SUMMER OFF-CAMPUS BLOCK CHARGES

A Summer Block Away has three anticipated costs: Tuition, Program Fee, and Airfare. 

• Tuition:  Most programs are 1-unit (1 block) courses, which means they have the standard charge for a summer block, just as if it were on campus. 
• Program Fee: This fee covers the costs on location for the off-campus course, including all housing, ground transportation, excursions, instruction, group activities, meals, and our travel and health insurance (for international programs). 
• Airfare:  Airfare is not included in the CC billing and is paid by the student when they book their flights. 

With these three components, a typical summer off-campus block cost may look like this:

• $6,000-$12,000     CC Summer Tuition ($6,000 for 1 unit in 2024, $12,000 for the 2-unit Spain Program)
• $1,000-$5,500       CC Program Fee (Program fee will vary depending on program site and course duration.)
• $600-$2,200          Airfare (Not billed by the college. Airfare is purchased individually.)

SUMMER OFF-CAMPUS BLOCK AID

There are two forms of aid which students may receive as participants in a Summer Off-Campus Block, the Wild Card and the Block Away Aid Award.

The Wild Card:  This grant is automatically applied to any student's first CC summer course, both on- and off-campus, and offsets (removes) the tuition charge for that first block of summer credit.  It is only available for the first unit of summer credit, so a student who uses it one year would be expected to pay for summer tuition if they were to enroll in a future summer course.  Students on the CC Summer in Spain program, which is a 2-unit course, could use the Wild Card for 1 of the 2 blocks of tuition, but would be expected to pay the 2nd unit of tuition for that program. 

All CC students are eligible for the Wild Card award, but only for 1 award during their CC career.  The Award is only used to offset (remove) the tuition charge for a students's first CC summer course and cannot be applied to the program fees associated with CC Off-Campus blocks during the summer or the school year.  It also cannot be applied to non-CC summer courses taken through other universities or international education providers. 

Block Away Aid Awards: Students who receive need-based aid at the College for their academic year costs are eligible for two Block Away Aid Awards during their CC careers. These may be used towards block away programs both during the academic year and the summer session. All students who are approved for a CC-led Summer Off-Campus Block are reviewed automatically for aid eligibility. No additional application is necessary. The Block Aid Award is designed to help offset costs related to a Block Away program fee as well as the estimated round trip airfare costs for that off-campus block. Aid recipients are typically notified of their award within 2 weeks of the application deadline, giving them time to decide if the program is financially viable for them before each program's Student Commitment & Withdrawal Deadline. The Block Aid Award is calculated to cover a percentage (ranging from 20% up to 90%) of the program fee as well as the estimated round trip airfare cost, based on flights in/out of Denver. Block Aid Awards do not offset or apply to summer tuition charges. 

Students who are approved for multiple blocks are considered for aid towards the most expensive of the programs. If the student laters decides to opt for a different block, the aid is transferred in the same percentage of support, but not the same dollar amount. So, if you are awarded 80% for a $5,000 program (a $4,000 award) but opt to join a $4,000 program, your aid would remain at 80%, producing a $3,200 aid award. 

Can an eligible student use both Block Aid Awards for Summer Off-Campus Blocks? 

Yes. A student eligible for the Block Aid Awards is eligible for 2 awards and may choose to use both for to academic year off-campus blocks, two summer off-campus blocks, or one of each. For summer, it is possible to use two block aid awards in the same summer if the two courses do not have overlapping dates or to enroll in the 2-unit Summer in Spain program. It is also possible to use the 2 block aid awards in two different summers. However, students should be aware that the Block Aid awards do not impact tuition charges for summer study, and that the Wild Card grant is only valid for a student's first summer course at the College, so any further summer blocks taken (on campus or off) would come with a per-unit tuition charge in addition to any program fees. This tuition charge would not be included in a Block Aid Award for a 2nd summer off-campus block once the Wild Card has been used. 

How to withdraw from a CC Summer Program: 

In order to officially withdraw from a Summer 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. 

Withdrawal Deadline:

Summer Off-Campus Blocks have a Withdrawal Deadline of March 1, 2025. Students who withdraw from their summer program on or before this date face no withdrawal fees and are not responsible for any CC-billed program charges. 

This withdrawal date is earlier, February 12, 2025, for the Summer in Spain program due to the requirement for a group flight booking for that program. 

Withdrawal & Financial Aid:

Financial aid awards, including the summer tuition Wild Card, 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.  

In the event a withdrawal from a CC-led summer program after the March 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:

• On-Site Care: 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. 
• Documentation: In order for a student to qualify for reimbursement of a portion of the program fee, the faculty leader of the program must confirm that medical resources available on-site, through International-SOS, or through virtual services provided by CC have been utilized.  The student should work with the faculty and/or other on-site support staff to obtain documentation from the medical care providers outlining a recommendation that the student return home for care.  If such documentation is not possible, the faculty member can serve to verify the medical necessity and to approve the departure as medically necessary.
• Medical Necessity: Colorado College fully expects that most medical and mental health concerns which emerge while on a study away course can be appropriately treated and managed on-site with resources available to the program. Approval of medical withdrawal, rather than withdrawal by personal choice, is reserved for those cases in which appropriate care is difficult to obtain or when local providers recommend return to the student’s home.    

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.  

Withdrawal & Summer Tuition Charges

Return to Campus Following A Mid-Program Withdrawal: 

For summer 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 fall semester (Block 1) 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.