Apply to the Program

Congratulations on your decision to become a nurse aide.

Applications for admission to the nurse aide program are accepted throughout the year. There is no final deadline to apply.

Before You Apply

Review the information below to learn more about how to prepare for your application to the nurse aide certificate program.

Prepare Your Supplemental Materials

The nurse aide certificate application requires supplemental materials to be prepared.

The supplemental materials include:

  • vaccination and medical records;
  • background check and drug screen
  • course placement determination.

Learn more about each of these required materials and download any related forms below. Please save and name all completed documents using the following format: Last Name – Document Name (ex. “Smith – Prerequisite Courses.pdf”).

Vaccination and Medical Records

Applicants to the nurse aide certificate program are required to submit specific vaccination and medical records as part of their application supplemental materials.

You will need to provide the following records:

  • A negative Tuberculosis (TB) skin test OR QuantiFERON (QFT) Gold test OR clear chest x-ray image;
  • Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine;
  • Varicella vaccine;
  • Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis (Tdap) vaccine;
  • Flu vaccine;
    • The seasonal flu vaccine is only required of applicants applying to the nurse aide certificate program between the months of October through March.
  • Hepatitis B vaccine;
    • You must have the initial dose of the three-dose series to begin the nurse aide certificate program.
  • COVID-19 vaccine;
    • You must have the initial dose of the two-dose series to begin the nurse aide certificate program.

Contact your primary care physician to obtain records for previous vaccinations. You can learn more about each vaccine and test requirement on the Auraria Health Center website. The Health Center can help you obtain any vaccines or tests you may need and provide the required records above.

Background Check and Drug Screen

The Colorado Community College System (CCCS) requires a completed background check and drug screen for admission to the nurse aide certificate program. The Background check and drug screen can only be processed through CCCS’ secure CastleBranch website and are paid for by the applicant. The cost of the background check and drug screen is $68.00

To begin the background check and drug screen, follow the steps below:

  1. Visit the CCCS CastleBranch website.
  2. Select “Place Order.”
  3. Select “Community College of Denver” from the first dropdown.
  4. From the new dropdown, select the “Nurse Aide” program.
  5. In the next dropdown, select “I am a new student placing an order for the first time.”
  6. Review the contents of the background and drug screen package.
  7. Read and agree to the terms and conditions, then select “Continue.”
  8. Complete the entire form and complete payment when finished.

Once paid, save a copy of your receipt or save a screenshot of your order confirmation. You will provide the confirmation or proof of payment as supplemental material to your online application.

Please Note: You do not need to wait until your background check is complete to finish your online application to the nurse aide certificate program. Once you upload proof of payment or your order confirmation to your online application, the remainder of your background check will be handled by CastleBranch and Community College of Denver. You will be contacted by CCD once the background check process is fully complete.

Course Placement

To be accepted into the nurse aide certificate program, you must determine your course placement in math and English classes.

To determine course placement, you should follow one of these paths:

  • Take the math and English placement tests with CCD’s Testing Center.
  • Complete the ACT or SAT test to meet the minimum score requirements below.
  • Submit transcripts that show previous college classes to CCD’s Testing Center.

To learn more about these processes and course placement determination at CCD, visit the Testing Center website.

Questions?

We're here to help. For answers to your questions, please contact Voletha Bradley.

You're Ready to Apply

Once your supplemental materials are prepared, you’re ready to begin your online application. You’ll first be asked to create a new account or log into an existing account if you’ve used the application system in the past. Once logged into your account, you can begin your application.

How to Select the Right Application

After starting the regular application for admission to CCD, you will be asked to “Select an Area of Interest.” It’s important that you select “Health Sciences Pathway” from the dropdown list. A secondary dropdown will appear below asking you to “Select a Degree or Certificate.” From the list of options, select “Nurse Aide: Nursing Certificate.”

You will upload your supplemental materials after your initial application has been submitted and received by CCD. See “After You Apply” for more details.

Apply Now

Have Questions?

If you are a current CCD student, make an appointment with your Academic Advisor using Navigate. 

For application questions, please contact Voletha Bradley.

After You Apply

After you have completed and submitted your application for the college, you will receive an email notification informing you of one of the following:

  • your application is complete and the specifics of the next step, OR
  • your application does not meet the minimum qualifications to move forward, OR
  • your application is incomplete, you will be notified of outstanding items. NOTE: this may delay the review process and the consideration of your application.

Due to the large volume of applications received, please allow a minimum of 14 days for our office to contact you via email. If you have not been contacted, please reach out to our application reviewer, Voletha Bradley, to determine that the application has been received by our office.

Next Steps

After your complete application has been reviewed, you will be notified of your admission to the nurse aide certificate program.

Your next steps to complete your enrollment include:

  • Review class schedules to select the day(s) and time(s) for your courses.
  • Please note that the NUA 1001 and NUA 1070 courses must be paired together for the nurse aide certificate program.
  • Register and pay for classes. To learn about your payment options, visit the Cashier’s Office website.
  • Attend online orientation.
  • Obtaining the required scrubs and materials.

Questions?

We're here to help. For answers to your questions, please contact Voletha Bradley.