Auraria Campus
One of the Auraria Campus signs, located at the intersection of Kalamath and Colfax in Denver, Colorado | |
| Type | Educational facility |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Auraria Higher Education Center, University of Colorado Denver, Community College of Denver, and Metropolitan State University of Denver |
Total staff | 5,000 |
| Students | 38,000 |
| Location | Denver , Colorado , United States |
| Campus | Urban, 150-acre |
| Website | https://www.ahec.edu/ |
Auraria Campus is an educational facility located near downtown Denver, Colorado in the United States. The campus houses facilities of three separate universities and colleges: the University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver), Community College of Denver (CCD), and Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver). In 2017, there were approximately 54,812 students between the three schools, with rapid growth projected over the following few years. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and declining enrollment, the collective student population in 2022 was approximately 38,000, with an additional 5,000 faculty and staff.
The shared services of Auraria Campus are managed and operated by the Auraria Higher Education Center (AHEC), which is a state agency created statutorily pursuant to Article 70, Title 23 of the Colorado Revised Statutes. AHEC manages an early learning center, parking services, campus safety and police, facilities maintenance and custodial services, and distribution services and contracts with outside entities to provide food services and a campus bookstore. AHEC also issues campus-wide policies pertaining to these shared services. AHEC is governed by the Auraria Board of Directors which has eleven members, with representatives serving from all three institutions of higher education housed on the campus.
The campus is located southwest of downtown, on the east side of the South Platte River and south of Cherry Creek, near the site of the original Auraria mining camp settlement of 1859.
The Auraria Campus is also home to Tivoli Union, the historical, and currently operating after a hiatus, brewery. The Tivoli/Student Union houses a lounge, brewery, movie theater, cafeteria, and a significant number of student organizations for all three schools. The building also has functioned as a mall at one point.
The 9th St. Park borders the campus to the west, housing community outreach programs, academic departments, and other campus offices as well as a fast-food restaurant in the Mercantile building. Student housing consists of City Heights and Lynx Crossing (formerly known as Campus Village).
In 2024, the Auraria Campus Master Plan was released. The majority of the campus is set to be redeveloped into a mixed-use neighborhood, largely connecting the campus to downtown and other surrounding neighborhoods. Various construction and campus improvement projects have begun around campus.