2016-2017 Year-end Report

Office of K-12 Outreach

K-12 Outreach Team:

Jason Robinson, Director

Jaime Alvarez, Assistant Director

Lesa Briggs, Assistant Director and Financial Literacy

Laura Hager, Coordinator

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Table of Contents

K-12 Mission Statement ..................................................................................................................... 3

Goals .................................................................................................................................................. 3

Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................ 3

Campus Visits ..................................................................................................................................... 4

Community Partnerships ................................................................................................................... 5

On Campus Collaborations ................................................................................................................ 7

School based Outreach ...................................................................................................................... 9

Financial Literacy ................................................................................................................................ 10

Concurrent Enrollment ...................................................................................................................... 11

Additional Highlights .......................................................................................................................... 12

Students from Skinner Middle School enjoy a visit to CU Denver!

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Mission Statement

K-12 Outreach is tasked with building the CU Denver pipeline and educating as many students, schools

(K-12), school districts, parents, and communities about CU Denver and what we have to offer. This is

done through campus visits, high school visits, district academic & career fairs, outreach collaborations

with on-campus and off campus partners, partnership with non-profit education organizations, and

direct student contact/recruitment through CU Succeed, Pre-Collegiate Program, at the high school, and

through nonprofit organizations.

Goals

1. Educating as many students, schools (K-12), school districts, parents, and communities about CU

Denver and what we have to offer.

2. To develop lasting relationships with prospective students and their parents in Colorado with

ongoing exposure and educating families about CU Denver and what it is we have to offer.

3. Engage on campus academic departments and partners to develop strategies to reach and

educate more, students, schools, and communities about what each academic department has

to offer students.

4. Expanding CU Denver’s reach with Financial Literacy

Executive Summary

This report provides a detailed analysis of the activities of the CU Denver K-12 Outreach Team for the

2016-2017 academic year. Throughout the year, 10,800 K-12 students visited campus, representing a 7%

increase over last year. Campus visits highlight the student experience, ensure greater exposure of CU

Denver and promote understanding of our opportunities for local students. Research shows that visiting

a College campus increases a student’s likelihood of applying to and attending College.

Additionally, we created and enhanced partnerships with local schools and community groups, reaching

a total of 17 unique community partners. We increased partnerships with various departments on

campus to assist CU Denver’s schools and colleges with the process of outreach and recruitment. We

increased CU Denver’s presence at local schools by attending events such as college fairs and parent

nights. In total, 6,526 students attended CU Denver presentations off campus. We offered 50 financial

wellness presentations to approximately 550 students to increase financial understanding and promote

resourcefulness. And we doubled the concurrent enrollment program (302 completed credit hours) by

assisting qualified high school students with the process of taking classes on campus.

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Campus Visits

A typical campus visit consists of a welcome presentation, student panel, campus tour, featured

guest presentation, and lunch. Groups can range anywhere from Kindergarten students to young adults

completing High School requirements through a Community College program. Our smallest groups are

around 5 students and our largest are over 1,500. What makes the campus visit experience impactful is

working with the group to identify their interests. Collaborating with offices around campus to provide

helpful information is part of the key to success.

From July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017 we had

approximately 10,800 students visit campus. Our

busiest month was March with 2,488 students

visiting campus. The breakdown of school grades is

approximately: 13% Elementary School, 40% Middle

School and 47% High School. Denver Public Schools

was the most popular district for campus visits at

26%, followed by Aurora Public Schools (18%),

Adams County (8%), Cherry Creek (5%), and Other

(42%).

Each campus visit group was asked to

complete a feedback survey at the conclusion of the

visit. 100% of students and chaperones indicated that they felt like “the campus visit experience was

beneficial”. Similarly, 69% of respondents were “very satisfied” and 31% were “satisfied” with their

overall experience on campus. 96% of responding schools reported that they would like to schedule a

campus visit again in the future.

