It’s estimated that over 350,000 adults in Colorado do not have a high school diploma or equivalent.

It’s a fact that can limit their ability “to provide not only for their families but to the economy of the state as a result of them being unemployed or under-employed,” said Cathy Slaymaker, an adjunct faculty member at Colorado Mountain College and the lead instructor of its GED program.

While Colorado Mountain College has been offering adult education since its inception, a Senate bill signed into law last year in Colorado now allows the college to offer a high school diploma rather than an equivalency.

“This pathway serves students whose life experiences have made continuing their educations difficult,” Slaymaker said.

Before the passage of the new law, Colorado Mountain College offered a few other pathways to a high school equivalency or diploma. For many years, it was only able to offer an equivalency, which “can take years to complete, depending on the student’s level, and can be costly,” Slaymaker said. (This option continues to be offered at the school.)

In 2019, the college was part of a pilot program where it could offer a high school diploma issued by a partner K-12 school district at its Rifle and Leadville campuses. From 2019 to 2022, Colorado Mountain College had 225 students receive their diplomas as part of the pilot.

In January 2023, the pilot program was formalized as its Adult High School Diploma program, with the diplomas still issued by partner K-12 school districts. However, when the Senate bill was signed into law in June, it gave CMC the ability to offer the high school diplomas themselves.

This makes the college “the first, and currently the only, entity to offer this adult high school diploma and program for our rural mountain communities,” Slaymaker said, adding that it is being offered college-wide at all campuses with both English and Spanish instruction and testing.

“We serve a large population of students who have various, multiple, intersecting marginalized identities and who experience barriers to education as a result. This program is one way we can create pathways that provide access to education in our rural communities,” Slaymaker said.

“This pathway benefits students by being cost-effective, accessible within the context of time and content, and gives students a chance to increase their job opportunities, wages and benefits. And, our communities, economies and workforce benefit.”

‘Don’t waste any more time’

In December 2023, Colorado Mountain College had 85 students receive their adult high school diplomas in its first college-wide cohort. Longtime Rifle resident Cristina Venzor and her husband, Felipe, were among this group of graduates.

At 39 years old, Venzor’s only regret is that she didn’t do it sooner.

“If you want to get something done, just do it, it’s never too late in life,” Venzor said.

Venzor moved to Colorado from Mexico (Cristina in 1994 and Felipe in 1999). Living in the Rifle area, the couple got married, started their careers (Cristina in insurance and Felipe in construction) and had two children. However, something was missing: neither had finished high school.

“We’ve always said that we wanted to do it, but with our busy lives, and having to work every day, and we didn’t think it was possible for us to take time off to do it. We had to pay our bills,” Venzor said.

In addition to wanting it for themselves, they wanted to do it for their children — particularly their youngest who is a junior in high school.

“My husband would always talk about school and how he would have loved to graduate and be able to tell his children that he did, but he didn’t have the opportunity to,” Venzor said. “When we told our kids that we were doing it, they were so happy and excited for us.”

The opportunity finally came last year after hearing about the Colorado Mountain College program from a family member. Not only was the couple able to enroll together, but they were able to participate in a way that fit into their lives.

“It was a two-hour class on Wednesdays that started at 6:30 p.m. That’s why we finally did it; we realized it was something that we could do from home, online and in the evening,” Venzor said.

“I think most people — between work, family and home — they think that they don’t have time for this and it’s not. It’s a great program where they help you make it work. With online and evening classes, you don’t have to leave your house. If you have children, they can be there by your side and you can still get it done. You don’t have to take time off work or take time away from your family to get this done,” she added.

These are common benefits for students of the CMC program.

“Oftentimes these adult students have been out of school for an extended amount of time and this program meets them where they are to complete their diploma,” Slaymaker said. “Class times, price, accessibility of the program, the time it takes to complete, and language support are all reasons students might enroll.”

The couple worked diligently and completed the program within a month and a half, and received their diplomas together in the fall.

“It was an amazing feeling that we accomplished something that we thought was never possible for us to do. It was really nice for us to do it together and to have our kids watching us cross that stage, I really don’t have the words for how much it meant.” Venzor said.

Aside from the sense of accomplishment in having the diploma, Venzor is excited about the opportunities it has opened up for her.

“I’m not thinking about changing jobs right now, but there are things and programs out there that I want to do that I wasn’t able to before because I didn’t have a diploma. It’s a great feeling to have it and know that if there’s anything I want to do differently than what I’m doing right now, I will be able to,” she said.

Venzor’s main piece of advice for others considering enrolling in the program is simple: “Don’t waste any more time.”

“Don’t think about it twice. CMC is an amazing college and everyone there is so nice and helpful, that the question is ‘Why not?’ You have everything in your hands to be able to do this and get it done,” Venzor said. “It’s a great feeling when you have that diploma in your hand and the satisfaction that you did it.”

This Adult High School Diploma program is one way CMC is working to create increased access to higher education, Slaymaker said. In addition to cost, class times and setting, the school offers in-state tuition classification for undocumented students who have 12 months residency in Colorado through Colorado’s ASSET bill as well as access to other scholarship opportunities if students continue their education at the college.

“We are working to serve our rural mountain communities with educational pathways that suit their needs and lives,” Slaymaker said.