The main campus for College Pathways is co-located with the Rampart Range Campus of Pikes Peak Community College.

From I-25, exit at Interquest and proceed to the intersection with New Life Drive.

Turn left on New Life Drive, then turn left again into the campus of PPCC. Follow the main PPCC road around the campus and it will end in the College Pathways parking area.

Here are our answers to some of the frequently asked questions about College Pathways

The Mission of College Pathways is:
♦ Honoring, trusting, and respecting student choices
♦ Transitioning students seamlessly through high school to college
♦ Funding free college tuition through Pikes Peak Community College
♦ Ensuring safe and supportive learning environments
♦ Launching students into meaningful careers
♦ Inspiring students to live with purpose
What is College Pathways?
College Pathways is a unique secondary school, that helps parents provide their children quality pre-collegiate (junior high and high school level) educational options augmented with free early college options for college-ready high school students.

College Pathways seeks to retain the essence of home education by expanding opportunities for advanced education and career preparation at an affordable price.

College Pathways is an innovative alliance between TCA and Pikes Peak Community College (PPCC); a first of its kind partnership in the nation, which allows our students to continue to enjoy their home school education, and augment that education through courses available in a variety of formats. Because our campus is co-located with PPCC, we deliver an educational experience with unique scheduling flexibility and college & career preparation in a safe and supportive learning environment, with access to a seamless, tuition-free transition through high school to college.

College Pathways offers both part-time and full-time options for families who are seeking academic excellence. Our college-preparatory curriculum is delivered through a hybrid online model, combining both classroom and online instruction. This prepares students for high school and college level content. College ready high school students can also qualify for dual enrollment college level courses at PPCC to earn high school credits toward a diploma as well as free college credits toward an associate’s or bachelor’s degree—at the same time!



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How can I enroll in College Pathways?
Please select the registration tab above and link to the waitlist application. The junior high, high school, part-time, and full-time College Pathways waitlists are the same list.



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Can a senior enroll in College Pathways?
Yes and no. Incoming seniors must be college ready in both English and Math on the Accuplacer college entrance exam or have appropriate ACT or SAT scores. Incoming juniors must be college ready in either English or Math. Because College Pathways is based on an early college model, 12th grade high school level class offerings will be limited,as the expectation is that nearly all seniors will be college ready. However,if there is sufficient enrollment to support high school level courses for seniors, then College Pathways will staff and schedule additional courses.



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What qualifies a high school student to be “college ready?”
Colorado law requires that all students seeking entrance to a community college submit appropriate SAT or ACT scores, or be tested in reading, writing, and math to measure whether a student’s academic skills are at a college level. High school students who have not taken the SAT or ACT and are interested in taking college level courses and participating in the dual enrollment program through College Pathways will be required to take the PPCC national open enrollment college entrance exam called the Accuplacer. This test is an assessment of basic skills in English, reading, and math. The test takes about 2 hours, and is administered at PPCC. TCA and PPCC are collaborating to offer Accuplacer preparation workshops and testing throughout the spring and summer months. A suggested test prep review web site is: http://www.testprepreview.com/accuplacer_practice.htm



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Will College Pathways provide a diploma?
Since College Pathways is identified by Academy District 20 (ASD20) and The Colorado Department of Education as a unique school; we may issue transcripts as well as diplomas. To comply with district requirements, College Pathways students who wish to earn a high school diploma must meet minimum graduation requirements set by ASD20. Those requirements are explained immediately below and in the Parent-Student Handbook, starting on page seven. The Handbook is available on this website under the “Useful Files” section. We recognize that some students wish to remain part-time, as is their right, but those students may still receive a transcript identifying all the coursework they have completed through College Pathways. PPCC will also provide college transcripts to students for completed college courses.



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What is a hybrid online class?
A hybrid online class combines on-campus class time with independent online work from home. Students will meet with the instructor in the classroom once or twice a week for instruction, labs, hands-on learning, and face- to-face group activities, and then complete their time and work assignments on the remaining days by working online from home. Pre-collegiate (junior high and high school) courses are offered in the hybrid online format.



