Applying and Enrolling as an Auditor
The following course instruction modes are available to auditors:
- Boulder Main Campus: All instruction modes are available
- Continuing Education Campus: CE Online Credit term-based classes and CE Evening Credit classes (in-person, hybrid remote/online, hybrid in-person/online-remote)
Follow the steps below to enroll as an auditor. If you have questions about any of the steps listed below, contact our Enrollment Services team at ceregistration@colorado.edu.
Step 1: Find a Class to Audit
- Review the restricted courses. Auditors are not eligible to enroll in courses on this list or may need additional department approval as well as the instructor’s approval.
- Use the CU Boulder Class Search site to see open courses that are not closed or waitlisted.
- Narrow your search by changing the filters on that page, including Campus, Subject, and Instruction Mode, and update the semester, if needed.
Step 2: Review Auditor Costs
- Spring and Fall terms: Auditors under the age of 55 pay a flat rate of $250.00 per term. Auditors aged 55 and older pay a flat rate of $80 per term (for CU Boulder alumni), and a flat rate of $95 per term (for non-alumni).
- Summer Session: All auditors pay a flat rate of $250. There is only one rate in the summer.
- Current CU Boulder staff and faculty may audit courses and will pay the flat rate for their age group. This cost is not covered by the Tuition Assistance Benefit.
- If you are a retired CU faculty, please contact cerecords@colorado.edu to let us know after you submit your application.
There are no additional course fees, however, you may elect to buy books or the “Day 1 Digital Access” to online course materials. The access fee for these online course materials is charged by the University Bookstore to all students in the class except for auditors. If you would like to pay to receive these items, you may email the Bookstore for access. For information about this fee visit the University Bookstore’s Day 1 Digital Access resource or email digital@cubookstore.com.
Step 3: Apply
Please select the category you fit into for specific instructions for applying. The spring 2024 application will be available on January 2.
- New Auditor (You have never audited at CU Boulder and have not previously filled out an auditing application): Please submit the Auditor Application form. Submit this form online early, before the course enrollment period starts, to avoid processing delays. After your application form is processed, you will receive an email confirmation that includes your CU Boulder student ID number and further enrollment instructions.
- Previous Auditor Applicant (You applied last term but never enrolled in a course): Please email our records team, cerecords@colorado.edu. Please include your first and last name, and CU student ID in the email and we’ll reply with next steps. You do not need to submit a new application.
- Returning Auditor (You enrolled in a course through the CE Auditor program last term): As a former auditor, you have been automatically activated for the current term. You do not need to submit a new application.
Step 4: Obtain Instructor Permission to Audit
Auditors must be formally included in the roster for the class(es) they will attend. You may either request permission from the instructor by email or print out the permission form to take to class.
- Online Permission to Audit:
- Locate the instructor’s name from your desired course on the CU Boulder Class Search. Their email might be hyperlinked under ‘Instructor Info.’ If not, copy their name. Then, go to colorado.edu. Click on the magnifying glass in the top right corner and paste/type the instructor’s name. Their email is on the right side under CU People Search. Send an email to the instructor introducing yourself and expressing your interest in auditing their course.
- If they reply with permission for you to audit, save the entire email thread, including the reply with the date, instructor email address and course name, as a PDF and upload it to the Auditor Instructor Permission Form, before submitting it online. You’ll need your student ID to submit the form. The form will provide step by step instructions for completing it. Please fill in all required fields. If you’re missing information in the required fields the form will not allow you to submit it.
- In-person Permission to Audit (Printed Form): Open and print the form. Bring it with you to class to obtain written permission from the instructor to audit. Return the completed paper version of the form with instructor signature(s) in person to Continuing Education at 1505 University Avenue or by fax at 303- 492-5335
Step 5: Enroll in Courses
While you may attend an eligible course starting the first day of class, our staff starts processing enrollments the business day after the course’s session add deadline for credit-seeking students.
