Global Education and Field Study

Billing & Finances For Summer Blocks Away

Learn how summer blocks are financed, what charges to expect, and what financial aid is available to make a CC-led summer block away an option for all students.  Colorado College strives to make access, equity, and inclusion a hallmark of our global education program. 

The cost of a CC Summer Block Away program contains two elements, a program fee and a tuition fee:

Program fee: This fee covers travel-related expenses of the course such as housing, meals, excursions, entry fees, local transportation, etc. Most do not cover airfare. It is your responsibility to understand what is included in the program fee and what is not covered.

Tuition: The standard CC summer session tuition rate per block.  Many students utilize the "Wild Card" (below) to cover this cost.

Wild Card:  Every student at CC is permitted one CC summer course without a tuition charge.  The Wild Card is essentially a waiver of the tuition charge and is automatically applied to a student's first summer course at CC.  Students do not need to apply for the Wild Card. It is automatically applied for their first summer course, on campus or through study away with CC. For more details about your Wildcard and eligibility, see the Summer Session website.  The Wild Card cannot be used to cover the cost of tuition billed for a late withdrawal from a summer block as outlined below.

Program fees and summer tuition normally appear on a student's CC account in early May, one block before summers session begins.  

How to withdraw from a CC Summer Program: 

Students should send an email to both the faculty leader and to either the Off-Campus Programs Coordinator or the Director of Global Education.  

Withdrawal Deadline:

Summer Off-Campus Blocks have a Withdrawal Deadline of February 15.

The withdrawal date is the date when this email is sent to Global Education, so failing to notify Global Education of your intent to withdraw can lead to a delay in your withdrawal becoming official, and potentially a larger nonrefundable program fee component. 
Withdrawal charges for Summer Blocks are defined by the withdrawal date as it relates to this deadline as well as the program departure date.  

Late Withdrawal Charges:  

The billed charges for a Summer Block Away are impacted significantly by the date of withdrawal from the off-campus block. 

--Withdrawal prior to February 15 will incur no charges for tuition or program fees.
--Post-deadline withdrawal prior to Block 8 (May) will incur charges ranging from $100 to 100% of the program fee.
--The minimum program fee charge for a withdrawal during or after Block 8 increases to 25% of the program fee.
--As with all summer courses, withdrawal within 21 days of the first day of class also incurs a 30% tuition charge.
The total amount of the program charge to be billed will be determined by the course faculty and Global Education and will consider both nonrefundable expenses paid by the college on your behalf and costs shared by all participating students to support the structural costs of the program. 

Withdrawal & Financial Aid:

Financial aid awards, including the summer tuition Wild Card, cannot be used to cover withdrawal charges. 

Withdrawal due to medical necessity: 

Students may have a portion of billed charges waived with appropriate documentation that the withdrawal was attributable to medical necessity.  Colorado College cannot guarantee a 100% reimbursement or cancellation of charges even with medical withdrawals, but efforts will be made to maximize the refundable portion of the program fee and waive tuition fees if it can be demonstrated that the withdrawal was medical in nature. 

No.  While Colorado College used to require a deposit for all block away programs, this practice has been discontinued in efforts to build greater equity between students with higher and lower financial need.  The College now utilizes a Program Fee Agreement which outlines the program fees, withdrawal deadline and other policies related to program expenses.  Students receive this form when they are approved on Summit by the program faculty.  The student's signature on this document is required to confirm their participation in a block away program. 

Summer Financial Aid is available for CC Summer programs off-campus/abroad, but the pool of funding is limited, and it is critical that students pay attention to application processes and deadlines.

APPLYING: Once you have a program selected, apply on the Summit online platform (Global Education portal) by the end of January to be considered for both program approval and a potential financial aid award to help reduce the cost of travel. When you complete the Summit application for the CC Summer Program you are interested in, you are then automatically also reviewed for financial aid eligibility - there is no separate application for summer aid for Blocks Away. Awards can cover up to 90% of the course's program fee as well as the anticipated cost of airfare to get you there. 

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). If you have previously received a financial aid award for a CC Summer Away Block you are not eligible to receive aid again for summer study. Note that AY aid awards are separate from CC Summer Block Away aid awards, so if you have received an Academic Year Block Away award before, you CAN apply for an award towards a block during the summer. Each CC student is eligible for one summer award and one AY award during their degree program.

AWARD SELECTION & COMPOSITION: Awards are granted at the conclusion of each application window.  Several factors are used to determine the awarding of aid. These are:

  • Eligibility:  Student receives need-based aid and has not received a Summer 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. 
  • Academic Year Standing:  Preference is given to upper division students as they have fewer future opportunities to join a block away.
  • Need Level: Preference is given to students with higher financial need designations as defined by the Financial Aid Office.
Because the Summer 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. 
The amount awarded is based on your level of financial need. AY Financial Aid Awards take into account the total course costs, including the program fee, estimated airfare, and any additional costs such as a required visa.  Aid awards are determined based on the program fee plus the estimated cost of round trip airfare to/from the program destination.  All aid awards cover a percentage of this estimated total cost, ranging from 20% of coverage to 90% of coverage. No award will cover 100% of the estimated program cost. 

AWARDS & STUDENT ACCOUNTS: If you have an outstanding balance on your student account, no award will be made until the balance is cleared. Awards are not transferable; if you drop your course you must re-apply for an award for a different course (unless your original course was canceled).

AWARD DISTRIBUTION: Students who receive a Summer Block Away award will receive the award as a percentage of the anticipated total cost of the summer course (program fee plus anticipated airfare charge).  If the award is less than the program fee, it will appear as an offsetting credit to the program fee on the students's CC account.  For example, students may see a program fee of $4,000 and an award of $3,600, meaning that there remains $400 left to be paid. 

If, however, the award is higher than the cost of the program fee, then the credit will result in funds being available through the CC account.  Students should request that these funds be paid through direct deposit to reimburse a portion of the airfare purchased for the block away.  These aid deposits normally appear at the beginning of the summer session.  If students wish to receive any credited funds earlier, they must petition the Financial Aid office for a 1 month advance of these funds.  Aid awards cannot be provided earlier than this one month period. 

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Links to Other Summer Blocks Away Information

STUDY AWAY QUICK GUIDES & LINKS

Report an issue - Last updated: 09/26/2023