COVID-19 Information about Tuition, Fees, Room & Board Credits, Payments and Refunds

The blend of in-person, hybrid, remote and online courses that will be offered in Fall 2020 does not diminish the quality and value of a degree from CU Boulder.

The main accreditation criteria for our courses remain the same whether they are taught in person, online or remotely: our courses must involve regular and substantive instructor interaction with students. With remote and online teaching, faculty and instructors are still able to:

• Provide regular instruction and interact regularly with their students. 
• Provide full and substantive assessments and regular feedback on students’ coursework.
• Be proactive and available in providing information or responding to students’ questions about the content of the course.

Faculty across campus continue to incorporate best practices for teaching and learning in various teaching modalities into the design of their courses.

In addition, the Center for Teaching & Learning has partnered with Continuing Education, the Office of Information Technology and the Office of Academic Innovation to offer workshops and provide resources and individual consultations for faculty on effective, evidence-based practices for remote and online teaching.

We are also prioritizing classes for in-person delivery whose academic outcomes are difficult to achieve virtually (e.g., computer labs, performance classes, studios).

Finally, the Boulder campus is going to great lengths to modify our campus operations in a way that will allow us to safely provide on-campus experiences for our students. We continue to make significant investments in our COVID-19 health and safety infrastructure in order to provide a safe learning and working environment for our students, staff and faculty.

Because the health and safety of students, faculty, staff and their families is our top priority, if necessary, the campus is prepared to make a decision to move to a fully remote learning environment in order to maintain the health and safety of our campus community. No matter the instruction mode, students will receive the full & accredited CU Boulder curriculum using the latest instructional design modalities and tools to maximize engagement between students, their peers and professors. If changes are made to class instruction mode for any reason, Fall 2020 tuition will not be adjusted.

Students and faculty traveling during fall break and then returning to campus could put the health and safety of the campus at risk. For this reason, the decision was made to move all instruction to remote and online after fall break. In-person teaching will happen as much as possible before Thanksgiving, while promoting student, faculty and staff safety.

Students will still receive the full fall semester curriculum, including taking finals, using the latest instructional design modalities and tools to maximize engagement between students, their peers and professors. Please visit Teaching Modalities & Technology Mapping for more information.

Shortening fall break and conducting all classes remotely or online after fall break will help us avoid potential COVID-19 outbreaks toward the end of the semester as much as possible. Students will still receive the full benefit of class instruction through the end of the semester. To see the updated schedule for Fall 2020, please visit Shortened Fall Break 2020 & Downstream Calendar Changes.

The CU Board of Regents sets tuition and fees for all CU campuses each spring as part of the regular budget cycle. This year, the board approved a zero percent tuition increase for incoming and returning students. CU Boulder’s four-year undergraduate tuition guarantee provides additional certainty for incoming and continuing students by ensuring tuition doesn’t increase over a student’s first four years.

There are no plans to adjust or remove fees for the 2020-21 academic year. Student fees did not increase for the upcoming academic year, despite the fact that changes for fall required expansion of infrastructure that supports student activities both online and in person.

The Student Activity Fee, managed by CU Student Government (CUSG), is voted on and paid for by all students in support of a variety of resources and services. Those services will still be available to students, although the details about how they may change to promote the health and safety of campus are still being decided. Some services already existed online prior to COVID-19. Other services may move some elements online for this fall while some will still be available in person. Examples of student-fee-supported services that will still be available this fall include:

• Access to the Student Recreation Center with possible changes to hours along with changes to some services in order to protect the health and safety of students. 
• The Center for Student Involvement will continue to host events and support student organizations. 
• The Volunteer Resource Center will still serve as the central point of volunteer opportunities and food assistance during this time.
• Off-Campus Housing and Neighborhood Relations and Student Legal Services continue to support students in person and online.

To learn more about the Student Activity Fee specifically, please visit Who We Fund and What We Fund on CUSG’s website. 

Other student fees support services like student health management and information technology infrastructure, including remote learning guidance for students, staff and faculty. Fees also assist with costs to maintain facilities and debt obligations, as well as salaries and benefits for student and staff employees who support these services. For these reasons, student fees will not be adjusted for fall 2020.

• Tuition and fees vary depending on your degree, college/school/program and the number of credit hours in which you enroll. Visit Costs for more information. The good news is, tuition rates will not increase for the 2020-21 academic year. This means that students entering the university in the Fall of 2020 will pay the same tuition rates as students who entered in the Fall of 2019.
• Fall bills will be available online by August 13. Students will get an email notification when the bill is available and they will access the bill through Buff Portal (buffportal.colorado.edu). Bills will not be mailed. Parents and families do not automatically have access to the bill. In Buff Portal, students can authorize up to five people to view and pay the bill online. Learn more about authorized payer access to CUBill&Pay.
• Fall payment is due September 5. Additional charges like books, digital course materials and supplies may be billed the following month.

Visit the Road Map to Fall 2020 for details about our plans.