College Opportunity Fund

If you are a new CU Boulder student starting in Fall 2026 and are unable to authorize the College Opportunity Fund (COF) despite submitting your application more than a week ago, please contact registrar@colorado.edu for assistance.

Please note the last day to apply or correct an application error for Fall 2026 is Dec. 4, 2026 and the last day to authorize for Fall 2026 is Dec. 11, 2026.

About COF

The College Opportunity Fund (COF), created by the Colorado Legislature, provides a stipend that pays a portion of total in-state tuition for eligible undergraduate students who attend a Colorado public institution or a participating private institution.

You're eligible for COF if you're all of the following:

  • An undergraduate student.
  • Classified as a Colorado resident and being charged in-state tuition (some exceptions apply).
  • Admitted and enrolled at a Colorado public institution (e.g., CU Boulder) or a participating private institution.

The stipend is paid to the institution on a per-credit-hour basis at an amount set annually by the General Assembly. Check the official state COF website for the current amount.

Apply & Authorize

Apply for COF Authorize the Use of COF Funds Revoke Your COF Authorization
Apply for COF

COF Application Tips

  • Provide the exact same name, date of birth and Social Security number (SSN) as in your admission application or FAFSA (SSN only). Any mismatch will cause your COF application to be rejected.
  • If your name, date of birth or SSN are incorrect at CU, submit a correction form and wait until it's processed before submitting your COF application.

Apply for COF

You only need to complete the COF application once. To get started, follow the link below:

Apply for COF 

It can take 24 to 48 hours to process your COF application, and up to 24 hours more for CU Boulder's systems to update. Once they do, your next step is to authorize CU to apply the stipend to your bill (see the next section).

After College Assist has processed your online COF application, you need to authorize CU to apply the stipend to your tuition and fee bill. You can do it during preregistration or later through Buff Portal:

  1. Log in to Buff Portal.
  2. On the College Opportunity Fund (COF) card, click "View your COF status."
  3. On the "COF Authorization/Review" page, find the correct term and click "Update Authorization."
  4. Tick the checkbox next to "Authorize," then click "Submit."

If you don't authorize COF by the posted deadline (see calendar in sidebar), you'll be responsible for paying total in-state tuition for that semester.

To revoke your COF authorization for the current or upcoming semester:

  1. Log in to Buff Portal.
  2. On the College Opportunity Fund (COF) card, click "View your COF status."
  3. Scroll down to the COF table, find the current term, and click "Update Authorization."
  4. Click "Refused Authorization," then click "Submit."

If you revoke your authorization, you'll be required to pay full tuition for the term indicated.

Correct an Application Error

If the name (first three letters of first name), date of birth or Social Security Number (SSN) in your CU Boulder record doesn’t exactly match the one you provided in your COF application, your application will be rejected. If you have your SSN in your CU Boulder or COF account, it is required to be in both. If you don’t have an SSN, we can connect your accounts using a unique ID. Please contact us for assistance with this process.

Once a semester, every student who has a COF error is emailed detailed instructions on how to resolve that error (e.g., name mismatch, missing Social Security number). If your COF error occurred before the semester started, we'll email you during the first week of classes. If not, we'll email you either mid-semester or late semester, depending on when the error occurs.

To correct your birthdate mismatch, complete these steps by the posted COF application deadline (see sidebar):

  1. Download a student biodemographic information update form, complete parts I and II (birthdate section only), then print and sign it.
  2. Take a clear photograph or scan of your signed form and the required supporting documentation. (Accepted file types: png, jpg, pdf, tif.)
  3. Log in to the Office of the Registrar's secure document upload form.
  4. In the "Comments" field, enter "Correcting birthdate mismatch for COF."
  5. Open the document type drop-down and select "Change of Person Record."
  6. Click the "Select Documents for Upload" button, locate the image of your form, and click "Open."
  7. Confirm that your image uploaded successfully, then upload your supporting documentation.
  8. When you're finished, click "Submit."

Once you receive an email confirming your record was updated, follow the instructions above to authorize COF.

To correct your name mismatch, complete these steps by the posted COF application deadline (see sidebar):

  1. Download a student biodemographic information update form, complete parts I and II (legal name section only), then print and sign it.
  2. Take a clear photograph or scan of your signed form and the required supporting documentation. (Accepted file types: png, jpg, pdf, tif.)
  3. Log in to the Office of the Registrar's secure document upload form.
  4. In the "Comments" field, enter "Correcting name mismatch for COF."
  5. Open the document type drop-down and select "Change of Person Record."
  6. Click the "Select Documents for Upload" button, locate the image of your form, and click "Open."
  7. Confirm that your image uploaded successfully, then upload your supporting documentation.
  8. When you're finished, click "Submit."

Once you receive an email confirming your record was updated, follow the instructions above to authorize COF.

To provide your Social Security number (SSN) to College Assist, the government office that manages COF, complete these steps by the posted COF application deadline (see sidebar):

  1. Download and complete an SSN/TIN update form, then print and sign it.
  2. Take a clear photograph or scan of your signed form. (Accepted file types: png, jpg, pdf, tif.)
  3. Next, take a clear photograph or scan of your Social Security card or TIN card.
  4. Log in to the Office of the Registrar's secure document upload form.
  5. In the "Comments" field, enter "Adding SSN for COF."
  6. Open the document type drop-down and select "Change of Person Record."
  7. Click the "Select Documents for Upload" button, locate the image of your form, and click "Open."
  8. Confirm that your form uploaded successfully, then upload the image of your Social Security card or TIN card.
  9. When you're finished, click "Submit."

Do not email anything containing your SSN. Doing so could put you at high risk for identity theft.

