Semester & Year Away: Billing & Aid
All billing and payment for off-campus study will be handled through your CC Student Account, with the exception of the initial confirmation deposit, if your program requires one. Students are responsible for paying any confirmation deposit directly to the program. Following the initial confirmation deposit, the tuition and program fee for your semester or year off-campus will be billed through your student account at CC on the regular billing timetable.
See further details below, based on the type of program you are doing.
This section deals exclusively with CC Semester Programs and CC Half-Semester Programs, led by CC faculty. This section does not apply to any partner-led study abroad programs through other approved organizations and universities, as outlined in the next section. The process for each type of CC program is outlined below.
CC Semesters Off-Campus (4 blocks away)
CC Half-Semesters Off-Campus (2 blocks away)
When a student participates in a CC Half-Semester (two-block) program, the tuition remains the same as the standard CC tuition for that semester, and the program fee charge varies, based on the student's on-campus housing assignment and meal plan choice for that semester, as described below.
Will I Be Charged a Half-Semester Program Fee?
Student financial aid is not adjusted for these additional program fees. Students should anticipate covering these costs either from their standard aid package (i.e., even if you are living off-campus with no meal plan, your need-based aid award from CC may have included money for meals that can be redirected to this program fee, for example), or through personal finances.
Withdrawal From a CC Semester or CC Half-Semester (two-block) Program
As with all CC-led study away programs, the CC half- or full-semester program has a withdrawal deadline. Students who withdraw prior to the deadline will assess no program fees. However, withdrawal after the deadline can produce significant program fees in addition to the funds needed to complete the semester on campus. These fees are billed for all shared and non-refundable costs expended on behalf of the student and not recuperable by Colorado College. Voluntary withdrawal from a program close to the departure date or after the program has commenced can produce a cancellation fee of $10,000 or more due to the nature of nonrecuperable costs for a semester or half-semester program. CC Financial Aid cannot cover these fees as all aid reverts to the student’s on campus costs when they withdraw from the program.
For CC Semester and Half-Semester (two-block) Programs, the Withdrawal Deadlines are:
- Block 1 Start: June 1
- Block 3 Start: August 1
- Block 5 Start: December 1
- Block 7 Start: February 1
When studying off-campus for a semester or a year with one of CC's approved partner programs, students will pay Colorado College tuition instead of the actual tuition cost assessed by the program or university abroad (sometimes also called "educational costs" by the program). This applies to all students, whether the tuition for the program or university abroad is more than Colorado College's tuition or less than Colorado College's tuition. This tuition structure is designed to make off-campus study available to all our undergraduates and is similar to the policy of many selective liberal arts colleges.
Our goal with this policy is to ensure that every program, regardless of cost, and regardless of a student’s financial aid status, is available to all students at a cost equivalent to a semester of study at Colorado College. This makes it possible for students to select the program that fits their needs and academic interests without concern for the cost of the program, since all programs are billed at the same cost as a semester at CC. While this means that students could opt for a more expensive program without paying a higher cost, it also means that students who happen to select a program with a lower tuition charge are not going to save money by paying less than they would to stay on campus. This is a tradeoff that allows us to offer every opportunity to every student at what we believe is a fair price, the same price as a semester on campus and with equal access to degree-fulfilling credit whether they study here in Colorado Springs or at a partner organization approved by CC.
Further information on our Home School Tuition Model is available below in our FAQ section.
Instead of paying Colorado College room & board for the partner program semester or year abroad, since you will not be living on campus or eating meals at CC, you will instead be charged the room & board costs/program fee of the study abroad program you have chosen (which will appear as "Host School Program Fee" on your CC student account).
You can obtain the program fee / room and board information on the website for the program or university abroad you have chosen, as this amount varies widely based on the local cost of living, and on what is included through that program fee (field trips, travel, insurance, etc). The program website will have details on what their program fee covers, as well as details about any additional non-invoiced cost estimates for items like airfare (if not included), personal spending money, cell phone, and other expenses a student could expect for the semester or year abroad.
Q: My off-campus study program charges a deposit to accept my placement on the program. Who pays the deposit?
A: You will pay the deposit directly to your off-campus study program at the time you accept your placement in the program. It is essential that you pay this deposit on time so that you do not lose your place on the program. This deposit will be reflected as a credit on your CC student account when the billing for the term goes out to you.
If you are a high financial-need student at CC, you may be eligible to work with the Center for Global Education for a deferral on this deposit, if you are anticipating financial aid to cover it. Email Heather Powell Browne for additional details.
