COSI Back To Work Grant Aids Students Post Pandemic
Emily Griffith Foundation is excited to launch a six-episode podcast series about the COSI Back to Work Grant. The following story outlines the content of Episode 1, explaining how the grant was founded and how it helps Emily Griffith Technical College students.
By Noelle Riley
September 28, 2022
Economic hardships from COVID-19 disrupted the global workforce, and in Colorado — as things got worse — a recovery plan was developed for college students.
The plan was to put money into students’ hands and help them get back to work.
To do this, $15 million was allocated to the Colorado Department of Higher Education to fund the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative (COSI) Back To Work Grant.
Emily Griffith Technical College landed a three-year, $850,000 Back to Work grant to help students get back on their feet, thanks to the Emily Griffith Foundation.
Last Fall, Emily Griffith started allocating those funds to students and will continue to do so for the next three years.
For trade schools like Emily Griffith Technical College, that’s a huge deal, said Dr. Cynthia Armendariz. She’s the COSI Director at the Colorado Department of Higher Education.
“At the height of the pandemic, we had over 400,000 thousand Coloradans who lost their jobs due to the pandemic, and we saw this as an opportunity to mobilize and provide students with the support services they need to get back into school, and to really explore career paths and opportunities in high demand fields,” she said. “Our first iteration of the project was in March of 2020. And then, we were very fortunate that the Colorado recovery plan, which is called Developing Our Workforce, also prioritized this opportunity.”
A bill was then introduced in June of 2021. It gave $15 million dollars to COSI through American Rescue Plan money. COSI, in turn, started allocating these funds to postsecondary institutions across the state.
“What’s so important about this grant is it has the ability to get individuals back into college, get them the education they need and back into the workforce,” Cynthia said. “And Emily is really well positioned because of the number of short-term programs and certificate opportunities that they have — that a student can really get in, get out and back into the workforce and hopefully have other opportunities to advance their career goals.”
That’s important for underserved students, and there’s a formula for positive results, Cynthia said.
“We do this in three ways: first by affordability, access and also completion and the success of our students.”
An important aspect of the grant is that COSI doesn’t fund students directly. Money is awarded to colleges that give the money to students through scholarships.
“The program was actually inspired by the Denver Scholarship Foundation, and we received an initial commitment of $35 million from the state at that time,” Cynthia said. “COSI also continues to receive an annual appropriation from the state, we in turn allocate those scholarship funds through our matching scholarship support program, and also student support funds through our community partnership program grants across the state.”
Denver Scholarship Foundation’s COO Nate Cadena is proud of the partnership.
“Denver Scholarship Foundation (DSF) and COSI worked together for a long time through the department of higher ed, CDHE,” he said. “We have a long-running history in creating programs that have taken innovative and proven approaches to serving diverse populations and helping funnel groups of students and sub groups of students that have traditionally been underrepresented in postsecondary pathways.”
An example of postsecondary education is Emily Griffith Technical College.
The Back to Work grant provides a nice little push of money to support students through tuition and other financial needs to help them get through their programs successfully. In addition, the College provides wraparound navigation and supportive services to ensure students' success.
That includes helping students with registration, admission and any guidance they might need while in classes. And, of course, funding, Nate said.
This is all to make sure students are successful in their pursuit to gain more education, Nate added.
“It’s a win for everybody. It’s definitely a win for the student, but to be able to fund a student for a quick credential, that’s a win across the board for all of us,” he said.
Tisha Chapman is Vice President of Student Services at the college. She feels the grant is incredibly important.
“Emily Griffith was founded [106 years ago] with the premise of supporting our community and our students who are trying to make better for themselves,” she said. “So this fund just ties nicely with the mission of Emily Griffith and the mission of our college. We’re always excited to have opportunities that continue the support of our mission and continue to support our students so they can go out in the world and take care of themselves and their families.”
Colorado residents that have suffered any economic loss due to COVID-19, and students enrolled at Emily Griffith Technical College are eligible for the funding, Tisha said.
The amount of money an individual gets varies, and awards range anywhere from $500 to $2,500.
Currently, more than 100 students at Emily Griffith have received back to work money. Both the Foundation and the College are thrilled about it.
For more information on Emily Griffith programs, visit www.emilygriffith.edu
To help Emily Griffith students, consider making a donation to Emily Griffith Foundation.
The beats for the podcast were composed by Just Emcee, and podcast cover art was designed by Sara Grossman/CODE Marketing.