Colorado Workforce Pell

Where Colorado stands on Workforce Pell

Status

Live: an operational approval process underway, an open application window, a pilot cohort accepting programs, or an eligible-program list being finalized and submitted to ED (the Record’s definition).

Phase

Governor Approved Five Programs for ED Submission

Lead agency

Colorado Workforce Development Council

Current holdup

CWDC

The CWDC page announces "Colorado to Submit Five Programs to U.S. Department of Education for Workforce Pell": Governor Polis approved five programs to be recommended for inclusion, Phlebotomy at Arapahoe Community College, Advanced EMT and Phlebotomy at Colorado Mountain College, and Advanced EMT and EMT-Basic at Trinidad State College; the announcement is undated on the page (observed October 2), the page does not say whether it reflects the steering committee's September 21 ad hoc vote, and no submission counts, applicant pool, or ED action are posted

State portal

coloradoetpl.org

What the record documents

CWDC published Colorado's Final Workforce Pell Implementation Policy and opened the new Eligible Training Provider List platform at coloradoetpl.org on July 1, 2026 as the state certification portal. The per-program application window opened on the published schedule July 15 and runs through August 15, 2026; state review runs fall 2026, followed by governor certification and ED review. Occupations must meet any combination of two of high-wage, high-skill, or in-demand, and applications require participant-level completion and placement data for the prior two program years (against the 70% thresholds), evidence of guaranteed credit articulation, and employer-input evidence. The state is running technical-assistance office hours with Education Strategy Group July 21, July 31, August 10, and August 14; contact wfpell@state.co.us; recordings of the July 6 and July 21 implementation webinars are posted on the CWDC page. HB26-1317 separately advances a unified postsecondary talent system. On July 17 the CWDC page also carries the published eligible-occupations list with a CIP-to-SOC crosswalk: 434 SOC occupations, each marked as meeting two of the three statutory criteria. The CWDC's September council pre-work packet (file dated September 3) states that "Workforce Pell applications were open to be submitted via the ETPL platform due by Aug. 21. Staff are reviewing the applications and will share results with the Education and Training Steering Committee for their review in September," and the committee's August 24 meeting notes record that "the CWDC delegated its statutory consultation role to the Education & Training Steering Committee," that the committee "will not re-perform technical audits" but will review staff recommendations "before recommending certification to the Governor," and that "a special ad hoc voting meeting is scheduled for September 21, 2026, at 11:30 AM to finalize program recommendations," a session the notes' key-dates table labels "Governor Review and Approval in consultation with CWDC"; the September 17 to 18 council agenda carries no Workforce Pell action item. The CWDC page now carries the undated announcement "Colorado to Submit Five Programs to U.S. Department of Education for Workforce Pell" (observed October 2, 2026): Governor Polis approved five programs to be recommended for inclusion, Arapahoe Community College (Phlebotomy), Colorado Mountain College (Advanced Emergency Medical Technician; Phlebotomy), and Trinidad State College (Advanced Emergency Medical Technician; Emergency Medical Technician - Basic). The page does not date the decision or say whether it records the outcome of the steering committee's September 21 ad hoc vote, no submission counts or fuller applicant pool are posted, and technical-assistance office hours concluded August 14 with none scheduled. Source

Verified against the sources on November 6, 2026.

Eligible occupations in Colorado

Colorado has 434 occupations on the state’s eligible-occupation list. Open the state’s list. Its list design, side by side with the other published frameworks, is in the State Approval Comparison.

Approved programs (state / federal)

None yet

List philosophy

Broad list; any two of the three criteria

High-wage definition

One of three criteria; an occupation qualifies by meeting any two (definitions per the CWDC final implementation policy)

Skill and demand logic

Any two of high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand

Lead and approver

CWDC leads; state review fall 2026, then Governor certification and ED review

List refresh

Not published

Approved Workforce Pell programs in Colorado

No Colorado program appears in the Record’s approved-programs table (U.S. Department of Education announcements and state rosters of federally approved programs) as of November 5, 2026.

Sources

Every primary source the record cites for Colorado, last checked November 6, 2026.

• State Workforce Pell portal (coloradoetpl.org)
• pre-work packet (cwdc.colorado.gov)
• August 24 meeting notes (docs.google.com)
• Source (cwdc.colorado.gov)
• Eligible-occupation list (docs.google.com)