AURORA | Eligible Aurora Public Schools students could get guaranteed admission and scholarships to Colorado Mesa University under a new partnership between the district and college expected to be signed Wednesday.

Under the pact, APS high-school juniors with a weighted or unweighted GPA of 3.2 or higher will receive guaranteed admission to Colorado Mesa along with a scholarship.

APS seniors with a GPA of 3.0 to 3.19 will receive guaranteed admission, while seniors with a GPA below 3.0 will be considered for admission with academic support from the Grand Junction university.

While community college enrollment has seen a recent increase in Colorado, public four-year colleges have reported a slight decrease in new student enrollment, and private four-year colleges reported an even larger decline, according to reporting in Colorado Chalkbeat.

The agreement is slated to be signed during an annual APS college fair at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center.

In addition to guaranteed admission for qualifying students, APS students will have application fees waived and receive educational support from CMU, school district officials said in a statement.

“We’re relentlessly pushing to open more doors for our students,” APS Superintendent Michael Giles Jr., a CMU graduate, said in a statement. “As a CMU alum, I know our students will receive a quality education there which will prepare them for success in their chosen careers.”

The university serves a student population where more than 45% are the first in their families to attend college, the release said.

The school offers programs ranging from culinary arts and welding to business and psychology, as well as master’s and doctoral-level health sciences programs. The university also says it has the third-lowest tuition in Colorado for those programs, according to the APS release.

“We are excited to partner with Aurora Public Schools to ensure students who desire an opportunity for a better life through education can pursue it at CMU,” university President John Marshall said in a statement.

The agreement will be the sixth direct-admission partnership APS has signed with a Colorado college or university. The district also has partnerships with the University of Colorado at Denver, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Colorado State University in Pueblo, the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley and Community College of Aurora.

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