Community-college students in Aurora and Westminster can stay at their neighborhood campuses and still go on to earn a four-year degree at Metropolitan State College at Denver under a new program unveiled Thursday.
The program will likely expand to community colleges statewide in a few years — depending on the capacity of the professors at Metro State.
The deal will allow students, starting this fall, to get bachelor’s degrees in marketing and management at Front Range Community College, and in biology and psychology at the Community College of Aurora.
The third- and fourth-year classes will be taught by Metro State professors who will travel to the suburban campuses to teach. Students will have to pay Metro’s tuition for their third and fourth years, about $5,600 a year.
The option is particularly good for homebound students who want to get a bachelor’s degree but don’t want to drive downtown to the Auraria campus, said Nancy McCallin, president of the Colorado Community College System.
“Bringing a four-year degree to areas that don’t have that option now is extremely important,” McCallin said.
