help students, Davis said. “It just expands opportunities for all students.”

David Reed, a former CMU trustee who now serves as Montrose mayor pro tem, said the benefits of the imitative will extend to the CMU campus in Montrose, where students there will be able to remain at home and still pursue a higher education. “We’re so darned proud to be a part of this.”

Marshall said the CMU Promise builds on efforts over the past decades to keep higher education affordable. CMU offers some of the lowest tuition and fees in Colorado, he said.

The Learn for Less initiative lowered tuition and fees for career and technical education programs at CMU Tech by 40 percent.

Federal and state grants will help cover tuition for qualifying students, he said, as will funding made available through the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative as well as academic scholarships, he said. The initiative also will depend on government and private contributions.

CMU plans for 1 percent to 2 percent annual growth in enrollment. But the university will make adjustments to accommodate additional growth if that results from the CMU Promise, Marshall said. “What a great problem to have.”

In the meantime, CMU plans to conduct what’s billed as the CMU Promise Tour in which a representative from the university will visit every high school in the 22 Western Colorado counties to promote the initiative.

For additional information about Colorado Mesa University and the CMU Promise, contact the admissions office at (970) 248-1875 or log on to  www.coloradomesa.edu/admissions.