Kennedy said it was too early to name the academic discipline in which CU and FLC are pursuing a joint program, but he noted the school already has arrangements with Colorado Mesa University and Western Colorado University in which engineering students complete their final two years at CU.<\/p>\n Joint programs also might rely on online work \u2013 with students able to complete their final two years of study online without leaving Durango, Kennedy said.<\/p>\n The disruptive nature of the internet has lagged in higher education, but Kennedy said the next several years will see increasing online offerings.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t have to tell people in the newspaper industry how disruptive the internet communications revolution has been,\u201d he said. \u201cLife has not been easy for media companies. We haven\u2019t seen disruption to that extent in higher education, but it\u2019s coming, and how it affects us is yet to be determined.\u201d<\/p>\n Currently, even students on campus prefer taking a course or two online because it gives them more flexibility and aligns with lifestyles of college-age students who grew up in the digital age, Kennedy said.<\/p>\n Cost-saving collaborations among state colleges will become even more essential as the number of high school graduates declines, a nationwide trend hitting Colorado later than most states, Kennedy said.<\/p>\n In Colorado, he said, the number of high school graduates is expected to peak in 2026 then decline, a trend that has emerged as families have had fewer children since the Great Recession of 2008.<\/p>\n Lauren Savage, spokeswoman for FLC, noted existing partnerships with CU, including a National Science Foundation program among the FLC Department of Physics and Engineering and NSF Science and Technology Center for Real-Time Functional Imaging, headquartered at CU Boulder<\/a>. The program aims to increase the diversity of students pursuing degrees in advanced material science research.<\/p>\n Another program she noted is a bachelor-master\u2019s combined program that offers a five-year path for students seeking a master\u2019s degree in public history. Under the 3-2 Master\u2019s Degree program<\/a>, which starts in fall, history majors can apply during their junior year, and, if accepted, will complete their senior year in CU Denver\u2019s Public History and Preservation<\/a> program. They will then spend a fifth year at CU Denver earning their master\u2019s, trimming the time for a master\u2019s degree from six years to five.<\/p>\n Kennedy also said CU partners with communities across Colorado through its Area Health Education Centers, including the Southwestern Colorado AHEC<\/a>. AHEC partners with CU medical experts and doctors to improve rural health and to develop a pipeline of students interested in pursuing educational paths in health sciences.<\/p>\n