Forms

Applying and Enrolling as an Auditor

The following course instruction modes are available to auditors:

  • Boulder Main Campus: in-person or hybrid in-person/online-remote
  • Continuing Education Campus: CE Online Credit term-based classes and CE Evening Credit classes (in-person, hybrid remote/online, hybrid in-person/online-remote)

The process to enroll as an auditor depends on your status. Select the status below that best fits your situation and follow the steps. If you have questions about your status or any of the steps listed below, contact our Enrollment Services team at ceregistration@colorado.edu.

New Auditor (You have never audited at CU Boulder and have not previously filled out an auditing application)

Step 1: Find a Class to Audit

  1. Review the restricted courses
  2. Use the CU Boulder Class Search site to see open courses that are not closed or waitlisted
  3. Narrow your search by changing the filters on that page, including Campus, Subject, and Instruction Mode, and update the semester, if needed

Step 2: Apply

To apply as an auditor, submit the Auditor Application Form (the summer 2023 application form will be available May 1). Submit this form online early, before the course enrollment period starts, to avoid processing delays. After your application form is processed, you will receive email confirmation that includes your CU Boulder student ID number and further enrollment instructions.

Step 3: Obtain Instructor Permission to Audit

Auditors must be formally included in the roster for the class(es) they will attend. Starting the first week of classes, you must obtain instructor approval and submit a completed Auditor Instructor Permission form. You may either request permission from the instructor by email or print out the permission form to take to class. You will then submit your form online or in-person to Continuing Education (1505 University Avenue).

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. Right-click on their email, copy and paste into your email browser. 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 that email thread, including the reply with the date, instructor email address and course name, as a PDF or Word document and upload it to the Auditor Instructor Permission form before submitting it online.

In-person Permission to Audit (Printed Form)

Open the Auditor Instructor Permission form and select the “I will print the form” option. Print it and 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, by fax at 303- 492-5335, or by mail to the following address:

CE Auditors Program
178 UCB
Boulder CO 80309-0178

Previous Auditor Applicant (You applied last term but never enrolled in a course)

Step 1: Email our Records Team

If you’d like to participate in the auditing program in the current term, you do not need to fill out a new application. Simply email us at cerecords@colorado.edu and let us know so we can update your student record. Please include your first and last name and CU student ID in the email and we’ll reply with next steps as soon as your record is updated.

Step 2: Find a Class to Audit

  1. Review the restricted courses
  2. Use the CU Boulder Class Search site to see open courses that are not closed or waitlisted
  3. Narrow your search by changing the filters on that page, including Campus, Subject, and Instruction Mode, and update the semester, if needed

Step 3: Obtain Instructor Permission to Audit

Auditors must be formally included in the roster for the class(es) they will attend. Starting the first week of classes, you must obtain instructor approval and submit a completed Auditor Instructor Permission form. You may either request permission from the instructor by email or print out the permission form to take to class. You will then submit your form online or in-person to Continuing Education (1505 University Avenue).

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. Right-click on their email, copy and paste into your email browser. 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 that email thread, including the reply with the date, instructor email address and course name, as a PDF or Word document and upload it to the Auditor Instructor Permission form before submitting it online.

In-person Permission to Audit (Printed Form)

Open the Auditor Instructor Permission form and select the “I will print the form” option. Print it and 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, by fax at 303- 492-5335, or by mail to the following address:

CE Auditors Program
178 UCB
Boulder CO 80309-0178

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 Auditor Application form, however you are still required to submit the Auditor Instructor Permission form once you have enrollment permission from your course instructor.

Step 1: Find a Class to Audit

  1. Review the restricted courses
  2. Use the CU Boulder Class Search site to see open courses that are not closed or waitlisted
  3. Narrow your search by changing the filters on that page, including Campus, Subject, and Instruction Mode, and update the semester, if needed

Step 2: Obtain Instructor Permission to Audit

Auditors must be formally included in the roster for the class(es) they will attend. Starting the first week of classes, you must obtain instructor approval and submit a completed Auditor Instructor Permission form. You may either request permission from the instructor by email or print out the permission form to take to class. You will then submit your form online or in-person to Continuing Education (1505 University Avenue).

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. Right-click on their email, copy and paste into your email browser. 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 that email thread, including the reply with the date, instructor email address and course name, as a PDF or Word document and upload it to the Auditor Instructor Permission form before submitting it online.

In-person Permission to Audit (Printed Form)

Open the Auditor Instructor Permission form and select the “I will print the form” option. Print it and 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, by fax at 303- 492-5335, or by mail to the following address:

CE Auditors Program
178 UCB
Boulder CO 80309-0178

Music Courses

Auditors seeking permission to attend music classes with the prefix MUEL, MUSC, PMUS (main campus), 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.

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 Dates and Deadlines

Summer 2023

The Summer 2023 Auditor Application Form and Instructor Permission form will be available on May 1.

Auditors may attend classes during the first two weeks of the session to ask professors for permission to audit the course and to complete the Auditor Instructor Permission form. The complete form should be submitted to Continuing Education either online or in person (1505 University Avenue).

Enrollment Processing Dates

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 spring 2023 courses:

  • January 26: Main campus and Online Credit Session 1
  • February 1: Online Credit Full Session and Evening Credit Full Session
  • February 27: Online Credit 10-week Session and Evening Credit 10-week Session
  • March 16: Online Credit Session 2

Enrollment requests are processed in the order in which they were received and your requested classes will need to be open at the time of auditor enrollment. Due to high demand, the enrollment process takes several days to complete. Please be patient. You will receive a confirmation email once your enrollment is processed.

Auditor Costs

  • 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). If you are also retired CU faculty, please contact cerecords@colorado.edu to let us know after you submit your application.
  • Summer Session: All auditors pay a flat rate of $250. There is only one rate in the summer.

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 website, or email digital@cubookstore.com.

Bills become available in Buff Portal (CUBill&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.

You can pay for your course after you receive your enrollment confirmation email. There are two 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 in person at the Continuing Education building (1505 University Avenue) with credit card*, check or cash.

*You will be assessed a nonrefundable 2.85% service fee for credit card payments.

There is no automatic refund for dropped classes. Additionally, 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.

Auditor Restrictions

The following course instruction modes are available to auditors:

  • Boulder Main Campus: Classes with an in-person component. Fully online classes are not open to auditors.
  • 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 law courses and seminars (LAWS 5000-9000)
  • 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 MUEL, 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.

Now that you’ve selected your favorite Continuing Education courses, email or print the information, including class number, to more easily search Buff Portal and enroll. Still have questions? Contact an advisor.

Hours

Monday – Friday
8:00am to 5:00pm

Location

We are located at the corner of University Avenue and 15th Street in a white brick building.

Map

1505 University Avenue
University of Colorado Boulder
178 UCB
Boulder, Colorado
80309-0178