Many Colorado high school students are getting a leg up on their college career before even graduating. At Arapahoe Community College, 65% of their overall enrollment are high school students who are concurrently enrolled, and the campus is leading the way by offering concurrent enrollment opportunities to students.
The program is paving a path for success for students like Josue Brizuela, a Sheridan High School senior. He's jump starting his career by taking the automotive technology class through Arapahoe Community College. In the class, students train for technician jobs in the automotive industry.
"It's very hands-on, very technical, and it's very, very fun to do," said Brizuela. "I have learned basic electricity, and I have learned how to rebuild my own starting motor. I have learned how to change tires and how to refill them."
Concurrent enrollment allows high school students to take high school and college classes in high school and earn college credit with tuition paid for by the school district.
Compared to dual enrollment where the student and their families are likely responsible for covering part of the costs, concurrent enrollment lowers the cost of college education and prepares students for post-secondary opportunities.
"Concurrent enrollment is a more accessible point, an entry point for high school students to get college credit and so more and more districts are recognizing that and really pushing growth," said Shari Culver, the Associate Dean for Concurrent Enrollment. "There also was legislation in Colorado a few years ago that mandated all high schools and across the state of Colorado offer some form or sort of concurrent enrollment."
Culver said Arapahoe Community College has nearly 17,000 students with just over 11,000 students who are concurrently enrolled. She says the concurrent enrollment student population has grown up to 20% year over year.
"This year, we can claim that we're the largest provider of concurrent enrollment in the state," said Culver. "I am super excited that concurrent enrollment is in that space to promote students, ultimately, for success."
Monica Fuglei, the Concurrent Enrollment Faculty Chair & English Faculty, said there are about 490 instructors approved to teach concurrent enrollment, with around 250 to 300 instructors actively teaching this semester. The majority of their partnerships are with Douglas County schools, Jefferson County schools and Littleton Public Schools.
"It's pretty powerful for a high school to watch a student cross the stage at ACC usually a week or two before the student crosses the stage at the high school. We have that happen quite often," said Fuglei. "I also think we're also seeing parents who are anticipating, quite frankly, the financial burden of sending their kids to college, and so now they're seeing an opportunity to shave some time off of that."
ACC partners with 15 school districts and works with high schools to determine what classes to offer. 90% of ACC's concurrent enrollment courses are general education classes taught at local high schools by teachers who are certified to teach the college's curriculum. Some classes are taught on ACC's campus or online. ACC also seen an increase in technical education courses, like automotive, cosmetology, robotics, CTE and CNA.
Bob Parmley is a Sheridan High School instructor teaching the automotive service tech class on ACC's campus. Just after one year of training, students can receive an Automotive Maintenance and Light Repair certificate.
"It's the launching pad for making a great income," said Parmley. "You're making a difference,and you're opening the opportunity for students to do things they never even thought possible. They get high school and college credit for doing the same kind of work. It's a win-win."
For Brizuela, he'll be pursuing his associates degree in the auto industry after graduation. He credits being a concurrent enrollment student for his success.
"It's a great program, bringing in students from high school. It has helped me step up in life and want to do more things for myself," said Brizuela. "It's something I've never thought I'd see myself doing."