Records of the Colorado Department of Education and Colorado Commission on Higher Education

The Colorado Department of Education and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE) oversee all public institutions of education within the state, including Colorado State University (CSU).

The Colorado Department of Education was created in 1858 with a territorial provision for an elected superintendent of public instruction, Henry H. McAfee. When Colorado became a state in 1876, Joseph Shattuck became the superintendent of public instruction and worked on the Board of Education with the Attorney General and Secretary of State. The Board remained similar to the function of territorial superintendence until 1948. That year, the Colorado Constitution was amended to create an elected board with power to select the Commissioner of Education and establish a staff at the Department of Education. The first Board of Education was elected in November 1950, with Nettie S. Freed serving as the first Commissioner of Education.

The Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE) is an 11-member, bipartisan council appointed by the governor with at least one member from each Congressional district and serves as a coordinating body, not a regulatory entity. The CCHE was established in 1965 by the Colorado Legislature and replaced an association, which met informally, to consider matters related to higher education. It is the only body charged with examining the higher education needs of the state and coordinating policies to help meet those needs. Additionally, the CCHE establishes the distribution formula for higher education funding and recommends statewide funding levels to the legislature; approves institutional capital construction requests and recommends capital construction priorities to the legislature; administers statewide student financial aid programs through program evaluations and allocation of funds; collects and analyzes student data; and evaluates programs and outcomes and reports best practices.