Colorado Minimum Value Threshold

Use the Data

Colorado’s Minimum Value Threshold is a pioneering effort to quantify the financial costs and benefits of postsecondary education. The MVT aligns with the 2023 Higher Education Strategic Plan - Building Skills in an Evolving Economy, which emphasizes that all education and training should lead to a positive return on investment (ROI) for every Coloradan.

Before Using the Data, Start Here: Review the public release overview and fact sheet, with important context about the data: Colorado Minimum Value Threshold (MVT) Fact Sheet.

Access the publicly released data here: Colorado Minimum Value Threshold (MVT) - Statewide Summary by Program

Additional Resources

Developing the Minimum Value Threshold

Aligned with the CCHE strategic plan, HB22-1349 directed CCHE, in partnership with CDHE, to develop new student success measures that track students’ progression through postsecondary education and assess how postsecondary pathways influence career opportunities and long-term success.

To support implementation, CCHE convened a Technical Working Group of local stakeholders and national experts to determine and define:

Colorado-specific measures of postsecondary value, including a “minimum economic viability threshold” focused on ensuring that Colorado learners, at a minimum, can count on their investment in postsecondary education enabling an increase in their lifetime earnings (over what they would have made had they not pursued postsecondary education) to exceed their cost of attendance (inclusive of the opportunity cost of foregone wages). (CCHE Strategic Plan)
“Student success measure the progression of students through postsecondary education and the impact of postsecondary pathways on a student's career opportunities and success. The student success measures must include postsecondary success measures and workforce success measures.” (HB 22-1349)

Minimum Value Threshold (MVT): The Working Group advised CCHE on the most appropriate empirical model to estimate a Minimum Value Threshold (MVT) of postsecondary credentials in Colorado, and the best data elements to support this model.

While focusing on the metrics and outcomes most relevant to Colorado, the Working Group members reviewed prior research and analysis of postsecondary education’s financial value and return on investment, particularly the work of the Gates Foundation Postsecondary Value Commission, the Institute for Higher Education Policy and the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity (FREOPP). Building on the research conducted by the Postsecondary Value Commission and FREOPP, the Working Group proposed the following model to estimate the minimum value threshold of a postsecondary credential in Colorado:

Minimum Value Threshold (Incremental Earnings – Costs Specific to Higher Education)

Technical Working Group

The Technical Working Group met monthly through 2023 and 2024 to discuss topics and provide CCHE with recommendations on new measures of postsecondary and workforce success.

Technical Working Group Members

Sarah Hughes, Chair - Colorado Commission on Higher Education
Josh Scott, Vice Chair - Colorado Commission on Higher Education
Britta Blodgett, Assistant Director of Communications and Collaboration - Colorado Workforce Development Council
Marcia Bohannan, Chief Information Officer - Colorado Department of Education
Dr. Sonia Brandon, Director of Institutional Research and Effectiveness - University of Northern Colorado
Dr. Joyce Brooks, Former Chairwoman - Colorado NAACP
Mario Carrera, President - Colorado Latino Leadership, Advocacy and Research Organization
Diane Cheng, Vice President of Research and Policy - Institute for Higher Education Policy
Preston Cooper, Senior Fellow - Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity
Dr. Nate Easley, Secretary - Colorado State University Board of Governors
Dr. Landon Pirius, Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs - Colorado Community College System
Michelle Quinn, Vice President of Finance and Administration -Colorado Mesa University
Michael Vente, Chief Performance Officer - Colorado Department of Higher Education
Maggie Yang, Senior Director of Data Systems - Colorado Department of Higher Education

Ongoing Work

CDHE continues to collaborate with CCHE on the findings from the MVT output at the postsecondary program level (both statewide and institution-specific data). These analyses will inform collaborative conversations between CDHE, CCHE, and Colorado institutions of higher education on how best to enhance value of programs and bolster postsecondary student success.

Related Legislation: Postsecondary Student Success Data System (HB22-1349) Implementation

Colorado is reimagining how data are used to elevate student experiences and show the value of higher education.
HB22-1349  directs the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE) and Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) on a variety of tasks related to better use of data to support student postsecondary and workforce success.
 HB24-1210  extended the timeline for completing these tasks to December 2026. These tasks (and the latest updates) are summarized below.

Modernized data systems, measures of student success, and dashboards

HB22-1349 directs CDHE to develop a statewide data system of student success information and measures to enhance data-based decision-making by institutions and the public. Data included in the system will examine educational and workforce success disparities among various student populations.

CDHE updated and modernized its data collection systems, including its Student Unit Record Data System (SURDS) and deployed these upgrades to SURDS in 2025.

CDHE continues to identify new measures of postsecondary student success and build off past work to better elevate student stories, experiences and perspectives. Aligned to these goals, CDHE has developed dashboards to better inform students, families and policymakers. Much of the data and measures can be disaggregated by institution of higher education, race/ethnicity, gender, first generation status and socioeconomic status.

CDHE Dashboards 

Reports on Colorado’s longitudinal data landscape and future

Each January through 2026, CDHE submitted a report to the House and Senate Education Committees outlining required work, barriers and recommended legislative changes needed to deliver a statewide longitudinal data system connecting K–12, postsecondary, and workforce data.

The 2026 report highlights the collaborative work of Colorado state agencies, led by the Office of Information Technology (OIT), to develop the Colorado Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS). It covers progress on system design, governance, use cases and data sharing efforts to achieve the SLDS’s goals.

The 2025 report summarizes conversations about Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDSs) held via the Technical Working Group and the ways in which a robust SLDS in Colorado can support better calculation of student success measures, specifically Colorado’s Minimum Value Threshold (MVT).

The 2024 report provides updates on work, elevates specific use cases that can benefit from a more robust longitudinal data infrastructure, and provides concrete actions Colorado can take to strengthen work around longitudinal data.

The 2023 report provides an overview of the Colorado longitudinal data landscape (specifically the K-12, postsecondary education and workforce continuum) along with recommendations to bolster well-governed data connections across state agencies.

With the passage of  HB24-1364  tasking the Office of Information Technology (OIT) with the creation of a  Colorado SLDS, CDHE is working closely with OIT to ensure alignment between the goals of HB22-1349 and HB24-1364.

For more information about the Minimum Value Threshold and HB22-1349, please contact Michael Vente at  Michael.Vente@dhe.state.co.us.