Community College: The Perfect Gateway to a Four-Year Degree

UNC Center for Urban Education (CUE) partners closely with the five Denver-area community colleges. The Director of CUE, Dr. Rosanne Fulton, and Dr. Ashley Simpson, Community College of Aurora’s Department Chair for Education and World Languages, agree that one important goal of the partnerships is to diversify the teacher pipeline.

Simpson believes that CCA has the diverse student body that UNC is looking for. “Our students bring diverse perspectives and unique experiences that we know can strengthen the teacher pipeline,” she said.

Teaching Advocacy

Simpson (pictured here) understands what it takes to be a teacher, and what it takes to teach teachers. She taught sixth through eighth grade science before she moved into higher education. “These experiences are where I learned to lead, create, design, and inspire future teachers to be the best they can be. When I transitioned to CCA, I focused the department around the philosophy that the best advocate for education is the educator,” said Simpson.

She believes that you must start with learning to advocate for yourself, your future students, and the community you serve. “Once you’ve achieved that,” said Simpson, “you are ready to advocate for the field of education.”

To be the best advocate for the field of education, you must first learn to advocate for yourself, your future students, and the community you serve.

Removing the Financial Barrier

In some cases, high-school students don’t know that community colleges are an option for them. Simpson observes that students, parents, and administrators often don’t look at the differences in tuition. “We want to remove barriers that prevent any student from majoring in education,” she stated. “We save our future teachers money while giving them a valuable education,” said Simpson.

We save our future teachers money while giving them a valuable education.

Providing a Quality Education

In terms of the quality of the education at community colleges, students don’t need to worry. At Community College of Aurora, for example, Simpson said, “We have a highly qualified staff, smaller class sizes, and one-on-one interactions with dedicated pathway advisors. We serve as a community, and we model the behaviors we want our students to pay forward.”

Community College of Aurora, Lowry Campus

Giving Students a Sense of Community

The students get a quality education, plus the attention they want and need. “Because of our college-wide focus on inclusion, student engagement, and community partnerships—and our system-wide collaborative workgroups—students who graduate from CCA are ready for a four-year college or to go out into the workforce,” said Simpson. The Community College of Aurora takes pride in knowing that they mold their students to become academic scholars, community leaders, and change agents in their field.

Students who graduate from CCA are ready for a four-year college or to go out into the workforce.

Students who are accepted into UNC can transfer as many as 90 completed credits toward a four-year teaching degree.

Interested in CCA’s two-year degree program for teaching? Fall registration closes August 23.

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Newsletter Archive

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Contact Us

Rosanne Fulton, PhD
Director, Center for Urban Education
UNC Denver Center at Lowry
1059 Alton Way
Denver CO 80230
Office: 303-637-4334
rosanne.fulton@unco.edu
www.unco.edu/UrbanEd

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