Q: I don’t understand why I am paying Colorado College tuition for my semester abroad when the program tuition billed to CC by the partner organization is lower.
A: All students are charged CC tuition when they study off-campus with one of our partner programs or universities, regardless of which program they attend. Students are charged Colorado College tuition rather than program tuition for several reasons:
First, we hope students will select their programs based on academic fit. Just as Colorado College charges the same tuition to students when they are enrolled on campus regardless of major (even though it costs the college far more to educate a chemistry major than to educate an English major), we charge the same tuition regardless of off-campus program.
Second, students who study abroad are able to transfer the credit from their studies abroad directly to replace one semester (or year) of their Colorado College degree as a result of the vetting of programs and courses by Colorado College faculty and the Global Education staff.
Lastly, by charging Colorado College tuition, we are able to let students apply their Colorado College need-based aid and merit scholarships towards the fees of the program and thereby make off-campus studies accessible to all Colorado College students. Charging home-campus tuition allows us to generate some income to defray some of the institutional costs of sending students abroad. These costs include not only the aid and merit scholarships that we allow students to use off campus but administrative support that study abroad students benefit from even while they are overseas, such as Global Education advising and programming, access to Tutt Library e-collections, Colorado College Counseling Center services, Registrar and Advising Hub resources, etc.
It is worth noting that even when charging Colorado College tuition, off-campus study is still heavily subsidized by Colorado College. The college does not break even on the costs. But we believe the transformations that students make as a result of these immersion experiences in other cultures--the expanded perspectives, critical thinking and understanding of our complex world--makes providing financial support for our students a very worthwhile investment. To put it in a broader context, most private liberal arts colleges today employ this same home campus fee model as a means of providing and preserving broad access to off-campus study to students and at the same time mitigating the very high cost to the home campus of sending aid monies off campus and administering study abroad.
You will receive your Colorado College bill at the same time you normally do (early August for fall semester and early January for spring semester), through your regular CC student account.
Even if your abroad program calendar starts sooner or later than CC, we take care through our billing arrangements with all our partner programs to meet their payment deadlines, and you need only to pay attention to the Colorado College billing deadlines on your CC student account, as you normally would.
Any payment plan that you have set up through CC Student Financial Services can continue to be used, as usual.
Q: My study abroad program offers some optional courses with additional course fees attached. Who pays for these?
A: If you choose to sign up for any classes as part of your off-campus partner program semester that carry any additional course fees for things like excursions or field trips or materials, this is not covered in the standard tuition the program charges, and you will be invoiced separately and directly for the additional course fees by the program if you choose to take that class.
Make sure to review the information your program sends you about any optional courses you can take that carry associated additional fees. Students receiving need-based financial aid can and should include these additional course fees when completing their Cost & Aid Calculation Worksheet with CC Student Financial Services.
Q: I receive tuition remission towards my CC Tuition. Can this still be applied to my approved study abroad/away semester(s)?
A: Yes. Because you will be charged CC tuition for your study away semester or year, your tuition remission benefits will continue to apply as usual to these charges, through your CC student account.
Q: Can I take a leave of absence from CC and transfer back my off-campus / study abroad semester credits?
A: No. All off-campus study counting for academic credit towards your Colorado College degree needs to go through the Center for Global Education approval process in Summit, and our Home School Tuition billing policy for semesters and year away programs. No academic credit can be transferred back towards your Colorado College degree otherwise.
Q: How is financial aid awarded for off-campus semester programs?
A: CC Student Financial Services will recalculate your financial aid package based on the new Total Cost of Attendance for your semester or year off-campus. Students who currently receive financial aid from CC can expect to continue to pay the same Estimated Family Contribution/EFC (as calculated by the student's Colorado College financial aid application for that academic year) for a semester/year of study away as they would pay for the same semester or year on campus.
Please download and use the Study Away Semester: Cost & Aid Worksheet to help gather information on your new updated Total Cost of Attendance for your semester or year away, and to understand any potential aid adjustments. Specific questions about your unique scholarships and awards can be directed to CC Student Financial Services, and you can make an appointment on their website to review this worksheet and what to expect.
Students who currently have a job working on or off-campus in the semester prior to a study away semester are eligible for grant funding to replace the wages they would have been eligible to earn during their semester or year off-campus. These grants are awarded in order of when you submit your CC Internal Application in Summit, so do apply early.