This past year featured an increase in the

amount of specialty or theme days for Campus

Visits. Some highlights from our special campus

visits this past year included: Science Day, College of

Arts and Media (CAM) day, Hope Online Field Day,

Regional Chess Tournament, DPS 9th grade Expo,

RACAS day for CU Succeed visits, APS 5th grade expo,

DPS Body of Evidence, and specialty collaboration

visits with the School of Engineering.

School District

DPS APS Adams Cherry Creek Other

Students from Heaton Middle School pose with Milo the Lynx

DPS 26%

APS 18%

Adams 8% Cherry Creek 5%

Other

counties 42%

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Community Partnerships Working closely with local organizations and helping connect youth to CU Denver is a major role

of the K-12 Outreach Team. During the 2016-2017 school year, we had the opportunity to work with

many community groups in a variety of roles. Below is an overview of our key partnerships.

YESS Institute- Campus visits (150+ students), purchased t-shirts for all of their students with CU

Denver logo’s on shirts, purchased banners & signage to be hung in all of their schools.

Heart & Hand- Campus Visits, teamed up with school of ED to have 4 Grad students working on

site at Heart & Hand in 5 points, with K-12 students in the after school program

La Raza Youth Conference- 1000 participants present, K-12 Outreach made direct contact 250

Middle and High school students.

COSLI- provided administrative support for this summer’s residential program. Provided CU

Denver application workshop.

Project Voyce- 5 week leadership institute for K-12 students on CU Denver campus (providing

financial support).

Codespire- Hosting (in partnership with

the School of Engineering) two week

long coding campus on the CU Denver

campus. Junior high age students,

worked to provide scholarships for

underserved students.

Galvanize Summer Coding Camp- 2

week long camp, for rising 10th graders,

hosted by K-12 Outreach on the CU

Denver campus. Scholarships will be

provide for up to 30 students (program

will target first gen, underserved kids,

and females).

K-12 Outreach established the “Pathways Program” with Galvanize to help create opportunities

for students in the STEM field. The launch event on May 25th was attended by CU Denver’s

Chancellor Horrell, and executive leadership from Galvanize in addition to 50 local youth.

Boys & Girls Club- hosted 2 day conference for 200 staff members from across Colorado to help

provide tools and education about CU Denver and higher education in general.

Students and staff members celebrate the launch of the partnership between CU Denver and Galvanize.

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Denver Public Schools 9th grade Expo, bringing

1,600 high school students to campus through a

partnership with DPS, Metropolitan State University

and Community College of Denver.

Partnered with DPS Career Connect to bring several

initiatives to campus including an Inworks class.

Aurora Public Schools Second Annual 5th Grade College Day- over 500 fifth grade students and

over 200 parents learned about CU Denver, explored campus and talked to current students.

Mentor Life Summit- Hosted a Saturday workshop for local high school leaders to help them

explore opportunities for their future.

Hope Online Field Day- On September 16th, 550 K-8 students joined us on campus for their

annual field day event.

K-12 Outreach assisted with the Regional Chess Tournament which was attended by over 500

students and parents.

The Office of K-12 Outreach assisted with Bike to Work day by representing CU Denver as the

Milo the Lynx handler.

National History Day in Colorado- Provided tee shirts to over 800 youth participants and hosted

an informational admissions luncheon for 200 students and parents.

Students from 97 elementary, middle and senior high schools from across the state took part in the 2017 National History Day Colorado, an event that continues to see an increase in diverse and rural participation. Here, Milo joins a celebratory lunch.

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On Campus Collaborations

College of Architecture and Planning

Collaborated on several campus visits for Middle and High school students

Provided a database report to CAP admissions for prospective architecture students

Business School

Created partnership to recruit first generation/ low income students, women and veterans into

Galvanize coding pipeline program to earn Business School credits

College of Arts and Media

Hosted “CAM Day” event on campus with 60 high

school students from 4 local schools to explore CAM

programs including music, animation and fine arts

Collaborated with CAM and DPS Career Connect to

bring a group of DPS students to campus to participate

in the Lynx Summer camps with no out of pocket

expenses for students.

