Blocks Away: Billing & Aid
The information listed here is specific to Blocks Away which occur during the 8-block academic year. For Summer Block cost information, please visit our Summer Blocks: Billing & Aid webpage.
TUITION: No additional tuition is billed for a block away during the academic year. Your standard tuition for the semester is unchanged by the decision to travel with CC for a block.
PROGRAM FEE: While tuition for a semester includes tuition for off-campus blocks, the travel expenses for the off-campus block is not included in a student's tuition, room & board charges. These costs are paid through a program fee specific to each off-campus block course. This fee covers travel-related expenses such as local housing, excursions, entry fees, guest speakers, local transportation, etc.
MEAL FUNDS: Students who live on campus and have a standard meal plan will receive a refund of that meal plan for the block they are away. These funds should be used to cover meal costs while away on the off-campus block. Students living off-campus are expected to pay for meals while on the off-campus block just as they do while enrolled in on-campus courses.
AIRFARE: Airfare is not included in the AY Off-Campus Block program fee, however the cost of airfare is calculated and included in financial aid awards for the block away for students who qualify for a block away aid award (see below).
How to withdraw from a CC Academic Year Off-Campus Block (Block Away):
In order to officially withdraw from an Off-Campus Block, Students should return to Summit and use the blue "Request Cancellation" button to register their withdrawal. Notifying the program faculty or the Global Education staff in person, by phone, text or email is not sufficient. Failure to enroll in the course on the Banner registration system is also not sufficient to qualify as a withdrawal. Only cancellation on the Summit portal will be considered an official withdrawal, with the withdrawal date corresponding to the cancellation date on Summit.
Student Confirmation & Withdrawal Deadlines: Academic Year Off-Campus Blocks:
All Block away courses have a Student Commitment & Withdrawal Deadline. All approved students should return to Summit, complete all post-acceptance forms, and confirm their roster spot by this date or risk removal from the roster. This date is also the latest date by which a student can withdraw from the course (completed on SUMMIT) without withdrawal charges being assessed. Later withdrawals will come with significant withdrawal charges.
- BLOCK 1-2: May 1
- BLOCK 3-4: August 1
- BLOCK 5-6: October 1
- BLOCK 7-8: December 1
Fall 2024 Late Withdrawal Charges:
The billed charges for a Fall 2024 Block Away are impacted significantly by the date of withdrawal from the off-campus block.
Spring 2025 Late Withdrawal Charges:
A new structure for late withdrawal fees will be implemented for 2025 and beyond. Details on the new policy will be provided prior to the start of Fall 2024 courses and the Block 5-6 Student Commitment & Withdrawal Deadlines in October.
Withdrawal & Financial Aid:
Block Aid Awards cannot be used to cover withdrawal charges. When a student withdraws, the aid award is rescinded, allowing for aid to be available for future block away enrollments.
While it is unfortunate, there are situations where a medical necessity would require that a student withdraw from a study away program either following the Withdrawal Deadline or even mid-program. In these cases, the following policies apply.
Medically-Necessary Withdrawal - Predeparture:
In the event a withdrawal from a CC-led Off-Campus block after the block's Student Commitment & Withdrawal Deadline and before the departure date is the result of an urgent medical concern which causes medical caregivers to recommend cancellation, Colorado College will attempt to reduce or waive any program charges from the student's account. In order to verify a medical necessity to withdraw, students withdrawing will be asked to provide a statement from a licensed medical or mental health professional who can affirm that it is their recommendation that the student not travel due to a medical or mental health concern. No details of the diagnosis are necessary, only confirmation that the attending professional does not recommend travel. This documentation should be provided either on official letterhead or through official channels of the medical provider. It is also required that the physician or health care provider be someone who the student is seeing professionally, and not a family member or friend of the family. In most cases 100% of the fee is waived for such incidents, however, there are rare cases where only partial reimbursement is possible due to the nature of the expenditures already made on behalf of the student.