The Continuing Education Enrollment Services team will begin auditor enrollment on the following dates for Fall 2023 courses:
- September 7: Main Campus Full Term
- September 8: CE Online Credit Session 1
- September 13: CE Online Credit and CE Evening Credit Full Session
- October 6: CE Online Credit and CE Evening Credit 10 Week
- October 26: CE Online Credit Session 2
The Continuing Education Enrollment Services team will begin auditor enrollment on the following dates for Spring 2024 courses:
- January 25: Main Campus Full Term
- January 25: CE Online Credit Session 1
- January 31: CE Online Credit and CE Evening Credit Full Session
- February 26: CE Online Credit and CE Evening Credit 10 Week
- March 14: CE Online Credit Session 2
Step 6: Pay your bill
You can pay for your course after you receive your enrollment confirmation email. Bills become available in Buff Portal (CU Bill&Pay for authorized payers) by the second Thursday of each month after you are enrolled in a class. Payment is due on the 5th of the following month. Postmarks and post-dated checks are not honored. Dates may be subject to change without notice. Please note, you’ll be assessed a nonrefundable 2.85% service fee for credit card payments. There are three ways to make a payment:
- Pay online: You can access online payments via Buff Portal via the Tuition & Fees card. Click on Balance Summary, then View/Pay Bill, which will direct you to CU Bill&Pay, the university’s secure online billing and payment system.
- Pay by phone: Please call the CE Accounting team at 303-492-2212 to make a credit card payment over the phone.
- Pay in person: At the Continuing Education building (1505 University Avenue) with a check. Please make all checks payable to University of Colorado Boulder.
- Pay by mail: You can mail a check to the following address, please include your 9-digit CU ID number on your check:
Continuing Education
Accounting Department
178 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0178
- Please email ceregistration@colorado.edu if you encounter extenuating circumstances that result in you needing to drop all your courses for the current term. Auditors are not eligible for financial aid, scholarships, or payment plans.
- Contact the CE Accounting team at 303-492-2212 if you have any questions regarding auditor fees and payments.
No English Language Requirement
There is no English language requirement for auditors. Auditors are not seeking credit and are not held to the same standards as credit-seeking students.
Auditor Restrictions
The following course instruction modes are available to auditors:
- Boulder Main Campus: All instruction modes are available
- Continuing Education Campus: CE Online Credit term-based classes and CE Evening Credit classes (in-person, hybrid remote/online, hybrid in-person/online-remote)
Current degree students receive enrollment priority. Auditors will only be added to open courses. Auditors will not be enrolled in closed or waitlisted courses regardless of instructor permission. Course enrollment numbers can change rapidly at the beginning of the term; your requested classes will need to be open at the time of auditor enrollment. Auditors are limited to 21 credit hours’ worth of course enrollment each term.
An auditor may not switch from being an auditor to enrolling in a course for credit within the same semester. Community members interested in learning more about taking courses for credit can visit the ACCESS program page or contact an academic advisor.
Participants in the Auditors Program must be over the age of 18 and not be registered as either a degree-seeking or nondegree student at CU Boulder. Auditors are not considered students and do not receive the same privileges as enrolled or nondegree students. Registered auditors receive class instruction, access to the online learning management system, and library privileges only. Acceptance to the University of Colorado Boulder as an auditor does not guarantee eligibility for regular degree or nondegree status.
Admitted students, either enrolled or suspended, may not attend courses as an auditor. If an admitted degree student is interested in participating in a class without receiving credit, the student must enroll in the course for no credit and select that as their grading option. Courses taken for no credit are assessed the same tuition rate as courses taken for credit.
The following classes are not available to auditors:
- Any class that is at its enrollment capacity (closed) or has a waitlist
- Any course with a travel component
- LAB and REC (recitation) sections of classes, including MLS (main lab section) standalone classes
Please note that many faculty members do not allow auditors to enroll in participatory courses such as dance, painting, ceramics, computer, theater, photography, studio film, performance music courses, etc.
Department-specific restricted courses:
- All Computer Science Post-Bacc (CSPB Courses)
- All first-year curriculum for JDs (LAWS 5064, LAWS 5121, LAWS 5203, LAWS 5205, LAWS 5223, LAWS 5226, LAWS 5303, LAWS 5425, LAWS 5503, LAWS 5624, LAWS 5646, and LAWS 6005) and all law seminars (any LAWS 8000 level course)
- APRD 1003, APRD 2005, APRD 3001, APRD 3002, APRD 3005, APRD 3011, APRD 3100, APRD 3102, APRD 3103, APRD 3104, APRD 3105, APRD 3301, APRD 3400, APRD 3401, APRD 3402, APRD 3500, APRD 4000, APRD 4301, APRD 4404, APRD 4405, APRD 4406, APRD 4501, APRD 4504, APRD 4600, APRD 4601
- BUSM, BADM, BCOR, and all graduate-level Business courses (ACCT, BADM, MBAC, MBAX, MSBC and MSBX)
- Cinema Studies studio courses and CINE/FILM 2000 – Foundations 1, CINE 2300, CINE 2500, CINE 3013, CINE 3081, CINE 3400, CINE 3515, CINE 3525, and CINE 4500
- College of Music Courses: Auditors seeking permission to attend main campus music classes with the prefix MUSC, PMUS, or EMUS must obtain permission from the College of Music Dean’s Office along with instructor permission. For undergraduate-level courses, please contact Victoria Ibarra at Victoria.ibarra@colorado.edu. For graduate-level courses, please contact Chris Martin at christopher.t.martin@colorado.edu.
