Financial Aid Advising

Students enrolled in university credit courses through Continuing Education may be eligible for financial assistance. Continuing Education has a financial aid advisor to assist you in exploring all the options available to you, whether you are a degree or nondegree student.

Detailed information about how to receive federal financial aid is available on the CU Boulder Financial Aid website.

Email questions to our Financial Aid Advisor at cefinaid@colorado.edu.

Academic Advising Through Continuing Education

Our academic advisors can help you plan your course of study and schedule. We are here to assist:

• Current main campus students looking for ways to earn credit and stay on schedule to graduate,
• Returning students interested in completing their degrees,
• New students focused on earning college credits without interrupting work and family schedules.

Schedule an appointment with our Academic Advisors. You can also call us at 303-492-5148 or email us at ceadvise@colorado.edu.

No matter the situation, we are committed to helping you explore your educational goals.

Online Composition Hub

The Online Composition Hub is a free tutoring service for writing open to students enrolled in Continuing Education Evening and Online Credit courses. The online platform uses tools to help students access experienced, peer tutors who provide guidance and review student work.

Tutors specialize in helping students with traditional papers, but they can also assist with web design, video, blogging, Prezi, PowerPoint, and other projects. Professional materials, such as resumes, cover letters, applications, and research projects are also acceptable.

Tutors and students share assignments via Google Docs. Students have the option of communicating with tutors synchronously—online at the same time as a tutor and talking via chat, Skype, or Google Hangout—or asynchronously—tutors provide feedback within 24 hours of the appointment time.

CE Evening Credit Course Availability

CE Evening Credit courses are offered only during the fall and spring semesters. If you are interested in taking courses during the summer, please visit the Summer Session website to learn more.

Eligibility to Enroll in Credit Courses

Nondegree Application Requirements

You need a high school diploma or high school equivalency diploma to enroll in credit courses. If you are under 23 years of age as of Sept. 15 for fall or Jan. 15 for spring, and not officially admitted or enrolled in a CU Boulder degree program, you must submit unofficial copies of either your high school equivalency scores or your high school transcript for review. High school transcripts must include the degree conferral date and must show that you completed your high school degree with at least a 2.0 GPA. Please upload your unofficial documents with your online application. For questions, please email ceregistration@colorado.edu.

Course Restrictions and Prerequisites

Some courses at CU—including mathematics, engineering, language and all graduate-level courses—may be restricted. Proof of completed prerequisites or departmental permission may be required to enroll. If you believe you meet the prerequisite from an outside university or have additional questions about prerequisite approvals, please connect with a CE advisor by scheduling an appointment or emailing ceadvise@colorado.edu.

Holds and Academic Status

A hold on your account (financial, academic, student conduct, etc.) may prevent you from being eligible to enroll. Students should contact a Continuing Education academic advisor with questions about academic probation/suspension/dismissal from the Boulder campus. More about probation and suspension.

Enrollment for Current Students

If you are a current student and you have enrolled in a CU Boulder course within the past 12 months, you are automatically enabled to enroll for Continuing Education courses through Buff Portal, the CU Boulder student portal.

If less than 12 months have passed since you last enrolled as a nondegree student at CU Boulder, you may need to term-activate yourself before you can enroll in classes. To do so:

1. Log in to Buff Portal.
2. On the term activation card, click “Term-activate yourself.”
3. Complete your preregistration items (if necessary).
4. On the enrollment dates page, open the main menu and click “Term Information.”
5. Click “Activate new term for enrollment.”
6. Find your nondegree program, tick the checkbox to select that row, then click “Continue.”
7. Select the correct term from the drop-down, then click “Continue.”

If more than 12 months have passed since you were last enrolled as a nondegree student, you must submit an enrollment application through the Division of Continuing Education.

Enrollment for New Nondegree Students

If you are new to CU as a nondegree student, complete and submit the Enrollment Application for Continuing Education.

• Fall 2023 Enrollment Application

Note: if you already have a bachelor’s degree and intend to take undergraduate courses, you must choose “Undergraduate” as your status on the application. Otherwise you will be charged the graduate tuition rate and will not be eligible to use the College Opportunity Fund.

If approved, you will receive a student identification number to activate your Identikey and search/enroll in courses via Buff Portal.

Enrollment for Former CU Students

Former Degree Students

If more than 12 months has passed since you enrolled in a CU Boulder course but you were previously admitted to a degree program at CU, you should fill out and submit our CE Readmission form. You will receive an email confirming receipt of your application.

If you graduated from CU Boulder and wish to enroll in university courses as a nondegree student, you will be considered a new student. Visit the Enrollment for New Nondegree Students page for information on how to get started.

