CMC Salida looks back – and ahead – during its 5-year anniversary

Dec. 17, 2024 — Five years ago, voters approved annexing Salida and Poncha Springs into Colorado Mountain College’s district. Since then, enrollment at the CMC Salida campus has grown dramatically, bringing higher education, low tuition, and numerous college credit courses and community education classes to the area.

Salida residents’ tuition dropped from $170 per credit hour in 2019 to $104 today; students have graduated from a wide range of programs, such as nurse aide, EMT and business; community education classes are offered to all residents; and CMC’s concurrent enrollment with Salida High School has consistently produced excellent results with over 500 individual students earning college credits worth over $611,000 at CMC.

If those students had taken the same number of credits at the University of Colorado at Boulder, it would have collectively cost them approximately $3 million at today’s in-state undergraduate tuition rate. The program allows high school students to earn college or vocational credit toward a postsecondary certificate or degree.

"As I reflect on the five years since the district was annexed into CMC, the thing that strikes me the most is how CMC has integrated into our community,” said P.T. Wood, former Salida mayor and CMC parent. “From concurrent enrollment to the amazing internship program that Fred Maxwell runs, CMC is critical to our community.”

Realigning priorities

Amidst the successes, results from a health care feasibility study recently completed by Initium Health in Denver reported that providing a Bachelor of Science in nursing program in Salida is not recommended. Although CMC was optimistic about providing the program, the study indicated that the Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center, with just 25 beds, does not currently have the capacity to provide clinical experiences for the number of nursing students needed to make a BSN program viable.

Initium Health also found that recruiting and housing faculty, as well as the program’s financial viability due to the small number of students who would qualify to enroll in a BSN program, were additional barriers.

“Colorado Mountain College understands that hiring nurses in our mountain communities is a significant priority and challenge,” said CMC President Matt Gianneschi. “We remain committed to helping Salida and other communities train and hire qualified health care workers.”

CMC Salida’s future

In 2019, CMC Salida committed to establishing a permanent presence in town. This was accomplished this year with the recent purchase of the Kesner Building adjacent to Salida High School. CMC’s presence, close to the high school and the concurrent enrollment program, is ideal for serving Salida’s high school, traditional, non-traditional and community education students.

Looking forward, CMC is continuing the academic programs that are working well, while staying alert to expanding the campus’s academic offerings that serve community needs and are feasible.

“We are pleased with our current progress as a new campus,” said Ben Cairns, CMC vice president and campus dean, Leadville and Salida. “We are particularly happy with the growth in our business internship program and are continuing to explore growth in the trades, mental health and other areas as we seek the best fit for the local community.”

CMC Salida 5-year facts

Total number of graduates: 172
2020 – 26
2021 – 33
2022 – 33
2023 – 43
2024 – 37 (includes 14 students anticipated to graduate at the end of fall 2024 semester)

Notable academic programs and total graduates when applicable
- EMT-Basic – 44 (9 enrolled in current fall 2024 semester), some of whom work for Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center, Solvista Health and Chaffee County EMS
- Nurse aide – 68, of which around 12 work for HRRMC or local clinics
- Alternative secondary education teacher licensure – 2
- Baja study abroad with 15 students in May 2022 and 2024 – 15 students
- Heavy equipment for high school students during summer 2023 and 2024

CMC Salida business internship program with Salida High School students coordinated by CMC Salida:
Participants:
Fall 2022 – 23 students
Spring 2023 – 29 students
Fall 2023 – 22 students
Spring 2024 – 30 students
Fall 2024 – 28 students
Spring 2025 – 43 students*
Total: 175 students (* including registered students for spring 2025)

Salida-based businesses involved in the Salida High School students internship program since 2022: 108
(Businesses include 50 West Film Productions, Mojos Restaurant, Six Line Metalworks, Salida Airport, Cutler Law Office and dozens more that have been provided with over $83,000 in incentive funds to participate in the program.)

In the last five years, dozens of CMC community education classes have been held in Salida including Watercolor Basics, Acrylic Landscape Painting, Avalanche Safety, High Altitude Gardening, Hunter Safety, Drums Alive, Geology of the Arkansas Valley, Intercambio, Mosaic Tiling, Basic Bike Maintenance, Flycasting and many more.

Partnerships:
- Salida School District – concurrent enrollment
- Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center – health care curriculum
- Firecamp – Wilderness First Responder training
- Desert Mountain Medicine – Wilderness First Responder training
- Chaffee County Public Health – Embracing Aging

Events:
- Rediscovering Common Ground community discussion
- Common Reader – Craig Childs “The Animal Dialogues”
- Common Reader – Benjamin Alire Saenz “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe”
- Art show/open house – Local artist Kerstin Stock
- Art show/open house- Leslie Jorgensen
- Art show/open house – Elk Raven Photography
- Picnic Day/Dia de Campo
- Professional Development Day hosted for local K-12 educators from Salida, Buena Vista and Canon City
- Posada celebration
- Career Days for Salida High School students
- Gov. Jared Polis and Rep. Julie McCluskie signed legislation on the front steps of CMC Salida in May 2023 regarding HB-1246 to create free training opportunities leading to certificates and associate degrees
- Commencements

For students, CMC Salida is a place that supports their goals:
- In 2022, CMC Salida graduates Sarah Evans, Landon Loepker, Marcie Spears Post and Zach Rocco earned their EMT certifications and took jobs working for Chaffee County EMS.
- In 2023, Salida’s Elena Dziura, then a concurrent enrollment high school student and ski racer, graduated with an associate degree, and now attends the University of Vermont.
- Fiorella Larson received her adult high school diploma through CMC, went on to complete her nurse aide certification courses and is now taking the prerequisite classes for a Bachelor of Science in nursing.
- In 2022, four local students completed their certified addictions technician certificates through CMC and currently work at the Solvista Regional Assessment Center.
- Lane Baker was a sophomore at Salida High School when she began taking concurrent enrollment classes. At the end of her senior year, she had a high school diploma and an associate degree. After just two years at Virginia Tech, she’s earning a bachelor’s in psychology.