CSU SPUR START

In a move to increase access to higher education, CSU Spur last month welcomed nearly two dozen incoming Colorado State University freshmen to the Denver campus, where they will complete their first year of study before transitioning to the Fort Collins campus to finish their degrees.

The students, numbering 22, are enrolled in the CSU Spur Start program; all live in Metro Denver. The cohorts are expected to grow in future years as more students learn about the option.

Through Spur Start, incoming CSU students from Denver will be able to complete their first year of university coursework in person while also maintaining their existing support structures as they adjust to postsecondary education. For many Denver students, the option will enhance affordability by saving on first-year residential housing costs.

Spur Start represents a new use of CSU Spur, which opened in 2022 at the National Western Center in North Denver as a unique satellite of CSU – a campus focused on research and public outreach designed to hook visitors of all ages on lifelong learning through higher education. Campus programs center on food, water, and health – fields that are both central to the world’s greatest challenges and are areas of academic strength for Colorado State. The campus is free and open to visitors.

“The CSU Spur Start program is an innovative way to welcome more students through the door and help them achieve their dreams of a college degree,” said Marion Underwood, CSU provost and executive vice president. “Our mission as the state of Colorado’s land-grant institution is first and foremost access. The more avenues of entry we can build to higher education, the better we are at serving that mission and delivering on our passion and promise for student success.”

Spur Start represents a new vision for the growth of academic programs at CSU Spur. Michelle Stanley, the new associate vice provost for academic programs at CSU Spur, will lead development of those programs.

Many in the first cohort of Spur Start students are interested in studying agriculture, said Toni-Lee Viney, program manager. They will benefit from interacting with CSU researchers, scholars, and creators on a campus that spotlights careers in that and other fields.

Along the way, Spur Start students will regularly visit Fort Collins for learning experiences, social and athletics events, and orientation programs that will help with the transition to CSU’s Main Campus as students enter their second year.

Photo at the top: The first cohort of Spur Start students with their CSU Key Communities mentors. Photo: Kevin Samuelson / CSU.