Former Nondegree Students

If less than 12 months has passed since you last enrolled as a nondegree student at CU Boulder, you must term activate yourself before you may enroll in classes. In order to self-term activate:

1. Log in to Buff Portal.
2. Open the term activation card, click “Term-activate yourself.”
3. Complete your preregistration items (if necessary).
4. On the enrollment dates page, open the main menu and click “Term Information.”
5. Click “Activate new term for enrollment.”
6. Find your nondegree program, tick the checkbox to select that row, then click “Continue.”
7. Select the correct term from the drop-down, then click “Continue.”

You are now term-activated. You will need to term-activate every semester as long as you are a nondegree student.

If more than 12 months has passed since you were enrolled as a nondegree student at CU Boulder, please complete and submit the Enrollment Application.

• Fall 2023 Enrollment Application

If approved, you will receive a student identification number to activate your Identikey and search/enroll in courses via the CU Boulder Class Search.

Buff Portal and IdentiKey

Buff Portal is the online campus portal and an important tool. It gives you access to credit course enrollment, your CU student email account, campus announcements, semester schedule, tuition bill, book lists, clicker registration, Canvas, and your final grades. Learn more about Buff Portal.

You’ll need an Identikey, or a unique username, to log in to and access Buff Portal. An Identikey allows you to register for CU courses and provides you with access to online services and campus computing facilities. Use your student identification number to activate your IdentiKey at identikey.colorado.edu.

If you have questions, contact us at ceregistration@colorado.edu or 303-492-5148.

Consenting to Do Business Electronically

When you log in to Buff Portal for the first time, you’ll be asked to consent to conduct business electronically at CU. If you don’t consent, you’ll lose access to the portal and instead receive information about how to conduct your official university business offline.

If you have questions, contact us at ceregistration@colorado.edu or 303-492-5148.

CE Evening Credit Academic Calendar

All times are in Mountain Time.

* Students may be eligible for a possible tuition adjustment or refund.
**Drop by 11:59 p.m. online using Buff Portal.
***Withdraw by 11:59 p.m. online using Buff Portal, submitting an online withdrawal form, or by email to ceregistration@colorado.edu. A grade of W will appear on your transcript.
†Withdraw by 11:59 p.m. by submitting an online withdrawal form or send an email to ceregistration@colorado.edu. A grade of W will appear on your transcript.

^ Petitioning 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.
Nondegree students must petition the dean of CEPS and must have an instructor signature. Degree students must petition the dean of the college in which they are enrolled, and must have an instructor signature.

Continuing Education Important Dates

Add, Drop, and Withdrawal Info

Enrolled students must add or drop courses by the dates and deadlines listed in their program’s academic calendar. You may add, drop, or withdraw via Buff Portal or Class Search using the instructions outlined under Review Your Registration Actions. You may also submit an online withdrawal form or send an email to ceregistration@colorado.edu.

If you fail to drop by the deadline you may receive a grade of F and you may be liable for any tuition and fees. You may withdraw from a credit course after the published drop deadline. Withdrawals will result in a W on your academic record.

CE Evening Credit Tuition Rates

CE Evening Credit tuition is determined by your class status (undergraduate or graduate) and residency. Graduate students are charged a higher tuition rate than undergraduate students. CE Evening Credit tuition is also assessed in addition to any tuition paid on campus.

However, the in-state undergraduate tuition rate for CE Evening Credit is charged when a nonresident undergraduate degree student pays full CU Boulder out-of-state undergraduate tuition and also enrolls in additional CE Evening Credit courses.

Undergraduate Tuition

Graduate Tuition

The Board of Regents reserves the right to change the tuition and fee rates at any time.

Cost of Attendance

Tuition and fees are just one part of the overall cost to attend CU Boulder. The full cost of attendance for an academic year could include expenses such as on-campus housing and food, books and supplies, and items that are not billed by the university, such as personal expenses, transportation and medical insurance. View the full cost of attendance.

Tuition Policy

You will be billed for your Continuing Education registration. Bills are available through Buff Portal. A 1% service charge is added to an unpaid balance after the tuition due date, and a financial stop is placed on your student record. All tuition and refund determinations are subject to audit.

Current CU Boulder Students:

• CE Evening, CE Online, Applied Music, and Individualized Instruction tuition is charged in addition to Boulder main campus when enrolled in both programs concurrently.
• The College Opportunity Fund (COF) stipend cannot be applied.
• During the summer semester students are charged tuition for Summer Session courses separately from Continuing Education courses.

Nondegree students:

• CE Evening, CE Online, and Applied Music tuition is charged in addition to ACCESS rates when enrolled in both programs concurrently.

Out-of-State Flat Rate Tuition Policy

Out-of-state students who are enrolled in a combination of classes including CE Evening Credit, ACCESS, Applied Music and Individualized Instruction will have their credits combined as a flat rate once they hit six (6) or more credits. To learn more about the tuition flat rate for 6+ credits, visit our Tuition and Fees section.