Medically-Necessary Withdrawal - During a Program/Course:
All students on any CC-led Study Away program have access to medical and mental health services, either on-site or through virtual care. When students encounter medical or mental health concerns while away on a study away program, they should first communicate their concerns to the on-site staff and work with the staff to ensure that appropriate and available care is accessed. If the situation leads the student to request a return home, staff will arrange with the student for an early departure. However, as with any medical withdrawal on-campus, it may be necessary for the student to withdraw from the courses due to the inability to complete the appropriate coursework.
Withdrawal Due to Family Emergency:
Students should communicate the nature of the family crisis to the faculty leadership of the program. Leadership will discuss the concerns with Global Education and a determination will be made as to the scope of any possible reimbursement for a shortened study away experience. Students should anticipate that withdrawal prior to program departure due to family emergency will not produce a significant refund as most program expenses require significant on-site deposits which are not refundable. This is also true of mid-program withdrawal, however, on programs where International SOS and CC’s UHP travel insurance is included as part of the program, reimbursement of some expenses may be possible through an insurance claim for “trip interruption.” This typically will include reimbursement for flight rebooking fees and potentially some other travel-related expenses.
Return to Campus Following A Mid-Program Withdrawal:
For Academic Year Block Away students, departure mid-program means that a student returns home (to deal with whatever concerns led to the withdrawal) and should anticipate returning to campus for the start of the next block for which they are enrolled in an on-campus course, or upon recovery from their medical concern. If the medical condition requires additional blocks off, students should work with the Advising Hub to file for a leave of absence for medical reasons.
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AID BASICS: Financial aid for AY blocks is awarded at the conclusion of the two annual Application Windows. The primary Application Window is from February 1 through March 15. This is the only Application Window for Blocks 1-6. Students applying for Block 7-8 programs are also encouraged to apply at this time. A second application and aid window for Block 7-8 programs is also open in each Fall during Block 1. Because the amount of aid in the Fall Application Window depends upon the number of applicants who received Block 7 or 8 aid in the March window, it is recommended that students applying to Block 7-8 programs do so in the earlier window, when the aid pools are fully stocked.
AWARD ELIGIBILITY: Aid is available to all Colorado College students who have completed their first semester of study and who are currently on need-based financial aid at the College (FAFSA for U.S. students and CSS Profile for international students). Each eligible CC student is able to request up to two Block Away Aid Awards during their time at the college. These can be used for academic year or summer blocks, and in any combination, but the limit is two awards per student.
AWARDS & STUDENT ACCOUNTS: If you have an outstanding balance on your student account, no award will be made until the balance is cleared. Block Away Aid awards appear as a credit on a student's CC account. If the aid award is less than the full program fee, then there will remain a portion of the program fee to be paid by the student, but if the aid award is larger than the program fee charge, the remaining funds after the program fee has been paid in full are provided to the student through direct deposit, typically in the first block of the semester in which their program will depart. For Blocks 1-4 this would be at the start of Block 1, and for blocks 5-8, at the start of Block 5. If students wish an earlier distribution of these funds they can request a 1-month advance from the Financial Aid Office.
CAN STUDENTS USE 2 BLOCK AID AWARDS IN THE SAME ACADEMIC YEAR?: Yes, if awarded at the time of application, students can use their 2 awards during the same academic year, though this will remove all future eligibility as each student is limited to 2 total awards during their time at the college. Using both awards to participate in two different 1-block away programs in the same year will not impact tuition or room & board charges for that year or any semester within the year.
CAN BLOCK AWAY AID AWARDS BE USED TO FINANCE LONGER PROGRAMS OR NON-CC PROGRAMS? No. CC-led semester (4-block) and half-semester (2-block) programs are financed very differently from 1-block courses, and the Block Away Aid is only available for single block programs. For information on aid policies related to full- and half-semester programs, please visit the Semester Away: Billing & Aid webpage.
