CSU launches first-of-its-kind joint nursing degree to tackle Colorado’s critical workforce shortage
This fall, CSU Fort Collins and CSU Pueblo will launch a joint B.S/M.S. degree in nursing, the first-ever collaborative academic program between two campuses in the CSU System. Pre-nursing students at the Fort Collins campus will be able to earn both their undergrad degree and a master’s in nursing in five years and join a field that is seeing a shortfall of thousands of registered nurses in Colorado.
All CSU System universities grew enrollment in Fall 2025
All three Colorado State University campuses saw enrollment increases this year, with notable gains among Colorado residents and students from rural areas. Student access and success gains were also seen across all three CSU System institutions – showcasing that CSU as the state’s land grant system provides direct connection and benefit to people and communities across Colorado.
Bringing a light: First-gen student strives to support others through hardship
Kenan Thomas is the subject of a video in a documentary film series called First Degree, which highlights standout first-generation students at CSU System campuses. The docuseries demonstrates that academic achievement is possible with talent, tenacity, and support. By showcasing the paths of first-gen students pursuing higher education and its benefits, the series underscores a core mission of our land-grant university System. At CSU, first-generation students make up about 25% of the undergraduate population.
Warrior mentality: First-generation CSU student excels as ROTC leader
Ashley Magee is the subject of the newest video in a CSU System documentary film series called “First Degree,” which traces the personal and academic journeys of first-generation university students and young alumni as they realize the benefits of higher education. She is a junior studying health and exercise science on a full-ride ROTC scholarship.
CSU Spur Start will allow students to complete first year in Denver
Starting in fall 2025, there will be another pathway for students to start their CSU education thanks to CSU Spur Start, a program that will bring a cohort of first-year students to the University’s innovative campus just north of downtown Denver at the National Western Center and allow them to complete the first year of their CSU degree at the satellite campus before completing the rest of their bachelor’s at the flagship Fort Collins campus.
Going home: Cattlewoman applies first-gen education on the Navajo Nation
Justina Slim grew up in the heart of the largest Native American reservation in the United States, where her family raises a herd of about 150 Angus crossbred cattle. Her path from CSU back to the Navajo Nation is the subject of the newest video in a CSU System docuseries, called First Degree, which traces the personal and academic journeys of first-generation college students and young alumni as they realize the benefits of higher education.
Turning the tides: First-generation student overcomes adversity to earn college degree
Robert Lamm, a CSU senior studying environmental engineering with a minor in sustainable water management, is featured in a new video released today as part of a CSU System docuseries called First Degree, which highlights first-generation students as they pursue higher education and its benefits.
A revolutionary program for first-generation students
CSU President Amy Parsons reflects on first-generation students, who make up about 25% of CSU’s undergraduate population, and their legacy.
Reaching new heights
The Colorado State University System’s role promoting educational access and opportunity through its three degree-granting campuses and related activities and initiatives is among the central themes highlighted in the 2024 Impact Report, released by the System this month.
First degree
A new documentary film series called First Degree illuminates the personal and academic journeys of first-generation students at CSU System campuses. The series portrays the doubts and challenges first-generation students face in college, the benefits they hope to realize for themselves and their communities, and the ties between first-generation student success and Colorado State’s land-grant mission.