Policies & Guidelines | Student Information

Administrative Drop Policy

Continuing Education allows faculty to administratively drop students who don't attend and/or participate in class by the "drop without penalty" deadline. If you fail to attend, you may be dropped at the discretion of the instructor; however, this is not guaranteed. If your instructor uses this policy, it will be stated in their syllabus, but students are encouraged to reach out to their instructors with any questions.

College Opportunity Fund (COF)

The College Opportunity Fund (COF) is an amount of money given by the state of Colorado to Colorado residents enrolled in undergraduate credit courses at a Colorado college or university. 

Learn More About COF

Consecutive Semester Withdrawal

Non-degree students in Continuing Education who withdraw from or drop two regular semesters in a row may have a dean’s stop placed on their registration. Summer Session is not counted as a regular semester. These students will not be permitted to enroll at CU Boulder before one full academic year has elapsed (not including their semester of withdrawal).

Discontinuation 

Students who applied, matriculated, and received a grade (including W notation) would get three terms of no enrollment before being discontinued and have to reapply.

Students who applied through Continuing Education, matriculated, and have not received a grade (including W notation) for their first term will be discontinued by the end of the term and would need to reapply. 

Grade Appeal

If you wish to pursue a grade appeal, you must follow the deadlines and procedures of the college or school that is the academic home for the course. These appeals are not reviewed by the Continuing Education Dean’s Office.

If you need assistance navigating conversations with a Continuing Education faculty member, you can schedule an appointment with a Continuing Education advisor or contact the program manager for the course. 

Grade Replacement Policy

You may be eligible for grade replacement if you are a degree-seeking or non-degree student at CU Boulder who earned a C- or lower (undergrads), or a C+ or lower (grad students) in your most recent prior attempt of a course (W notations don’t count). Grade replacement is applied automatically at the end of each term for eligible courses and students. Law students are not eligible for grade replacement. Learn more about CU Boulder’s grade replacement policy.

If you have graduated from CU Boulder and are now taking classes as a non-degree student, you cannot retake courses from your degree program for grade replacement. Each grade would count toward your overall GPA.

If you have questions about the policy, contact our advisors at ceadvise@colorado.edu or schedule an appointment.

Holds and To-Dos

A hold prevents you from taking some kind of action, whether that's registering for classes, getting proof of enrollment, receiving a financial aid refund, ordering a transcript or receiving a diploma.

CU Boulder departments and offices may place a hold on your record for a number of reasons, including but not limited to issues related to finances, advising, academics, student conduct and health services.

Learn more about how to resolve holds and to-dos. For questions about holds and to-dos, please email ceadvise@colorado.edu or schedule an appointment with an academic advisor.

Honor Code

The Honor Code allows academic integrity to flourish by recognizing the importance of trust, respect and responsibility. You are expected to follow the Honor Code by not participating in academic dishonesty, which can include plagiarism, cheating or helping another student gain an unfair advantage. You can avoid Honor Code violations by:

• Reviewing syllabi and asking faculty any questions.
• Starting coursework early to avoid feeling rushed.
• Completing work on your own.
• Using campus resources for help.

Learn more about both policies, the resolution process and outcomes you may face if found responsible of violating either code by visiting the Honor Code website.

International Non-Degree Requirements

The University of Colorado Boulder does not issue immigration documents for international guest students and cannot provide immigration advising of any kind. If you plan to enroll in classes as a guest student and you are not a US Citizen or legal permanent resident, it is your responsibility to ensure that you are maintaining your immigration status independent of CU Boulder. If you are studying in the US under an F-1 or J-1 visa and wish to enroll at CU as a guest student, your current school will maintain your I-20 record.

Non-degree applicants who will be living in the U.S. on temporary visas during their CU enrollment and those who will be completing CU coursework from outside of the U.S. are required to meet a minimum standard of English proficiency. Proof of English proficiency may include: TOEFL iBT26 score 4.0 or higher, TOEFL score of 80 or higher, IELTS score of 6.5 or higher, or Duolingo score of 115 or higher.

English proficiency test scores are required unless:

• You have completed at least two years of full-time academic study at a U.S. high school or at a high school in a country where English is the native language (e.g., Australia, U.K.). Must have received a minimum GPA 2.0 and unofficial transcript is required.
• You have completed at least one year of full-time academic study at a U.S. college or university or at an institution in a country where English is the native language (e.g., Australia, U.K.). Must have received a minimum GPA 2.0 and unofficial transcript is required.
• You are a citizen of a qualifying country and English is your native language.

