A week after unveiling an agenda for beefing up Colorado's public schools, Senate and House Republicans proposed a plan today to shore up the state's higher-education system.

The measures establish a reliable funding stream for higher ed by drawing on surging revenue from oil and gas development. At the same time, Republicans will demand more accountability by attaching new performance standards to the state's funding contracts with colleges and universities. The proposals also provide for a smoother path to enrollment in higher education, including a program that will offer merit-based scholarships for low-income students and another that will require a school district to pick up the tab for remedial course work if its graduates arrive at college unprepared.

Republican leaders in both chambers described their approach to higher education as an innovative but realistic plan that aims to garner support on both sides of the aisle. The plan's funding formula is the only practical way to meet higher ed's needs, they said, because the public is unlikely to embrace a tax hike.