If you receive need-based aid at CC and are studying on a partner program, in order to be eligible for CC to award you full "gap" funding for your study abroad program towards any additional expenses, there are two things you must also do:
- You must apply for any financial aid or scholarships offered through your partner program that you are eligible for. You can submit proof of that submission to CC Student Financial Services at financialaid@coloradocollege.edu; for example, this proof of submission may mean showing a screenshot of your student application portal for your program showing this is done, forwarding a copy of the completed application, or providing an email from your program confirming receipt. Not all programs offer their own financial aid/scholarships, but many of our CC partner programs do. It is your responsibility to investigate the awards and scholarships offered through your program, and, if you are eligible for any of them, to apply.
- If you receive a Pell Grant at CC, we strongly encourage you to apply for the Gilman Scholarship through the U.S. government to support and diversify study abroad. These awards can be up to $5,000. Some of our partner programs will offer you a special award simply for showing that you have applied for Gilman. Support for writing your Gilman Application is available through Global Education, and also the CC Writing Center.
Q: Are there additional scholarships for off-campus study?
A: Yes, scholarships are available from a variety of sources, including off-campus study programs, the federal government, and independent organizations. The Center for Global Education lists many of these scholarships on our website, and students should always check with the program they are interested in applying to.
Students should consider their scholarship options as they are applying to their program, and should apply early for these scholarships, as many have earlier deadlines than the program application deadline itself. If a student receives a Pell Grant, some off-campus study programs will also match the amount of the Pell Grant award as an additional scholarship.
Q: I am participating in a CC Block Away course that is taught abroad by a Colorado College faculty member during the academic year or in the summer. Will my financial aid apply?
A: There is a separate financial aid process for individual CC blocks taught off-campus during the school year or during CC's Summer Session.
Confirmation Deadlines
All students participating in any Semester Away (CC or Partner), a 2-Block CC Half-Semester away, or a Full Year Away with a partner program must confirm their intentions in Summit using the "Record Decision" button on that program's application, by specific deadlines.
Confirm by:
- May 1 - For all upcoming Fall Semester Away, Fall Half-Semester Away, or Full Academic Year Away
- December 1 - For upcoming Spring Semester Away, and Spring Half-Semester Away
Withdrawal from a CC-led Semester or Half-Semester Program
CC-Led semester and half-semester programs receive their funding from the tuition, room & board, and program fees associated with each program (full semester or partial). As such, a late withdrawal from a CC-led semester or half-semester program can lead to significant costs to the student as all funds expended by the program and no longer refundable to Colorado College may be billed to the student in addition to the tuition, room & board charges should they opt to return to campus for the semester or blocks in question.
As these fees can be several thousand dollars, up to $20,000 for a full semester, depending on the program and the time of withdrawal, students are strongly encouraged to withdraw by the withdrawal deadline for each program. Late withdrawal can lead to a considerable portion of the program funding to be billed as additional charges to the student account. Withdrawal once the program has begun almost universally leads to full billing of the program expense and should be avoided if at all possible.Colorado College also cannot guarantee that campus housing will be available for a student who withdraws from a semester away during the final weeks before departure or for one who seeks to return home early from a canceled semester away.
WITHDRAWAL DEADLINES FOR CC SEMESTERS & HALF SEMESTERS
A withdrawal from a CC Semester or CC Half-Semester after these dates may lead to substantial financial penalties, as described above:
- Fall CC Semester or CC Half-Semester Away: May 1
- Spring CC Semester Away (Blocks 5-8): November 1
- Spring CC Half-Semester Away Blocks 5&6 only: November 1
- Spring CC Half-Semester Away Blocks 7&8 only: December 1
Withdrawal from a Partner-led Semester or Full Year Program
Just as withdrawal from a CC-led semester program requires significant nonrefundable charges be billed to the student account, the same may be true for any partner-led study away program. Students should be careful to review and understand the withdrawal policies of the provider for their partner-led semester or year away program. Any charges which are deemed nonrefundable or which are billed to Colorado College for a late or mid-program withdrawal will be passed along to the student above and beyond the cost for tuition, room & board, should the student return to campus for the remainder of the semester or year.
- CC tuition cannot be allocated for both on-campus courses and a canceled semester away simultaneously. For this reason a student who withdraws from their study away semester and returns to campus will be billed for all tuition fees retained by the provider on top of the cost of college tuition for their on-campus courses.
- CC Financial Aid used to cover costs related to a partner program study away semester cannot also be used to cover nonrefundable partner program charges from a late withdrawal. This may lead to several thousand dollars in billed charges which must be paid by the student or their financial backers.
- Students who wish to withdraw from the partner-led program prior to program departure should contact Global Education immediately, particularly if their intention is to replace the study away experience with a semester of coursework on campus.
