A first-of-its kind program at the University of Colorado Denver is helping people like Lynette Bates become the leader in higher education she wished she knew when she was an undergraduate.


Bates grew up in Pueblo County and said she was discouraged from pursuing a college degree by her high school guidance counselor because neither of her parents finished school or earned their GED.

Since her understanding of the higher education system was fuzzy, she picked up two jobs after high school and delayed advancing her studies because she thought she needed pay for all of her college tuition up front.

“I thought I was unique in not knowing the processes,” said Bates, now the vice president of academic affairs at Trinidad State College. “I realized I am not the only one with this lack of understanding of how higher education works. I wanted to do this degree so that I can better serve the students that I serve.”

The CU Denver Leadership for Educational Equity program welcomes Bates among its first cohort this summer. The largely online doctoral course — costing approximately $22,000, excluding books, materials and fees — is targeting folks already involved in higher ed with hopes of shaping the next university dean, president and beyond. The degree aims to bring diversity to positions that Diane Hegeman, the program’s senior instructor, noted were increasingly becoming vacant.

The degree also features off-campus “intensive bootcamps” at which students can meet face-to-face, but all the course work and the doctoral dissertation can be completed online.

Bates looks forward to strengthening her leadership skills and fine-tuning her higher education knowledge so she can better serve her rural Colorado students. AAAAA “This degree I firmly believe will help me be a better administrator,” Bates said. “I believe that higher education is for everyone. I’ve served incredible students who, like myself, were told they wouldn’t go on to higher education… Too many people have assumptions placed on them, and we need to be able to help find pathways for them.”

This article courtesy of the Denver Post. Click here to read entire text.