Have you purchased a Colorado mountain home and plan to live there full time? Do you have teenage children that are ready to join the college ranks? If you meet this criteria, don’t worry about letting your son and daughter go too far off to college as Colorado Mountain College (CMC) has 11 locations within our Rocky Mountain communities. And, don’t worry, the education is above par for a two-year college with a full range of learning opportunities available.
CMC services 12,000 square miles, three national forests, six wilderness areas, nine Colorado counties and includes 20,000 students each year at their 11 locations and online. So, if you were to do the math, that averages out to under 2,000 students per location, making learning very personal as the classes are small and the faculty are up close and personal. All of this together makes CMC a great place to grab that solid foundation for the challenges that lie ahead. In fact, the Aspen Institute College Education Excellence Program has acknowledged CMC in the top 13% of two-year colleges in the United States for exceptional student performance and outcomes. CMC was also rated #17 in the nation by CNN/Money for student success amongst more than 800 two-year colleges and #1 among Colorado’s two-year colleges for graduation plus transfer rates. So, how could you go wrong?!
Though there are seven campuses in the north-central Rockies, we would like to focus on the community campus of Breckenridge. “Community campus” means that the Breckenridge location schedules classes for the convenience of local residents (you) and does not offer residential facilities or traditional campus life opportunities. But, this does not matter as you will (or already have) be buying Breckenridge real estate, right? Anyway, the newest site in the 7-campus chain, Breckenridge, opened in August 2009 with expanded offerings and amenities.
The Breckenridge campus includes traditional classrooms, hands-on professional training and online classes not only for Breckenridge, but for all of Summit County as well. There are a variety of programs, degrees and certificates offered that ultimately prepare students to transfer to a variety of four-year degree programs or train them for a fast track into the job market.
Aerial Tour of Colorado Mountain College at Breckenridge from Colorado Mountain College on Vimeo.
Because of Breckenridge’s unique location surrounded by the Rocky Mountains, one of the key career programs includes the Wilderness Emergency Medical Services certificate program where aspiring outdoor professionals can learn wilderness medicine and rescue training. The unique outdoor environment of Summit County is ideal for this specialized program. The outdoor enthusiast can also take a full load of courses to achieve an AA in Outdoor Education or the Certificate of Completion.
Wilderness Emergency and Outdoor Education are not the only programs CMC Breckenridge specializes in, however, as this campus is now home to one of the few apprentice-based culinary programs in the entire country with it’s Culinary Institute. Students enrolled in this program learn directly from award-winning chefs and work in five-star restaurants at Keystone Resort … all at a fraction of the cost of other culinary schools. The Culinary Apprenticeship program in Breckenridge combines a Culinary Arts degree with a European-style apprenticeship to provide its students with what they need to succeed.
CMC-Breckenridge also offers a two-year Nursing Program for the high-demand market for qualified nurses. This Associate Degree (AAS) program provides students with the knowledge they need to become a Registered Nurse (RN) and to work in hospitals, schools, clinics and other healthcare facilities. CMC’s RN to Bachelor of Science (BS) program builds upon the clinical experience one has gained with the AAS in nursing degree by expanding knowledge of patient care, theory, research, business practices and leadership.
The aforementioned are just three of the highlights of CMC-Breckenridge’s curriculum, but one can find programs in just about anything, including accounting, chemistry, early childhood education, mathematics, physics, psychology and sociology to name just a few. If you are on the fence about buying real estate in Breckenridge, we hope this might tip the edge towards you and your college-bound student(s)!
By Reid Tulley
Coldwell Banker Mountain Properties
Frisco Colorado
All information deemed reliable, but not guaranteed & subject to change without notice.