High School ACCESS | Apply & Enroll
Learn more about Continuing Education High School ACCESS enrollment requirements.
High School ACCESS Enrollment Eligibility
High school students aged 16 and over are eligible to enroll in college courses with parent/guardian and a high school official’s permission. Homeschooled students are eligible with parent permission. The permissions needed are included on the High School ACCESS non-degree application as a separate Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) form, which you will be required to sign each term.
Students under 16 years of age are required to meet with a CE academic advisor prior to enrolling, and will be directed to schedule an appointment.
How to Apply & Enroll
Deadlines:
Summer 2025
- The priority deadline to submit application materials: May 9.
- The final deadline: July 7.
Fall 2025
- The priority deadline to submit application materials: August 1.
- The final deadline: August 27.
Before applying, talk to your parent/guardian and your high school counselor about your interest in the High School ACCESS program. When you are ready, be sure to follow the specific application process outlined by your school district as well as the following steps:
Buff Portal and IdentiKey
Buff Portal is the online student campus portal and an important tool. It gives you access to credit course enrollment, your CU student email account, campus announcements, semester schedule, tuition bill, book lists, clicker registration, Canvas and your final grades. Learn more about Buff Portal.
You’ll need an IdentiKey, or a unique username, to log in to and access Buff Portal. An IdentiKey allows you to register for CU courses and provides you with access to online services and campus computing facilities. Use your student identification number to activate your IdentiKey at identikey.colorado.edu. It can take up to 15 minutes for our system to recognize your credentials. A social security number (SSN) or CU-assigned PIN is required for account activation. You will receive an additional email containing your PIN if we do not have your SSN on file.
After you have activated your IdentiKey, you will be prompted to enroll in Duo multi-factor authentication. Duo is part of the university’s ongoing effort to secure personal and financial data on campus, and is required when logging into campus services like Buff Portal.
Consenting to Do Business Electronically
When you log in to Buff Portal for the first time, you’ll be asked to consent to conduct business electronically at CU Boulder. If you don’t consent, you’ll lose access to the student portal and instead receive information about how to conduct your official university business offline.
If you have questions, contact the Office of Information Technology (OIT) 303-735-4357 or oithelp@colorado.edu for tech support.
Join the Parent and Family Email List
Parents and family members of High School ACCESS students can join our email list to receive scholarship information, important dates and deadlines, university policies and resources to help support the student’s journey.
Please note, subscribing to this list does not grant you access to your student’s academic and/or financial records–your student must submit a FERPA release form to allow you to contact the university on their behalf. Further information about this process will be provided to the email list.