- Continuing Education Applied Music courses PMUS and MUEL, all sections
- Continuing Education Extraordinary courses (sections 7XX)
- Continuing Education Online Flex course sections (64X)
- ECON 4797
- The following foreign language courses: Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Korean and Hindi
- NOTE: Community members may access language courses through the Anderson Language and Technology Center (ALTEC)
- Graduate-level library courses
- HIST 1800, any HIST 3000 level course, and any History graduate course (HIST 5000 or above)
- Honors Program courses
- HUMN 4135 and HUMN 4011
- IAFS 4500 (all sections), IAFS 4800, and IAFS 4930
- NOTE: Auditors must receive faculty and departmental permission prior to enrolling in any IAFS 3000-level course, including special topics for the IAFS 3000 section
Contact us for more information at ceregistration@colorado.edu or 303-492-5148.
Auditor Benefit Restrictions and Access to Buff OneCard
Auditors are restricted from accessing some student benefits such as CU Boulder Rec Center membership and access to computers on campus. Please note, auditors can’t purchase books from the bookstore until they’re officially registered in the course.
Auditors are eligible for either a $10 guest card or a $30 student Buff OneCard. The guest card is good for one year at a time and the Buff OneCard is active for five years. Auditors can request a guest or Buff OneCard to use as a student ID, to check out books from the library, add campus cash to print documents and buy food at locations on campus, as well as purchase a daily punch pass as a “Student Affiliate” at the CU Boulder Rec Center. Auditors must have a Buff OneCard to access CE Evening Credit classes on campus. Auditors are also eligible to purchase a bus pass for any semester they are enrolled. The current cost is $95. Auditors can request a bus pass by emailing, boc@colorado.edu.
To request a guest card or Buff OneCard:
- Please submit a headshot, a copy of a photo ID, and your student ID number to boc@colorado.edu, indicating that you are an auditor and which type of card you would like.
- The department will let you know when the card is ready to be picked up. You can pay the fee for the card by credit card.
Auditors at CU Boulder
We are delighted you are interested in joining the CU Boulder community as an auditor. Auditing allows you the opportunity to attend university classes for no academic credit. Listen to lectures given by our world-class faculty and get more involved with the campus.
Community members aged 18 and older, who are not registered students but wish to listen in on regularly scheduled lectures, are eligible to audit courses during the fall, spring, and summer semesters.
Please note that the University’s primary commitment is to degree-seeking and credit-seeking students. Auditors’ course requests will be processed after these groups have registered.
Senior Auditors and Community Auditors Program Updates
The Senior Auditors program, formerly offered by the CU Boulder Alumni Association, along with the Community Auditors program previously offered by Continuing Education, have been incorporated into the new Continuing Education Auditors program.
The Spring 2024 application will be available on January 2, 2024. Please refer to the Auditors enrollment page for information on how to apply, register for courses, and current auditor restrictions.
The Instructor Permission form may be printed out and returned in person or submitted online. Submit your Instructor Permission form early, before the course enrollment period starts, to avoid processing delays.
Auditor Transcripts
There is no credit for audited courses nor are auditors eligible to petition for credit at any time.
Auditors can view and print an unofficial copy of their transcript through Buff Portal, the campus student portal, or request a hard copy through the Office of the Registrar.
Au pairs enrolled through the Auditor program may obtain letters of enrollment verification by contacting cerecords@colorado.edu at the end of the semester.
Note: To view an unofficial transcript of audited courses in Buff Portal, search for the transcript card and be sure to change from “All CU Careers” to “Noncredit Career.”
Buff Portal and IdentiKey
Buff Portal is CU Boulder’s online campus portal. It gives you access to view your course enrollment, online course materials in Canvas, book lists, campus announcements, pay your bill and more.
You’ll need an IdentiKey, or a unique username, to log in to and access Buff Portal. Use your student ID number to activate your IdentiKey.
If you have questions, contact us at ceregistration@colorado.edu or 303-492-5148.