Goal Two: University for Life
Become known as a university for life
The shelf life of new knowledge is getting shorter, people are living longer, and expanded populations of learners are seeking a college education and development that requires new ways to access affordable learning across their lives and careers. Our new model for academic and learner success adapts to these changes to catalyze social mobility and provide a diverse workforce for the future.
We will provide access to high-quality, relevant education at every stage of life and career—from 17 to 117 years old. As a research university in the heart of a great city with abundant occasions for real-life learning and working, we will guarantee experiential learning opportunities for every student.
With nationally ranked programs and a commitment to providing more affordable pathways to degrees and credentials, we will build critical thinking skills and further position learners for success of their design.
Acknowledging that today’s learners need education to work in the practical reality of their lives, we will provide flexible and stackable undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs accessible to them whenever and wherever they seek it over their lifetimes.
Recognizing the diverse goals and dreams each learner holds, we will not just grant degrees—we will meet learners where they are and treat each learner as a whole person to collaboratively design lives of personal, professional, and social meaning.
The work we’ll do:
Deliver relevant education flexibly.
- Guarantee all CU Denver learners real-life experiential learning opportunities, including internships, research and service projects, and study abroad.
- Provide relevant courses and a culturally responsive core curriculum that meets the needs of the learner, employers, and society.
- Deliver education flexibly and equitably, bringing together innovative approaches to stackability, technology, inclusive pedagogy, and modality as hallmarks of a CU Denver education.
- Welcome learners with prior learning credits and experiences and make transfer seamless from the perspective of the student, providing more relevant and affordable pathways to degrees and careers.
Provide reimagined learner support.
- Create a life-design framework that transforms the model of “student support” to learner support to meet learners where they are and shape learning paths that work for their lives and their goals.
- Guarantee our learners access to excellent teachers, mentors, and coaches, assisting as they explore possibilities for their futures and expanding their social and professional networks to reach their evolving aspirations.
Leverage and maximize partnerships.
- Invest in lifelong relationships and partnerships with our alumni, expanding our support of and commitment to one another.
- Expand and diversify healthcare educational pathways to maximize the mutual academic benefits of our partnership with CU Anschutz.
- Leverage our co-location on the Auraria Higher Education Campus with two other Hispanic-Serving Institutions to create stronger partnerships, more vibrant programming, and smoother pathways across the three institutions.
We're there when:
Our graduates are continually integrated into CU Denver and are clearly succeeding in ways that work for all. They are graduating at high rates and, having designed careers of their choosing, working in high-impact jobs that provide prosperity and fulfillment.