Concurrent Enrollment

COVID 19 and Concurrent Enrollment

As local education providers (LEPs) consider Concurrent Enrollment and higher education admissions for students in these exceptional times, the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) and Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) provide this resource to support the local decision-making process.

Concurrent Enrollment FAQs

Overview

In May 2009, the Colorado State Legislature passed House Bill 09-1319 and Senate Bill 09-285, the Concurrent Enrollment Programs Act. The act created the concurrent enrollment program, defined as the simultaneous enrollment of a qualified student in a local education provider and in one or more postsecondary courses, including academic or career and technical education courses, which may include course work related to apprenticeship programs or internship programs, at an institution of higher education. The collective intent is to broaden access to and improve the quality of concurrent enrollment programs, improve coordination between institutions of secondary education and institutions of higher education and ensure financial transparency and accountability. Beyond coordinating and clarifying the existing concurrent enrollment programs, the bills also created the “5th year” ASCENT program for students to continue participating in concurrent enrollment for one year following their 12th grade year.

Comparison Chart: Concurrent Enrollment/ASCENT/Dual Enrollment (updated July 2018)

Fact Sheet

Concurrent Enrollment Fact Sheet (2017-18)
- Concurrent Enrollment Map (2017-18)

Annual Report on Concurrent Enrollment for 2017-18

CDE collaborated with the Department of Higher Education to release the 2017-18 Concurrent Enrollment Annual Report in April, 2019 with new data highlighting the enrollment and outcomes of Concurrent Enrollment students in the 2017-2018 school year.

Highlights include:

Concurrent Enrollment continues to see sustained increases in participation, up more nearly 10 percent statewide with 30,979 students participating in 2017-18.
Statewide, 98 percent of school districts (a 2 percentage-point increase from 2016-2017) and 85 percent of high schools (a 1 percentage-point decrease from 2016-2017) offer Concurrent Enrollment programs.
Compared to the previous year of 2016-17, participation in Concurrent Enrollment increased 11 percent among Asian students, 16 percent among African American students, 23 percent among Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students, 17 percent among Hispanic students, 18 percent among Native American students, 7 percent among White, non-Hispanic students and 19 percent among students identifying as more than one race.
High school students attempted a total of 264,304 Concurrent Enrollment credit hours. The average number of credit hours attempted per student was 8.5 with an average of 8 hours passed,
47 percent of Concurrent Enrollment students were enrolled in a credential-seeking program.
Through Concurrent Enrollment or ASCENT programs, 2,758 students earned some type of postsecondary credential in 2017-18 while still in high school. This is a 37 percent increase over the 2016-17 total credential-completion number of 2,017.

Annual Concurrent Enrollment Reports Archives

Contact

Michelle Romero
Phone: 303-866-6609
E-mail: romero_m@cde.state.co.us

STAY INFORMED: Visit CDE’s COVID-19 Resources for Schools page