Date: 04/23/2015

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB15-072

SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Postpone Senate Bill 15-072 indefinitely. The moti
Refer Senate Bill 15-072 to the Committee on Finan		PASS
FAIL



01:41 PM -- SB15-072

Senator Lambert, sponsor, presented Senate Bill 15-072 which concerns changing admissions standards for Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU-Denver) from modified open to moderately selective. He distributed two handouts to the committee (Attachments B and C) and explained the handouts.

15SenateEd0423AttachB.pdf15SenateEd0423AttachB.pdf 15SenateEd0423AttachC.pdf15SenateEd0423AttachC.pdf

The following people testified on the bill:

01:48 PM -- Dawn Bookhardt, Vice-Chair of the MSU-Denver Board of Trustees, spoke in opposition to the bill. She discussed the demographic make-up of the students who attend MSU-Denver, and told the committee that the majority of students are non-traditional students. She discussed the availability of gateway classes in English and math and stated that changing the admissions standards flies in the face of the school's mission.

01:53 PM -- Dr. Stephen Jordan, President of MSU-Denver, spoke in opposition to the bill. He talked about the mission of the school, and stated that the changes made by the bill disrupt the school's mission. He spoke about the programs at the school that are aimed at increasing the success of students and increasing graduation rates. Dr. Jordan answered questions from the committee.

02:10 PM -- Brittany Bartges, representing herself as a student at MSU-Denver, spoke in opposition to the bill. She talked about her experiences in the military and as a student at MSU-Denver. She told the committee why she opposes the bill.

02:13 PM -- Kenn Bisio, representing himself, spoke in opposition to the bill. He spoke about his educational background, and about why he opposes the bill.

02:17 PM -- Austin Banks, representing himself as a student at MSU-Denver, spoke in opposition to the bill. He distributed a handout to the committee (Attachment D).

15SenateEd0423AttachD.pdf15SenateEd0423AttachD.pdf

02:19 PM -- Shiela Ruscki, representing MSU-Denver faculty, spoke in opposition to the bill. She distributed a handout (Attachment E).

15SenateEd0423AttachE.pdf15SenateEd0423AttachE.pdf

02:21 PM -- Chris Piper, representing Denver Water, spoke in opposition to the bill. He talked about hiring students from MSU-Denver and said that it fills a niche with non-traditional students, in particular with training and educating the type of workforce that Denver Water will need in the next ten years.


02:24 PM

There were no more witnesses and Senator Hill closed public testimony. Senator Lambert distributed an additional handout to the committee (Attachment F) and provided closing comments to the bill. Senator Lambert answered questions from the committee.

15SenateEd0423AttachF.pdf15SenateEd0423AttachF.pdf
BILL:SB15-072
TIME: 02:32:59 PM
MOVED:Neville T.
MOTION:Refer Senate Bill 15-072 to the Committee on Finance. The motion failed on a vote of 2-7.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Holbert
No
Johnston
No
Kerr
No
Merrifield
No
Neville T.
Yes
Todd
No
Woods
Yes
Marble
No
Hill
No
YES: 2 NO: 7 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:SB15-072
TIME: 02:37:19 PM
MOVED:Marble
MOTION:Postpone Senate Bill 15-072 indefinitely. The motion passed on a vote of 7-2.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Holbert
Yes
Johnston
Yes
Kerr
Yes
Merrifield
Yes
Neville T.
No
Todd
Yes
Woods
No
Marble
Yes
Hill
Yes
Final YES: 7 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS