Students in Mesa County School District 51 earned a total of more than 8,000 credits from Colorado Mesa University and Western Colorado Community College during the 2021-2022 school year.

Cheryl Taylor, director of career and college readiness at School District 51, said concurrent enrollment allows high school students to receive credit for college-level courses in a variety of fields. Since the district covers the cost of tuition, students earn credits without taking on a financial burden.

“Our students who take concurrent enrollment classes graduate with a head start on their college career and graduate with the confidence that they are prepared for college-level work,” Taylor said.

Brigitte Sundermann, vice president of community college affairs at Colorado Mesa University, agreed. “We have high school students that are bused to our (WCCC) campus on a daily basis. They take courses that count toward a degree or certificate — all at no cost to them. And when they graduate, they not only have college credit, but they also have industry credentials.”

More than 100 camps are offered during the summer, Sundermann said. “Students can be a chef one week and a mechanic the next. We’re doing everything we can to get students interested early and help them find their career of choice.”

For the 2021-22 school year, 812 District 51 students completed a total of 8,053 college credit hours.

High school students interested in concurrent enrollment are encouraged to talk with their school counselors or visit the WCCC website.

Adults interested in taking courses at WCCC or earning a degree or certificate can now do so at a lower cost through an affordability initiative. Beginning with the fall 2022 semester,  tuition and fees for WCCC career and technical education courses will be reduced by nearly 40 percent to $197 per credit hour. More information is available from the website located at www.coloradomesa.edu/wccc/tuition.