While it is unfortunate, there are situations where a medical necessity would require that a student withdraw from a study away program either following the Withdrawal Deadline or even mid-program. In these cases, the following policies apply.
Medically-Necessary Withdrawal - Predeparture:
In the event a withdrawal from a CC-led program after the Withdrawal deadline and before the departure date is the result of an urgent medical concern which causes medical caregivers to recommend travel plan cancellation, Colorado College will attempt to reduce or waive any program charges from the student's account. In order to verify a medical necessity to withdraw, students withdrawing will be asked to provide a statement from a licensed medical or mental health professional who can affirm that it is their recommendation that the student not travel due to a medical or mental health concern. No details of the diagnosis are necessary, only confirmation that the attending professional does not recommend travel. This documentation should be provided either on official letterhead or through official channels of the medical provider. It is also required that the physician or health care provider be someone who the student is seeing professionally, and not a family member or friend of the family. In most cases 100% of the fee is waived for such incidents, however, there are rare cases where only partial reimbursement is possible due to the nature of the expenditures already made on behalf of the student.
If a student has committed to a partner-led program and needs to withdraw predeparture for medical reasons, they should contact the program to learn more about the steps to take to do that, and to learn more about any financial ramifications.
Medically-Necessary Withdrawal - During a Program/Course:
All students on any CC Study Away (Faculty- or Partner-led) program have access to medical and mental health services, either on-site or through virtual care. When students encounter medical or mental health concerns while away on a study away program, they should first communicate their concerns to the on-site staff (CC or partner) and work with the staff to ensure that appropriate and available care is accessed. If the situation leads the student to request a return home, staff will arrange with the student for an early departure. However, as with any medical withdrawal on-campus, it may be necessary for the student to withdraw from the courses due to the inability to complete the appropriate coursework.
For Partner-led programs, the decision to reimburse the college, and therefore the student, is entirely at the discretion of the study away provider. Colorado College will not reimburse any funds from the study away program that have not been reimbursed first to the college. Students should review the materials offered by their study away provider regarding program withdrawal policies.
Withdrawal Due to Family Crisis:
For CC-led programs, students should communicate the nature of the family crisis to the faculty leadership of the program. Leadership will discuss the concerns with Global Education and a determination will be made as to the scope of any possible reimbursement for a shortened study away experience. Students should anticipate that withdrawal prior to program departure due to family emergency will not produce a significant refund as most program expenses require significant on-site deposits which are not refundable. This is also true of mid-program withdrawal, however, on programs where International SOS and CC’s UHP travel insurance is included as part of the program, reimbursement of some expenses may be possible through an insurance claim for “trip interruption.” This typically will include reimbursement for flight rebooking fees and potentially some other travel-related expenses.
Students on partner-led programs should anticipate that a withdrawal mid-program may require the student to also seek a withdrawal from some or all of their coursework through the Partner program and should work closely with the Center for Global Education & Field Study to reflect this on the CC enrollment side. Any refund of recoverable expenses for students on partner-led programs is entirely at the discretion of the program and their policies; a student should always check with their on-site staff about options.
Return to Campus Following A Mid-Program Withdrawal:
For students on multiple block (semester, half-semester) programs, returning home and returning to campus can be more complex. It is rare that a student can return from a multiple-block or full semester program and resume study on the CC campus before their scheduled return date. Students who receive permission for a medical, mental health, or family emergency mid-program withdrawal should expect to return to their homes and not immediately to the Colorado College campus. Additionally, with medical withdrawal, the underlying medical concern should be managed before a return to campus is sought. As with single-block programs, students on longer programs who withdraw mid-program should expect to return to campus for the next block in which they are already enrolled in an on-campus course. Mid-semester returns to campus are rare and potentially come with high financial costs and complications around housing and registration. It is unlikely that a student who withdraws from a semester away can return to campus until the next semester.
Students on 2-block CC Half-Semesters should plan to return to campus for the next block in which they are already registered for an on-campus course.
Students on full CC Semester programs should anticipate a return to campus for the next semester. This is true regardless of the date of withdrawal. For example, a student who withdraws from a fall semester during Block 1 at CC should expect to return to campus for Block 5, not Block 2.
The ability of students to return to the CC campus following a mid-term withdrawal from a Partner-led semester away is entirely contingent upon refunds from the program, where possible. Many programs cannot refund any program expenses (tuition or program fees) once the semester has begun, and so a return to CC would usually require additional separate payment to CC for the on-campus housing, meal, and tuition costs. Because of this, most students who need to withdraw from a Partner-led program away mid-term do not return to campus until the following semester.
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