School of Education and Human Development

Supported the Be !mpact Annual Conference that brings

200-300 African-American high school student to

campus to educate them on careers, mental and financial awareness

Collaborated with SEHD Family Relations (coordinated by Professor and Family Relations Chair

Ruben Anguiano) on outreach events.

College of Engineering and Applied Science

Collaborated on four different campus visits serving 100

elementary, 340 middle and 60 high school students

Collaborated on two 1-week “Codespire” summer

coding camps serving 20 students

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Collaborated on National History Day serving 900 high

school students and 500+ parents from across Colorado

Hosted two DPS “Body of Evidence” programs for 80

high school science students in collaboration with CLAS faculty

member Hannah Anchordoquy

High School students learn about video production from CU Denver professors on CAM Day, Feb. 17, 2017

Middle and High School students learn coding techniques through K-12 Outreach and CEAS "Codespire Camp" collaboration, June 12-16, 2017.

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School of Public Affairs

Collaborated with SPA team for their CU Succeed classes visits to campus

Worked with SPA to provide opportunities to students at Early College of Arvada

Inworks

Collaborated with Inworks to assist DPS

students with the concurrent enrollment

process. These students are registering to take

courses at CU Denver through Inworks.

Collaborated with Inworks on twelve different

campus visits throughout the year.

CU Anschutz Medical Campus

Financial Wellness session with School of

Pharmacy students to prepare for loan

repayment and managing their finances while in

school and after graduation

Planned Financial Wellness presentation during

School of Dental Medicine new orientation week.

Pre-Collegiate Development Program (PCDP)

Collaborated to provide PCDP students application workshops in order for the students to take

CU Denver courses

Provided Financial Literacy and College Prep Workshops

Collaborated on new SLATE application for high school non-degree seeking students

CU Pre-Health Scholars Program (CUPS) at Anschutz

Collaborated to provide CUPS students application workshops in order for the students to take

CU Denver courses.

Coordinated a visit to the downtown Denver Campus for all CUPS students

CU Succeed

CU Succeed provides me a list of the CU Succeed Department liaisons, instructors, high schools,

and courses offered during each semester. This enables the K-12 outreach team to market all of

our exciting opportunities to the CU Succeed instructors, liaisons, and schools.

Other

The Office of K-12 Outreach regularly collaborates with the Office of Identity and Inclusion

(formerly known as EOP), Student Life, Club Sports, TRiO, Students Clubs, Undocumented

Student services, and other departments for on campus visits/events

High School students enjoy a presentation about creativity and thinking outside the box by the Inworks team during their campus visit on January 25, 2017

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School Based Outreach

From July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017 the K-12 Outreach Team provided targeted outreach to 6,526

students at a total of 46 events. School based (or off campus) outreach includes events such as back to

school nights, college fairs, CU Succeed information sessions, financial aid and FAFSA nights, parent

nights, career expos, Latino outreach nights, talent shows and applications nights. Recently, we have

seen an increase in the number of Middle Schools requesting information from local Colleges, which is

the perfect opportunity for the K-12 Outreach team to represent CU Denver.

One population of students that K-12 Outreach was able to reach in a meaningful way was AVID

students. Advancement via Individual Determination, or “AVID” is a

nonprofit organization whose mission is “to close the achievement gap by

preparing all students for college readiness and success in a global

society.” During the 2016-2017 school year, the K-12 Outreach Team

provided presentations and information to 1,289 AVID students right in

their school classrooms.

Another major source of off campus outreach comes from 8th grade Education Expos. This past

year, K-12 Outreach reached 2,550 8th grade students at the following district expos: Denver Public

Schools, Adams County, Aurora Public Schools and Douglas County.

In addition to speaking directly with students, off campus outreach frequently includes the

opportunity to connect with parents. The K-12 Outreach team interacted with over 250 parents at

school based events over the course of the past academic year.