Residency

If you have lived in Colorado for the past 12 months, you may be eligible for in-state tuition rates. To learn more or provide documentation of residency, contact our classification coordinator at 303-492-5148.

CE Evening Credit and CE Online Credit Student Fees

Denver-metro area nondegree students enrolled in CE Evening Credit or CE Online Credit courses may elect to purchase an optional student fee packages to obtain additional resources. Main campus degree-seeking students enrolled in a combination of main campus and CE Evening Credit / CE Online Credit courses do not need to opt in or pay additional fees. However, main campus degree-seeking students exclusively enrolled in CE Evening Credit and CE Online Credits courses will be charged the student fees package if they have opted into CU health insurance and are enrolled in 6+ credits.

Complete the student fee package request form. Please see the rates below for the current cost of the student fee package before submitting your request. You can call 303-492-2212 with questions or for more information.

Students with unpaid fees will incur a 1% monthly finance charge of the total remaining fee balance. In addition, students must also purchase a BuffOne ID card. BuffOne cards can be purchased for $30 in room N180 of the Center for Community (C4C), just east of Regent Hall. Visit www.buffonecard.com for more information.

Fees for Fall 2023

Fall 2023 cost is $522.94 and includes the Student Activity Fee, Bikes Program Fee, Transit Fee, and access to the Student Recreation Center. Students can elect to pay an additional $194.49 to add the Student Health Fee and Mental Health Resource Fee.

Discounts

CU Employee Discounts

Continuing Education offers the following discounts to University of Colorado staff.

Class Discounts

Current and retired staff from any of the CU campuses, including the CU System, are eligible for tuition discounts for classes offered through the following programs:

• The International English Center offers a 25% discount.
• The CE Evening Credit program offers a 50% discount.
• Applied Music and CE Online Credit programs offer a 20% discount on all courses with the exception of term-based WRTG courses and courses within the MSOL Program.

University of Colorado faculty, staff, professional researchers must be employed at least half-time and are required to provide a printed copy of their “job list” from Peoplesoft or some equivalent form of documentation when requesting a discount.

Degree Discount

The Master of Science in Organizational Leadership program offers a 40% tuition discount to permanent, full-time staff of CU Boulder. Contact us for more information.

Alumni Discounts

Alumni Association members receive a 10% discount off in-state tuition for one Continuing Education course (excluding the MSOL Program). For more information call 303-492-5148.

Offered in partnership with the University of Colorado’s Alumni Association. Members of the HERD and “New Graduate Members” are not eligible for this discount.

Other Discounts

The International English Center offers a 25% discount for the spouses and children of CU faculty, CU staff, and current degree-seeking students.

Science Discovery offers a 10% discount to the children of CU faculty, staff, and students.

Financial Aid Advising

Students enrolled in university credit courses through Continuing Education may be eligible for financial assistance. Continuing Education has a financial aid advisor to assist you in exploring all the options available to you, whether you are a degree or nondegree student.

Detailed information about how to receive federal financial aid is available on the CU Boulder Financial Aid website.

Email questions to our Financial Aid Advisor at cefinaid@colorado.edu.

Nondegree Student Scholarships

Continuing Education offers scholarships for nondegree students.

Application and Award Process

• Submit the appropriate application along with a 250-500 word essay addressing your past educational history, your future educational and career goals, and the specific way in which the scholarship will assist you in meeting those goals.
• The award amount is based on available funding and a competitive essay review. Scholarship essays will be rated based on the following elements:

• • (4 points) Content The essay fully addresses all portions of the prompt and has a central point that is interesting, original, substantial, and maybe even striking. The author uses concrete details to “show” rather than merely “tell” their story.
  • (3 points) Readability/Organization The central idea is developed in the essay through well-chosen and appropriate language. The essay is organized and well-structured. There is a beginning, a body, and a conclusion and transitions help the paper flow smoothly. Introductory statements are interesting and appropriate. Concluding statements are satisfying.
  • (2 points) Tone The essay is written in the authentic voice of the writer. It is compelling and interesting. The tone is consistent and shows effort/thought was put in.
  • (1 point) Grammar/Standard language use Author has given thought to form, grammar, and structure and is writing at a college level of English.
• Awardees will be notified via the email given on the application.

If you have any questions or are unable to log into the appropriate application form, please contact us at ceadvise@colorado.edu.

Student Fall & Spring Scholarships

Eligibility

• Nondegree student at CU Boulder (not formally admitted to a degree program)
• Must be enrolled in courses for credit offered through main campus, CE Evening Credit, CE Online Credit, and Applied Music

Scholarship Details

• The maximum award for the scholarship is $1,000, not to exceed 80% of the resident tuition rate of a three-credit course.
• Students may be awarded a Continuing Education scholarship only once during their time as a nondegree student.
• Scholarships offered through CE are classified as general fund (i.e. compatible with VA benefits).

The fall 2023 application deadline is September 8, 2023.

Apply now