Serving our students and our great state is both our mission and our compass at the University of Colorado. Keeping our sights locked on our mission enables us to navigate toward a bright future as we continue to help students achieve their educational goals and work to be a resource for Colorado. 

As in past years, we’ve been laser focused on our mission during the 2026 state legislative session, which recently passed the midway mark. Our CU team has been working tirelessly at the Capitol to advocate for our students and higher education across Colorado amid a challenging state budget year. In addition to letting our lawmakers know what we need in state funding to deliver for our students and Colorado, we’ve initiated legislation this session, including a bill that, if passed, would expand opportunities for students statewide while also saving them time and money. 

CU’s proposed bill, HB26-1078, is focused on concurrent enrollment, an optional program that enables high school students to take college courses for college credit while still in high school. By starting their higher education journeys early, students can shorten their time to degree and save thousands of dollars in college tuition. Additionally, concurrent enrollment can help bolster students’ college readiness and ensure their success once they get there.

Right now, in Colorado, all four-year institutions statewide, including CU, are prohibited from offering concurrent enrollment classes off campus, even when these classes meet all statutory requirements. This means that if a high school wants to offer its students CU classes, it must either provide the classes online or bus its students to one of our campuses. As you can imagine, both options can prove daunting for students and present a barrier – one that disproportionately impacts rural and underserved communities. We want to change this.

HB26-1078 would allow CU and all other four-year institutions in the state to offer concurrent enrollment classes in high schools that opt to provide them – just as community colleges are permitted to do now – thereby meeting students where they are versus making them come to us. This would give Colorado high school students more options, more opportunities to obtain a bachelor’s degree from CU or another institution, and more savings of both time and money. 

It would also allow students to see that a college education is for anyone who wants one. In Colorado, only about half of our high school graduates pursue postsecondary education, with many believing that college isn’t meant for them. Expanding concurrent enrollment options and allowing students to take college classes from CU or another Colorado four-year institution in the familiar environment of their high schools would be another way to address this issue, which I believe is critical for the future of our state. Importantly, high school students who take concurrent enrollment classes are more likely to graduate from both high school and college. That matters a great deal because nearly 75 percent of Colorado jobs require some postsecondary credentials, with more than half of those requiring a bachelor’s degree or higher. 

At CU, we recognize that higher education is a major investment. We have a longstanding commitment to doing all we can to expand opportunity and lower the costs of a CU education for students and their families. And we want to do more. HB26-1078 is a powerful example of this work, which is guided by our mission. Delivering on that mission enables us to help keep students and the state moving in the same direction: Toward that bright future.