We'll securely send your information to College Assist. Please allow 72 hours for both systems to sync, then follow the instructions above to authorize COF.

To provide your Social Security number (SSN) to CU Boulder, complete these steps by the posted COF application deadline (see sidebar):

  1. Download and complete an SSN/TIN update form, then print and sign it.
  2. Take a clear photograph or scan of your signed form. (Accepted file types: png, jpg, pdf, tif.)
  3. Next, take a clear photograph or scan of your Social Security card or TIN card.
  4. Log in to the Office of the Registrar's secure document upload form.
  5. In the "Comments" field, enter "Adding SSN for COF."
  6. Open the document type drop-down and select "Change of Person Record."
  7. Click the "Select Documents for Upload" button, locate the image of your form, and click "Open."
  8. Confirm that your form uploaded successfully, then upload the image of your Social Security card or TIN card.
  9. When you're finished, click "Submit."

Do not email anything containing your SSN. Doing so could put you at high risk for identity theft.

Once you receive an email confirming your record was updated, follow the instructions above to authorize COF.

To correct your Social Security number (SSN) mismatch, complete these steps by the posted COF application deadline (see sidebar):

  1. Download and complete an SSN/TIN update form, then print and sign it.
  2. Take a clear photograph or scan of your signed form. (Accepted file types: png, jpg, pdf, tif.)
  3. Next, take a clear photograph or scan of your Social Security card or TIN card.
  4. Log in to the Office of the Registrar's secure document upload form.
  5. In the "Comments" field, enter "Correcting SSN mismatch for COF."
  6. Open the document type drop-down and select "Change of Person Record."
  7. Click the "Select Documents for Upload" button, locate the image of your form, and click "Open."
  8. Confirm that your form uploaded successfully, then upload the image of your Social Security card or TIN card.
  9. When you're finished, click "Submit."

Do not email anything containing your SSN. Doing so could put you at high risk for identity theft.

Once you receive an email confirming your record was updated, allow 72 hours for the CU Boulder and COF systems to sync, then follow the instructions above to authorize COF.

Review Your COF Status, Course Eligibility & Lifetime Hour Limit

View Your COF Status Check a Course's COF Eligibility Apply the COF Stipend to a Class See How Many COF Hours You Have Left Get Additional COF Lifetime Hours
View Your COF Status

To review your COF authorization status for past or current terms, check your allotted COF lifetime hours, or see how many COF hours you've used so far:

  1. Log in to Buff Portal.
  2. On the College Opportunity Fund (COF) card, click "View your COF status."
  3. On the "COF Authorization/Review" page, scroll down to view your COF information for past and current terms.
    • If you see a pink screen saying you have not applied, we recommend logging on the state COF website and review your account information. This error can mean that you have not applied or your account cannot be found at CU Boulder due to a missing SSN (see section above). If you don’t have an SSN, please contact us.
    • If you see an error that your COF can't be authorized, we recommend logging on the state COF website and reviewing your account information. Check your first name and date of birth in your account. The first three letters of your first name, date of birth and SSN must match your CU Boulder account in order to sync. If one of these doesn’t match, please correct the error using the steps above.
    • If you are a student enrolled in the current semester, check your COF status in Buff Portal on your holds and to-dos card. You can click on the to do item to learn more about the mismatch or error.
    • If you’re having trouble signing into the state COF website, contact College Assist directly at cof@college-assist.org or 720-264-8553.

Courses offered through the following programs are not COF eligible: 

To check whether a course is COF eligible, search for the course in CU Boulder Class Search and read the class notes section carefully. Courses that are not eligible for COF will include a note to that effect.

The COF stipend will automatically apply to your bill for any COF-eligible classes you registered for by the last day to add a class (the third Friday of the semester for 16-week classes; prorated for special sessions).

If you add a COF-eligible class after the deadline, the COF stipend will not be applied unless the late add was due to a university error. If that's the case, contact the department that made the error to ensure that they take the actions necessary for the COF stipend to apply. If you've already paid your bill, this may result in a tuition and fee refund.

The law that created the College Opportunity Fund caps an undergraduate student's eligibility at 145 credit hours. To see how many hours you have left:

  2. Click "Login" and enter your user name and password.
  3. On your profile page, click "Hours."
  4. Scroll down to the "Total Stipend Hours" table to view your remaining hours.

Once you reach your 145-credit maximum, the Office of the Registrar will automatically extend your COF lifetime hour limit on your behalf. See the next section for details.

About the Automatic COF Lifetime Hour Limit Extension

Once you reach your 145-credit hour maximum, the Office of the Registrar will automatically extend your COF lifetime hour limit on your behalf. You'll receive an email notifying you of the extension, as well as instructions on how to apply for additional COF hours (see below) or to postpone the automatic extension.

Apply for Additional Hours

If you don't want to wait for the automatic extension, or if you need to apply for an extension from the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE; see below), you can begin the application process once you've used at least 120 COF hours.

Step 1: Apply for an Institutional Extension

Before you can apply to CCHE, you must apply to CU Boulder for a current or future semester. To do so, submit a COF Lifetime Limit Extension Request by the posted deadline (see the academic calendar). All requests will be reviewed by CU Boulder's Office of the Registrar.

Step 2: Apply for a CCHE Extension

If you applied for an extension from CU Boulder and received a decision, you may apply for a CCHE Waiver Request for Extension of College Opportunity Fund Lifetime Credit Hour Limitation for a past, current or future term. Visit the Colorado Department of Higher Education's COF stipend page for details.

Contact Us

    registrar@colorado.edu
   303-492-6970

Resources

COF Calendar

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