Billing & Finances for Semester and Year Away
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)
For the 2024-2025 academic year, the Program Fee for the full semester off-campus is $5,175.
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.
Students with financial aid approved to participate in off-campus study will continue to be eligible for this support, in the same proportion of coverage of their total cost of attendance that they receive while studying on campus at Colorado College. There are additional expenses to consider and budget for when studying abroad, including airfare, passport and visa fees, immunizations, meals (if not included in program fee), textbooks, independent travel, and personal expenses. These are all considered in calculating your updated total cost of attendance for your semester abroad, and taken into consideration when calculating your aid award.
Please use the Cost & Aid Calculation Worksheet for assistance in designing a budget for your study abroad and calculating total cost of attendance. Financial aid is also often available directly from our off-campus study partners in the form of merit and need-based scholarships, and students should explore all these options well in advance, as well as applying for outside scholarships for study 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 Accounts 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.
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: The Office of Financial Aid at CC will recalculate your 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 that the same percentage of total cost of attendance that is covered by aid during a semester on campus at CC will continue to be covered for their updated total cost of attendance for the semester or year off-campus. You can use the Cost & Aid Calculation Worksheet to figure out what costs are eligible for consideration in this new total cost of attendance for your semester or year off-campus. Specific questions about your unique scholarships and awards can be directed to the Office of Financial Aid at CC.
Students who have a work-study award and have worked on-campus in the semester prior to going abroad are eligible for grant funding to replace the amount of work-study 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 (this may be an application, it may be an email confirming receipt) to the Financial Aid Office at financialaid@shyayazuche.com. 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, you should 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.
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.
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