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Who are the College Pathways teachers?
Pre-collegiate classes are taught by highly qualified secondary teachers. For college ready students, college courses are taught by Pikes Peak Community College faculty and also by College Pathways teachers who have met Higher Learning Commission (HLC) accreditation standards, thus qualifying them as PPCC adjunct faculty. New pre-collegiate instructors receive the same College Pathways Instructional Philosophy training provided to all our faculty.



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Are teachers available for tutoring and help when a student is not at school?
Yes. Our teachers maintain posted office hours both at the school and online. In addition, they have scheduled hours in our Success Center for students to drop in or make appointments for tutoring. They are also available during times when they are monitoring study hall.



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Can students pick and choose from classes offered on different days?
Yes. Some pre-collegiate (junior high and high school level) classes meet in the classroom one day per week for approximately 2 hours, while others (math and Spanish) meet two days per week for about 1 hour each day. We offer a menu of class times and days, based on course demand.
College level classes are offered on various days, at various times. For example, the PPCC Rampart Range campus offers over 20 different time/day combinations for freshman English Composition 1 (ENG121), ranging from 7:30 am to 7:00 pm, Monday through Friday.



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How large are classes?
We schedule our pre-collegiate class size to be from 16-21 students. (College classes are typically limited to 24 students or less)



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Will College Pathways provide students with textbooks and course materials?
Yes. This includes both pre-collegiate and college texts on a reimbursement basis. College Pathways will not, however, provide computers or pay for online service fees.



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Are students required to provide school supplies?
Each teacher posts a list of needed pre-collegiate supplies prior to the start of classes. Because our students are not in class five days a week, the supply list is not as extensive as in the traditional school.



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Are our students required to wear uniforms?
Yes. Junior high and high school students will be required to adhere to the current dress code, as described in the College Pathways Parent/Student Handbook. Wearing uniforms is intended to promote safety, improve discipline, and enhance the overall learning environment. For college ready students, a modified dress code will apply, managed collaboratively through parental involvement, guidance and oversight. Dress code details are articulated in the College Pathways Parent/Student Handbook.



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May College Pathways students eat lunch at school?
Students may bring their lunch/snack and eat during a designated break time, mid-day, in the classroom. Cafeteria service will not be available to College Pathways students, although PPCC has a snack/lunch store on the Rampart Range Campus, for college ready students.



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Does College Pathways offer a sports program?
College Pathways does not offer an athletics program. CP students who wish to compete must comply with the participation requirements of the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) as well as their district of residence or their district of attendance. The following example applies to Academy District 20, but your home district may have other standards for athletic participation by students attending charter and private schools. Please contact your district office for specific guidelines and policies. If a student attending a high school that does not offer athletics wishes to participate in athletics in Academy District 20 (ASD20), they must apply for athletic participation placement through the ASD20 central office. The following guidelines are helpful, but decisions about placement and participation rest with ASD20: ◆ ASD20 resident students who have never been placed on a high school team roster will participate at their ◆ neighborhood high school. ◆ Junior High or Middle School participation does not determine high school placement. ◆ ASD20 resident students will participate at their school of residence, attendance, or assignment, depending on which sports are offered at which schools. ◆ Students who have previously been placed on a team roster at a public high school (including The Classical Academy) will continue to participate at that school. ◆ Non-ASD20 resident students who have never been placed on a ASD20 high school team roster will participate at a school assigned through the ASD20 placement lottery. ◆ In the event that a student is assigned to a school that does not offer a particular sport, then that student will enter the ASD20 lottery and be assigned to another school for that sport.



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Does College Pathways offer other co-curricular programs?
Because College Pathways is not designed to be a comprehensive high school, College Pathways does not have performing arts programs such as band or choir. However, students interested in these activities can participate at their home public high school programs. Non-CHSAA regulated after-school clubs, such as theatre, rock climbing, tennis club, Latin, creative writing, and others will be available at the TCA North Campus. College Pathways students may attend all TCA after school events and dances.