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000

Elementary

Middle School

High School

Parents

School Based Outreach by Grade

Outreach by Grade

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Financial Literacy and Wellness

The National

Financial Educators Council

(NFEC) defines financial

literacy as: “Possessing the

skills and knowledge on

financial matters to

confidently take effective

action that best fulfills an

individual’s personal,

family and global community goals.” To increase financial awareness, K-12 Outreach Financial Literacy

and Wellness offers an array of presentations, one-on-one appointments, classroom workshops, and has

an on-line learning resource website. Workshops took place throughout the 2016-2017 year both on

campus, at local schools as well as with partners throughout the Denver community.

During the 2016-2017 academic year, there were a total of 50 financial literacy workshops

offered on and off campus. At least 550 students, parents, and school administrators were reached

through the workshops, in person appointments, by phone and email.

Some of the most popular workshops include

topics such as: Money Matters, Funding a College

Education, Budgeting and Spending, Student Loans &

Repayment Options, First-Time Home Buyers, Ballin’ on a

Budget, Are you Credit Worthy? Some presentations were

offered in conjunction with local experts including guests

from the Federal Reserve Bank, TIAA, College in Colorado,

Ameriprise Financial Services, and Wells Fargo.

Additionally, the most attended workshop during CU Preview Day is the “Understanding

Financial Matters” presentation which is offered to student and parents during the Admissions’ Preview

Days and at various Transfer student events. And lastly, to highlight Financial Literacy Awareness,

informative financial literacy workshops were offered every week during the month of April.

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Concurrent Enrollment

The number of High School students that participate in the concurrent enrollment program

(students taking classes on campus while still in high school) has been steadily increasing. The roll of

concurrent enrollment manager was held by one of the admissions counselors for the first part of the

year, but switched to the K-12 Outreach Coordinator on November 1. The Office of K-12 Outreach is

proud to help qualified high school students get a jump start on their college education through

concurrent enrollment classes.

This year, for the first time, we introduced Concurrent Enrollment Information Sessions, which

allowed interested students, parents and high school counselors to learn more about the program, and

understand the steps toward enrollment. We also conducted 3 concurrent enrollment group orientation

sessions with welcome materials, guest speakers, a tour of

campus and connection to the campus bookstore. Students

reported that the information sessions were incredibly

helpful and they felt prepared to begin classes. The K-12

Outreach team was also able to establish relationships with

High School counselors in order to assist students in a more

efficient and timely manner.

For the 2016-2017 academic year, a total of 54 high school students participated, completing

302 academic hours. The high schools with the most students currently utilizing the concurrent

enrollment program are: East High School (13), West High School (12), STEM School (11), Colorado Early

Colleges Parker (5), South High School (2), DSST (2), DCIS Baker (1), Aurora Central (1), Colorado

Connections Academy (1) and Rock

Canyon High School (1).

In addition to the traditional

students choosing to take college

classes with the support of their

schools, we have 2 groups of high

school students that are taking

classes on campus as a cohort. Both

classes are taught by Inworks.

Term Students Credits Taken

Summer 2015 4 23

Fall 2015 12 76

Spring 2016 12 83

Summer 2016 7 24

Fall 2016 22 124

Spring 2017 23 134

Summer 2017 9 44

Fall 2017 (projected) 55 200

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Additional Highlights

Updated Outreach materials including: Pave your Way Brochure, Campus Scavenger Hunt, K-12

Outreach handout, and Financial Literacy website

Created and distributed monthly newsletters beginning in February, 2017

Successfully secured a summer intern assistant providing support 15 hours per week

Supported and guided student groups such as CU Dreamers, Black Student Graduation and

Sigma Alpha Lambda.

Processed all requests for CU Denver promotional items. Prepared and mailed packages to

prospective students and High School counselors interested in CU Denver.

Managed e-mail communications to all prospective students that completed a contact card

including individualized messages for middle and high school students as well as parents.

Assisted Office of Undergraduate Admissions in coordinating special Milo the Lynx appearances.

All K-12 Outreach team members participated in professional development opportunities

throughout the year to expand knowledge, share ideas, build relationships and network.

Students smile with Milo the Lynx during the Peak to Peak Charter School Visit on April 13, 2017

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