For many students, taking a college class in high school is the moment college stops feeling abstract and starts feeling possible—with the added benefit of potentially getting an advanced degree faster for less money.
Across Colorado, high school students are increasingly earning college credit through dual enrollment courses, Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and concurrent programs through community colleges. A bill under consideration this legislative session, HB26-1078, could expand those opportunities statewide.
For Hugo Paredes, those early courses changed everything.
“I think offering students more opportunities is great,” said Paredes, a senior pursuing a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at CU Denver. “You know, there’s the practical part. Those classes can more quickly lead to your degree, and the rate is more affordable to pay in high school. But it also means something to first-generation students like me. The classes help you see yourself in college. It helps you know you can do it.”
Paredes, of Denver, took several dual-enrollment classes at his high school through CU Denver’s CU Succeed program. He also completed courses offered through Community College of Aurora and Community College of Denver in addition to several AP classes offered through the College Board.
His coursework included Calculus 1, Intro to Environmental Science, biology, graphic design, and Photoshop. When he enrolled at CU Denver in 2024, all those credits transferred.
“When I started college, most of my general education requirements were mostly done, which allowed me to focus on my engineering classes,” Paredes said.
There were other benefits, too.
“It helped me learn how to manage my workload, challenged me academically, and gave me the foundations to be a good student,” he said. “And it also saved me a lot of time and money.”
CU Succeed: College Courses in High School
Started in the 1980s, CU Succeed courses allow students at partner high schools to take college-level courses in their own neighborhoods. Partner teachers deliver the curriculum while students earn CU Denver credit. In many cases, CU Succeed courses are paid for by a school district or high school. When families pay directly, the rate is about $77 per credit hour, far below typical university tuition.
“CU Succeed is about giving students a taste of what college work is like,” said CU Denver Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Karen Marrongelle. “This program opens possibilities for some students who may not see themselves in college. And it is an affordable way to start building credits toward that higher education degree. We know that a college degree translates into more lifetime earnings than a high school degree.”
This spring, CU Succeed offered hundreds of courses at more than 60 high schools across Colorado, from rural communities like Montrose and Trinidad, to schools that serve larger underserved communities like Adams City High School, Rocky Mountain High School, as well as those in the immediate Denver metro area like Denver Public Schools and Cherry Creek Schools.
The impact is visible on campus: More than half of students who enroll at CU Denver bring early college credits thanks to the many options available now. Currently 4,498 students at CU Denver took at least one CU Succeed course while in high school.
Saving Time—and Money
For Paredes, affordability was a critical factor.
After high school, he served five years in the military, which made him eligible for the GI Bill. Combined with the credits he earned in high school, he was able to start directly in upper-level engineering coursework when he enrolled at CU Denver in fall 2024.
He expects to graduate in spring 2027—just three years later. A bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering typically takes four to six years.
“A lot of that has to do with getting those credits transferred,” he said. “That’s a lot of tuition dollars I’ve saved by taking those classes in high school, too.”
Having most of his general education requirements out of the way, also means Paredes was able to work with faculty and take advantage of networking and hands-on learning opportunities. He now works in an engineering lab on campus, and thanks to support from faculty in the College of Engineering, Design and Computing, completed an internship last summer with a local aerospace launch company. He hopes the combination of his degree and hands-on experience make him a competitive candidate for a job after graduation.
His dream job: working on rocket ships.
Growing Early College Access Opportunities
The Colorado legislature is now considering a bill that would expand concurrent enrollment opportunities across the state.
Paredes is supportive of the effort. Expanding more dual enrollment opportunities for students and making sure students and their families know about the options is important, he said.
Paredes is not alone. Other students are not only leveraging early credits to satisfy general education requirements at CU Denver, but they are also planning farther ahead with an eye on specialty schools.
Quan Huynh, a freshman pursuing a degree in biology, took AP courses and dual enrollment courses at community colleges, which all transferred to CU Denver.
“Those credits allowed me to fulfill several core requirements, including courses such as math, sociology, and English, so I did not have to retake them in college,” he said. “The classes gave me a strong academic foundation and helped prepare me for the rigor of college-level coursework.”
Some of those courses may even count toward Huynh’s future plans for dental school.
“Being able to complete certain prerequisite courses early has been incredibly helpful. It has given me greater flexibility in planning my college coursework and allowed me to focus more on the classes required for my career path.”
Huynh also supports expanding opportunities for high school students to take college courses.
“Given what I know now, I would definitely choose to take dual enrollment courses again. They not only helped build a solid academic foundation, but also allowed me to complete many of my core requirements early. This saved me time and even gives me the option to graduate a semester earlier.”
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About the University of Colorado Denver
Millions of moments start at CU Denver, a place where innovation, research, and learning meet in the heart of a global city. We’re the state’s premier public urban research university with more than 100 in-demand, top-ranked bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs. We partner with more than 13,000 diverse learners—at any stage of their life and career—for transformative educational experiences. Across seven schools and colleges, our leading faculty inspires and works alongside students to solve complex challenges and produce impactful creative work. As part of the state’s largest university system, CU Denver is a major contributor to the Colorado economy, with 2,000 employees and an annual economic impact of $665 million. To learn more about how CU Denver helps learners meet their moment, visit ucdenver.edu.