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UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT BOULDER
Out-of-State Undergraduate Tuition Guarantee

The four-year tuition guarantee (also known as flat tuition) for out-of-state undergraduates was announced in spring 2005.

New and continuing out-of-state undergraduates enrolled in terms through spring 2006 will pay published rates for 2005-06, with those rates guaranteed for those students through summer 2009. These are labeled "Group A" in tuition-rate materials.

New out-of-state undergraduates entering summer 2006 through spring 2007 will pay Group B rates, guaranteed for them through summer 2010. 

Students entering in later years will follow a similar pattern.

Update, February 2009:  The program will continue for students entering summer/fall 2009 and spring 2010 (group E).  The University will determine availability for those entering summer/fall 2010 and later after review.

The tuition guarantee (also known as flat tuition) makes CU-Boulder’s costs more predictable, and serves as an additional incentive for students to graduate in four years. Currently three-quarters of out-of-state CU-Boulder freshmen and almost 90% of out-of-state transfers graduate in four years or less.

Details

• The fall 2005 out-of-state (or non-resident) tuition rates for undergraduates are guaranteed through Summer 2009 for all degree-seeking undergraduate students paying on-campus out-of-state undergraduate tuition in any term Spring 2006 or before.
• The four-year tuition guarantee program was effective beginning with the Fall 2005 semester.
• Out-of-state undergraduate students do not need to take any action to participate in the guarantee program (also known as flat tuition).
• Fees, room and board, and other non-tuition expenses are not included in the tuition guarantee.
• The guarantee covers degree-seeking undergraduates only -- those with class level codes FR (freshman), SO (sophomore), JR (junior), SR (senior), SR5 (5th year senior) and UCR (in Education).
• In-state tuition, graduate level tuition, Continuing Education tuition, and study abroad tuition are not covered by the guarantee.
• Each year by June 30 the Board of Regents will set a new tuition rate table. The new rates may be published as tentative well before June 30, at the Bursar's tuition and fee web-site.
• Students will be placed in a tuition guarantee group based on their first term enrolled at CU-Boulder as a degree-seeking out-of-state on-campus student. The tuition guarantee group covers both new freshmen and transfers and is not affected by class standing at entry. “On-campus” excludes students on study abroad and students taking only continuing education courses.
• Students covered by the guarantee who transfer to a college within CU-Boulder that has a different tuition rate (for example, from Arts and Sciences to Business) will pay the rate for the new college listed in the tuition rate table for their guarantee group.

How the program works

Each tuition guarantee group will have a guaranteed tuition rate table for four calendar years. The following table outlines the first six groups of the undergraduate out-of-state tuition guarantee program.

• Students entering in summer will be charged for that summer term according to the immediately prior rate table, then move to the rate table associated with their tuition group for fall and subsequent terms. E.g., students entering summer 2006 will pay Table A charges in summer ’06, then move to Table B through summer 2010.
• Students will remain in the same tuition guarantee group (i.e. cohort) until the end of the summer term of their fourth year (see table above for term dates). When the tuition rate table associated with any given group expires, students in that group who are still enrolled will be charged the rate of the next group for one year following, incrementing one group or rate table per year. For example, students in group A are charged rate table A through summer 2009, then rate table B for one year ('09-10), rate table C for the following year ('10-11), and so on.  Students in group B will be charged rate table C for '10-11, table D for '11-12, and so on. 
• Continuous enrollment is not required, but the guarantee rate expires in four calendar years regardless of the number of terms a student is enrolled in that period.
• Continuing or readmitted students not enrolled in 2005-06 but enrolled thereafter will be in tuition guarantee group A because they entered before spring 2006.
Students who are admitted for a term but defer enrollment to a later term will be placed in a tuition guarantee group based on their first term of enrollment. For example, a student admitted for fall 2005 who defers and first enrolls fall 2006 would be in tuition guarantee group B.
• Tuition cohort is held in element AA168 (student AU attribute #5, screen 16, translation table AA168. PBA sends list of students to Registration to populate.

Updated 2-22-09, PBA

Last revision 02/23/09