ASCENT

Full-Time Enrollment

Minimum of 24 credit hours during the ASCENT year.

Postsecondary Coursework

Must have earned 9 postsecondary credits during high school through:

• Concurrent/Dual Enrollment (grade C or higher).
• AP courses (score of 3+), taken before the spring of senior year.
• IB courses (score of 4+), taken before the spring of senior year.

Diploma Withheld

FAFSA/CASFA Completion

Financial Aid Restrictions

Age and Eligibility Restrictions

• Students must be under 21 years old.
• No early graduates, super seniors, or college athletes are eligible during the ASCENT years.

1. Counselor Consultation: Students work with their high school counselor to ensure they meet eligibility criteria and begin the application process.
2. Verification: The ASCENT Specialist will reverify student eligibility.
3. Meetings: The ASCENT Specialist will schedule individual/group meetings with eligible students to confirm their status and discuss next steps.
4. Orientation: Once identified as recipients, students must attend either an individual or group orientation. During this session, next steps will be discussed, including introductions to ASCENT points of contact at partner schools, to ensure students are prepared to register for Fall classes.

• Students must complete an ASCENT application and agreement, confirm enrollment, and maintain communication throughout the ASCENT program via phone and personal email.
• Schedules and grades for ASCENT years are required to be collected by the district ASCENT representative.
• Policies regarding housing, institutional scholarships, and activity participation, such as sorority/fraternity involvement, must be discussed with partner colleges/universities.
• ASCENT participants remain students in their Local Education Provider (LEP) following their 12th-grade year (1 year). The LEP receives ASCENT-specific per-pupil state funding that it uses to pay its college tuition (tuition is discounted ) at the resident community college rate. Students receive their high-school diplomas at the end of their ASCENT year. [C.R.S. § 22-35-108.5]
• Once DCSD is billed (typically toward the end of each college semester), payment will be made to the partner school or university. Please note, college/university systems may still show an outstanding tuition balance, as they are not always programmed to recognize ASCENT participants.