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How do students earn free college credits?
 The dual enrollment option through College Pathways provides an opportunity for qualified, college ready high school students to take academic college classes and earn both high school and college credits through the Concurrent Enrollment Program at PPCC. The tuition will be paid by TCA for successfully completed course work (“C” or above). For students who qualify for college by 11th grade, it is possible to complete enough college credits to earn an Associate’s degree (generally 60 college credits or approximately 20 college courses) by high school graduation.
Students who are dual-enrolled can accumulate high school credits at an accelerated pace, since one college semester (15-16 weeks) counts as one full year of high school credit. (For example: If a College Pathways student successfully completes ENG121-English Composition I in the fall semester, he/she will earn two high school English credits towards graduation requirements, and 3 college credits on a PPCC college transcript).



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Will these college credits transfer to another college or university?
 Yes. Most of the time, college courses taken as a part of the Guarantee Transfer curriculum (GT Pathways) must transfer to any Colorado four-year university or college. Furthermore, adherence to the Colorado Community College System’s (CCCS) full 60+60 Bachelor’s Transfer Program guarantees that at least 60 hours will transfer completely, upon admission, to a Bachelor of Arts major in Colorado’s public four-year institutions, where students are guaranteed to be able to finish the BA degree with additional 60 credit hours of study. Additional courses may transfer depending on individual articulation and transfer agreements between PPCC and four-year colleges. Students planning to attend out-of-state colleges or universities should communicate with the respective admissions offices to help determine which PPCC courses are most likely to transfer.



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Does College Pathways provide college advising, placement, and other support?
 Students are welcome to participate in college seminars and other group college preparation events through the College Connections Center on the TCA North high school campus. Dual enrollment college level students also have access to individual counseling at College Pathways as well as the Career Planning & Advising Center at Pikes Peak Community College. Additionally, dual enrollment students have free access to PPCC Computer and Math Labs, and Writing Center. Students are welcome to drop in without an appointment, to do their math homework and receive free, individualized tutoring in the Math Lab, or receive free assistance with writing process, topic focus, content development, organization, and research strategies in the Writing Center. These help centers are staffed by PPCC faculty.



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Will my enrollment in the College Pathways Program affect my position on the full-time waitlist at TCA?
 No. Your acceptance will not bump you up, down, or off our full-time waitlist.



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If a student is currently enrolled in a home school or private school program, can he/she participate?
 Yes, provided the student is not currently enrolled in a state funded home school program.



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What is the “Cottage School Program”?
The Cottage School Program supplements home education for grades K-8, providing part-time, generally one-day per week classes. For 7th and 8th grades, Cottage School offers Language Arts and/or Prentice Hall Math, with Art, Theater/Music, P.E. and Spanish as electives. Contact CSP Director Becky VanVleet for more information at vanvlee@asd20.org.



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May College Pathways students take standardized exams such as the ACT/PSAT/SAT?
Yes. We may facilitate your child registering at a testing site other than College Pathways, as we do not host all tests. Full- time students can take the state ACT exam, while part-time students take the national ACT exam.



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Are College Pathways students required to take CSAP exams?
Yes. Full-time 7-10th grade students are required to take CSAP exams.



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Are College Pathways students required to take Math and English placement exams?
Yes. All College Pathways junior high and high school level students must take a Basic Math Skills exam and an English placement exam to enable scheduling in course levels that will ensure both challenge and opportunity for success. Families will be notified of testing dates and will be provided test result details.



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Where is the College Pathways Campus?
The campus is located on the Rampart Range campus of Pikes Peak Community College (at the Interquest Exit, about a half a mile east of I-25).



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How do you provide student security?
Of utmost concern to College Pathways, is providing to our students and their families, the assurance of a safe and supportive learning environment. Students taking College Pathways junior high and high school level courses will be attending classes in College Pathways classrooms with College Pathways instructors, physically separated from the college wing by a secured corridor. Dual enrollment college level students will take college level courses taught either by PPCC faculty or by College Pathways teachers who qualify as PPCC adjunct faculty. In addition, PPCC has three licensed police officers on duty during the school day, patrolling both the PPCC and the College Pathways campuses.



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