From DPS to CU Denver: New Agreement Gives Local High Schoolers Guaranteed Admission to College
Students from Colorado’s Largest School District Now Have Fewer Barriers to Reaching their Higher Education Goals
On a sunny Sept. 2 afternoon, after a busy day of classes, CU Denver first-year student Quan Huynh was getting ready to go to his first Pre-Dental Club meeting. The club gives future dentists opportunities to talk about careers, classes, and make friends. It was the type of resource that had drawn Huynh to CU Denver after graduating from Denver’s Thomas Jefferson High School. He wanted to combine his career goals, with an education that he trusted, in the city he calls home.
But first, Huynh stopped by the Benson Terrace at the Lola & Rob Salazar Student Wellness Center to celebrate a new agreement between CU Denver and Denver Public Schools (DPS) that will help students like him have greater access to a CU Denver degree.
Leaders—including DPS Board members—and community members joined CU Denver Chancellor Kenneth T. Christensen and DPS Superintendent Alex Marrero as they signed the official document. The agreement gives DPS seniors that are graduating with a 3.0 or above grade point average guaranteed admission to CU Denver, with application fees waived. DPS juniors with a 3.0 or above grade point average now also have guaranteed admission to the university, so long as they maintain their grades.
The partnership removes barriers for local high students from the state’s largest public school district who are ready for college, while supporting CU Denver’s focus on enrollment, retention, and student success. For context, in the 2024-25 academic year, CU Denver had nearly 1,500 degree-seeking undergraduates enrolled from DPS schools, including more than 475 new enrollees.
For Chancellor Christensen, the partnership is guided by CU Denver’s public service mission as the state’s premier public urban research university. “With this agreement, more DPS graduates than ever will have access to this great institution and, in turn, will unlock the transformational power that a college degree makes possible,” he said. “Serving the public is not only our mission, it’s our identity. And our drive to maximize student outcomes fuels everything that we do.”
What stands out to first-year CU Denver student Jair Astorga-Gandarilla about the agreement is how it increases affordability and accessibility for high school students who are interested in a college degree but may not have the resources for some of the first steps. “It would have helped me a lot since I wouldn’t have had to pay the application fees,” said Astorga-Gandarilla, who also attended the event.
Astorga-Gandarilla already feels that making the decision to come to CU Denver was important. “There are a lot of opportunities and connections here,” he said. Those connections are an essential part of the agreement, given CU Denver’s focus on creating a workforce pipeline for the surrounding city and metro area. Superintendent Marrero emphasized the importance of keeping talent local. “This is an incredible way for us to make sure we keep the best of the best here at home,” he said, “ensuring all students, regardless of background, have a clear path to a respected, premier, local, four-year institution.”
That’s been the case for Huynh, who is a pre-health integrative biology major. A first-generation student, Huynh appreciates the opportunity and community CU Denver offers, through clubs, workforce development, research, study abroad, scholarships, financial aid, and more. “This agreement will give more opportunity to first-generation students who want to go to college,” he said. “It helps students succeed.”