Colorado sets standards for the Individual Career and Academic Plan (ICAP) for all students enrolled in public schools in the state. The Colorado Department of Education describes ICAP as an annual process that begins in ninth grade, and schools may choose to start earlier. State law says the plan is designed to help students and their parents or legal guardians explore the postsecondary career and educational opportunities available to them.

The challenge: a plan without exploration

The ICAP asks students to build self-awareness, career awareness and postsecondary aspirations year after year. That is hard to do when a student has only heard of a handful of careers or colleges. Without time to explore, the annual ICAP update can turn into a form to complete, not a plan a student owns.

What students tell us

Across the 13th Year™ network, students are most open early, and their options narrow as graduation gets closer:

  • 32%of 9th graders are weighing more than one path after high school. By 12th grade, 16% are.
  • 53%of 9th graders are interested in more than one career field, compared with 33% of seniors.
  • 11%of 9th graders say they are not sure yet what comes next. Only 2% of seniors say so.
  • 23%of students planning on college are also considering another path, such as the skilled trades, the military, work or a business of their own.

For planning, that means the most valuable exploration happens in the first years of high school, while students are still open to what they find.

Figures come from more than 3,800 responses students submitted at 13th Year™ kiosks and school links across the 13th Year™ network in 2026, not only Colorado schools. Students could choose more than one answer, and some responded more than once.

Dual enrollment

Dual enrollment in Colorado

Colorado's statewide program is Concurrent Enrollment, established by the Concurrent Enrollment Programs Act (C.R.S. 22-35-101 et seq.), with guidance from the Colorado Department of Education. State law defines a qualified student as a person under 21 who is enrolled in ninth grade or higher in a local education provider, and districts may set additional requirements. Concurrent enrollment courses are provided at no tuition cost to the student or the student's parent or guardian, and a cooperative agreement sets the tuition rate the local education provider pays the college. Colorado also offers ASCENT, which lets students continue concurrent enrollment in the year after 12th grade; CDE states there is no tuition cost for ASCENT courses and the tuition bill is paid by the school district, though students may have to pay for books, supplies or fees.

Students who explore careers and college majors early can choose dual enrollment courses that build toward a specific goal instead of collecting unrelated credits, and short daily exploration (for example on a 13th Year™ kiosk) can help them arrive at course selection with a direction in mind.

Official program information: Colorado Department of Education →

What students need before the planning meeting

The most productive planning conversations happen when a student walks in with something to talk about: a career they read about, a program that surprised them, a question about the military or an apprenticeship. That kind of curiosity comes from exposure, and exposure works best when it is frequent, self-directed and part of the school day.

Practical ways to build exploration into the year

  • Explore before the annual ICAP update. Give students time to look at colleges, skilled trades, military service and careers before each yearly ICAP conversation, so they arrive with real questions.
  • Tie exploration to the quality indicators. Colorado's ICAP quality indicators include career awareness and postsecondary options. Ask students to record what they explored under those headings.
  • Connect the ICAP to the graduation menu. Local school boards set graduation requirements and may select from the state's Graduation Guidelines Menu of Options. Help students see how the options their district chose line up with the path they are exploring.
  • Make exploration self-serve. Let students explore on their own time, so counselor time goes to the conversations that need it.

Where the Student Pathway System™ goes

13th Year™ places an interactive college and career kiosk in a school's hallway, a modern guidance resource students use before, during and after school. Students who explore colleges, skilled trades, military service, scholarships and careers on their own time bring more to their ICAP. It supports, and does not replace, Colorado's ICAP process and school counselors.

For administrators, the questions are usually privacy and workload. The 13th Year™ platform is FERPA aligned and designed with student privacy considerations in mind. It does not access the high school's student information system, and no student data is sold. Kiosks come at no cost to the school, and 13th Year™ delivers, installs and supports every kiosk, so it is built to support your counselors, not burden them.

See how 13th Year™ supports Colorado high schools, or request a kiosk for your school.