CC Block Aid cannot be used for external (non CC-led) January or summer courses offered by other universities. It is designed only to offset costs related to CC-led Block Away courses.
Awards are granted at the conclusion of each application window. If additional aid remains available then students with later applications (approved to join programs after the initial aid review) will be eligible for consideration. Several factors are used to determine the awarding of aid. These are:
INITIAL REQUIREMENTS
- Eligibility: Student receives need-based aid and has not received an AY Block Away Aid Award in the past.
- Program Status: Aid is awarded after program rosters have been selected. Students approved for a program are eligible for aid. Students who are waitlisted for a program are also waitlisted for aid consideration until they are invited to join a program. They then may receive an immediate award or, if no aid remains available, are moved into a waitlist for aid.
SORTING OF ELIGIBLE STUDENTS
- FIRST: Prior Aid Award: All aid-eligible students qualify to be considered for a maximum of 2 block away aid awards, however, in an effort to ensure maximum access and equity among students, aid awards will first be distributed to students who have yet to receive their 1st block aid award. When all eligible "first timers" have received aid, then awards will be provided to students who are seeking to receive a 2nd block aid award.
- SECOND: Academic Year: Within each aid pool (1st award or 2nd award) preference is given to upper division students as they have fewer future opportunities to join a block away. Seniors are awarded first, then juniors, etc.
- THIRD: Need Level: Within each Aid Pool and Academic Year Group, the final sorting of eligible students is based on aid level, with preference given to students with higher financial need designations as defined by the Financial Aid Office.
Because the Off-Campus Block Aid Pool is limited, CC cannot guarantee aid to all students for any particular program. We try to accommodate as many students as possible, but it is not uncommon for students with low need or who are in the early years of their CC career to be waitlisted for aid due to a large number of rising seniors or juniors eligible for aid awards.
IF/WHEN YOU ARE AWARDED AID
WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I AM WAITLISTED FOR AN AID AWARD?
While we do all we can to provide aid awards to as many eligible students as possible, it is not always possible with our pre-set aid pool to accommodate all qualified applicants each year. When this happens, eligible students are placed on an Alternate or Wait List for an aid award. If you find yourself on the Waitlist for aid, you should consider doing the following:
- Review the Student Confirmation & Withdrawal Date for your program. All Block Away courses have a deadline for withdrawal. As long as students withdraw by this date they incur no fees or withdrawal charges. This is a key date to know as you consider whether you can join the program.
- Plan to Remain in the Program, awaiting aid until the deadline. You may remain in the program with no financial commitment until this date. During that time, aid may become available, so we always recommend waiting to see if aid is offered to you, but we also recommend that if an aid award is essential for you to join the program, that you keep track of that deadline and, if no aid is available for you, that you withdraw before the deadline to avoid any late withdrawal charges.
- Ask Global Education Your Position in the Aid Waitlist. Knowing where you are on the waitlist can help you decide if you wish to wait for a possible award or withdraw from the program. If you reach out to Global Education, they can tell you which grouping you are in on the list, between first and fifth, sixth and tenth, eleventh and fifteenth, etc. We will not provide exact numbers, but a 5-spot range which is a good indicator of how likely an aid award will be. If you are one month from the deadline to withdraw and you find out that you are between student 21 and 25 on the waitlist, you may opt to withdraw at that time. If you were between position 1 and 5, you might wait until the deadline date to make that decision, because there is a greater possibility that aid will be possible for you.
- If/When you choose to withdraw: You should return to Summit and use the blue "Request Cancellation" button to officially withdraw from the program. Simply speaking or emailing the faculty or Global Ed is not sufficient to withdraw. Neither is removing your registration on Banner. Requesting cancellation on Summit is the only official withdrawal mechanism.
- If/When an aid award is provided to you: You will receive an email from Global Education outlining the aid award, what is and is not covered by it, and how funds will be distributed. Please read that email in its entirety.
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