You may upload unofficial copies of your TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo scores in the Unofficial Test Scores section of your online application. Unofficial high school, college or university transcripts may be uploaded in the Academic History section of the application. Both kinds of documents may also be uploaded on your Application Status Page after application submission. A member of our staff will contact you if any further documentation is needed. If you have questions about the English proficiency requirement, please contact us at ceregistration@colorado.edu.

Obtaining Requisite Approval for Non-Degree Students

Coursework completed outside of CU Boulder has to be manually reviewed. Even if you attached transcripts to your non-degree application, outside coursework is not articulated on your student account.

If the course you wish to enroll into has requisites in the Registration Restriction area of a course on the CU Boulder Class Search classes, a CE academic advisor must manually review your outside transcripts for enrollment eligibility.

After you apply, plan ahead:

Follow the instructions on the Getting Started page for non-degree requisite approval.

Petitioning for Exception to Deadlines and Policies

The petition process is designed to provide students who experience unavoidable, extenuating circumstances, the opportunity to waive a university policy that, if enforced, would result in unsatisfactory academic progress or financial consequences. Only non-degree students can use this process for Continuing Education academic petitions (i.e., petitions for late or retroactive withdrawals). Both non-degree and degree students can use this process for Continuing Education financial petitions. Please note: Degree students must have a W notation to petition for financial consideration for a given class.

A committee of Continuing Education staff reviews petitions on a regular basis. For more information, please contact the petition coordinator at cepetitions@colorado.edu or 303-492-9881. You can also watch our How to Petition Anything webinar to learn more.

Students also have the right to appeal to the Dean of Continuing Education any decision made by the petition committee. Contact the Division’s petition committee at cepetitions@colorado.edu for more information.

Readmission for Undergraduate Degree-Seeking Students

Undergraduate degree-seeking students may be readmitted through Continuing Education into their last active program and plan under the following circumstances:

• You have been academically suspended and may only enroll in Continuing Education courses
• You are on academic dismissal and are requesting summer readmission
• You have been away from CU Boulder for at least 2 years, have attained at least Junior standing and are not on academic suspension (CU Complete)
• You request to take only online courses

If you do not fall into one of the above categories, you should follow the readmission process through the Admissions Office. 

Continuing Education is not allowed to readmit you into a different degree than your last active, nor can you be readmitted through Continuing Education if you have already completed an undergraduate degree at CU Boulder. If you are in either of these situations, you would be referred to Admissions for readmission or a new application process.

If you are eligible for readmission through Continuing Education and have completed work at another institution in the time you were away, you must include your unofficial transcript in your readmission application, along with a self-reported GPA. A service indicator will be applied at the time of readmission, effective for the term immediately following readmission, which prevents future enrollment until an official transcript is received. 

If you are readmitted and do not enroll within the first term of readmission, your record will be discontinued at the end of the term. You would need to complete a new readmission application to reactivate your record for future enrollment.

Readmission is not guaranteed. Please schedule an appointment with a Continuing Education academic advisor if you have questions or would like to explore your options. 

Residency 

Tuition classification may be based on your residency: Colorado resident or non-resident. If you have lived in Colorado for the past 12 months, you may be eligible for in-state tuition rates. You can find more detailed residency guidelines and exceptions on the Office of the Registrar’s website. The university is not free to make exceptions to the rules except as specifically permitted by state law.

Session Withdrawal Deadlines

You must withdraw from a Continuing Education course by the posted withdrawal date per session. The deadline to withdraw from a session is the day before the session ends. Explore session dates and deadlines.

You should be aware that a W notation will be posted on your transcript when withdrawing after the no penalty deadline, which does not impact your GPA, and there is no tuition adjustment. The explanation of the W notation on a transcript is posted here. Please be aware of any housing, financial aid, loans, veteran benefits, visa implications, and healthcare ties related to your credit load. Non-degree students should visit the non-degee student financial aid page for more information. 

Tuition Due Dates

Learn More About Tuition Due Dates

University Email Policy

Email is an official means for communication within CU Boulder. Therefore, the University has the right to send communications to students and employees via email and the right to expect that those communications will be received and read in a timely fashion. 

Information Technology Services (ITS) will assign all employees, students, appropriate affiliate staff and appropriate associates an official university email account for conducting university business. It is to this official address that the University will send e-mail communications. Students and employees are expected to check their official email address on a frequent and consistent basis in order to stay current with University communications. The campus recommends checking email once a week at a minimum, in recognition that certain communications may be time-critical. Learn more about CU Boulder’s email policy and on the OIT website.