Metro State at a Glance
Metro State empowers students to create their own success by providing relevant academic experiences through its unique attributes:
- High-quality education that is Colorado’s best value in higher education
- Outstanding, committed faculty with a passion for teaching
- A personalized classroom experience, with more student/faculty interaction
- An urban location in the heart of downtown Denver that expands perspectives and experiences
- A commitment to community collaboration
One of the largest public baccalaureate colleges in the country, Metro State has experienced steady enrollment increases in 10 of the past 11 years. More transfer students enroll at Metro State than any other college or university in the state. At the same time, few students transfer from Metro State to other institutions. In addition, more than 300,000 Coloradans have taken classes at Metro State for career advancement and personal enrichment.
Metro State boasts more than 63,000 alumni, nearly 80 percent of whom stay in Colorado after graduation. These graduates fuel Colorado’s economy as teachers, business owners, pilots, scientists, nurses and more and enter graduate school to study medicine, law and other disciplines requiring advanced degrees.
A Foundation of Excellence
Metro State has built a solid foundation of excellence, as evidenced by its recent successes:
- The College expanded its 2+2 Plan with the Colorado Community College System recently. Students at the Community College of Aurora and Front Range Community College can now earn Metro State bachelor’s degrees in select majors without leaving their home campuses.
- Metro State’s Urban Teacher Partnership with Denver Public Schools is expanding the supply of well-qualified teachers for Denver’s high-need middle and high schools.
- The Center for Visual Art, Metro State’s downtown gallery, hosted “Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Prints and Objects” and a free lecture by these world-renowned artists for more than 1,500 art students and enthusiasts in fall 2008. The exclusive exhibition of original works had not been shown in the United States since 1992.
- The Roadrunners boast four national championships (women’s soccer in 2004 and 2006 and men’s basketball in 2000 and 2002) and the NCAA Female Athlete of the Year in 2007. Our student-atheletes are making a difference in the community as well. For instance, the women’s softball team received the 2008 NCAA Division II Community Engagement Award for its “Building Bridges to the Community” mentoring program with athletes at Denver’s West High School.
A Bold Goal of Preeminence
Toward achieving its long-term goal of becoming the preeminent public urban baccalaureate college in the nation, Metro State is undertaking or planning a number of new initiatives:
- The College is working toward doubling its Latino enrollment to 25 percent, to attain the federal designation of Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) within the next 10 years. HSI status brings funding opportunities that benefit all students.
- Metro State is pursuing legislative authorization to add graduate programs at the master’s level to its degree offerings. Three premier programs—teacher education, accounting and social work—are under consideration.
- The Urban Center for Civic and Community Engagement is tracking the many ways in which Metro State is fulfilling its role as an urban land grant institution through service and outreach and exploring new ways to engage with the greater Denver community so as to provide the best in service-learning opportunities for our students.
Best Value in Higher Education
Metro State offers a great educational value, with the lowest tuition of the state’s five largest institutions. The cost of resident tuition and fees for 15 credit hours in the 2008-09 academic year is:
- Metro State: $1,620
- UNC: $2,340
- CSU: $2,937 minimum, more charged for certain upper-division courses
and high-demand programs - CU-Denver: $3,239 up to $3,309 depending on class year
- CU-Boulder: $3,639 up to $5,403 depending on program
In addition, more than $95 million in college scholarships, grants, loans and work-study opportunities are disbursed each year to Metro State students. And, through the Internship Center, Metro State students annually work in 1,000 internships at 600 local businesses.
A Core Value: Diversity
Metro State attracts a diverse student body. Classrooms provide a rich mixture of age groups, socioeconomic classes, ethnic backgrounds and lifestyles. Students of all ages go to Metro State, from 16 to 60 and beyond. The median age is 23.
Metro State enrolls the highest number of students of color (more than 5,300 in fall 2008, nearly 25 percent of its student population) of all four-year colleges in the state. The College ranks second in the state in graduating Latino students.
Metro State has been highlighted in national publications for its diversity:
- Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education consistently ranks Metro State among the top 100 colleges and universities in the nation for graduating Latino students. For 2007, the college was ranked No. 60 in the country for enrolling the most Latino students.
- Diverse: Issues in Higher Education ranks Metro State among the top 100 institutions in the nation in awarding baccalaureate degrees to students of color.
Metro State is on its way to meeting its goal of increasing the diversity of its faculty: Over the past four years, more than 50 faculty of color have been hired—a quarter of new hires. Metro State is ranked first in the state for the ethnic diversity of its faculty, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education (Sept. 2007), with 20 percent of color.
In recognition of its commitment to diverse student and faculty populations, Metro State received the 2008 Spirit of Tlatelolco Education Award from Escuela Tlatelolco.
Academics
Metro State offers 53 major fields of study and 82 minors and awards bachelor of science, bachelor of music, bachelor of arts and bachelor of fine arts degrees through its three schools:
- Business
- Letters, Arts and Sciences
- Professional Studies
A teaching institution, Metro State’s average class size is 19. The top 10 majors/programs by enrollment in fall 2008 were:
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To best meet the needs of its students, the College holds day, night and weekend courses at the downtown Auraria Campus and at its two suburban satellite campuses, Metro South and Metro North. The College also offers an extensive number of online courses. General Studies Requirements can be taken entirely online and 17 majors can be completed through a combination of online, weekend and evening courses.
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Last updated 1/28/09