Cost

Tuition and Fees

Tuition for the Outdoor Recreation Economy program is determined by your residency and assessed in addition to any other tuition paid on campus. All students in the program, regardless of whether they are enrolled in a single course, a certificate program or the full master’s program, pay the same tuition rate and fees.

2024 - 25 Academic Year Rates

Cost	In-State Tuition	Out-of-State/International Tuition
Per Credit	$772	$844
Certificate Program (10 Credits Total)	$7,720	$8,440
Master's Program (30 Credits Total)	$23,160	$25,320

Visit the Bursar’s Office website for a full list of program tuition and fee costs.

Tuition and fees are just one part of the overall cost to attend CU Boulder. The full cost of attendance for an academic year could include expenses such as housing and food, books and supplies, and items that are not billed by the university, such as personal expenses, transportation and medical insurance. View the full cost of attendance.

Billing Schedule and Payment Deadlines

Bills become available in Buff Portal (CUBill&Pay for authorized payers) around mid-month after you register for classes. Payment is due on the 5th of the following month. Postmarks and post-dated checks are not honored. Dates may be subject to change without notice.

See the Bursar's Office website for important dates.

Payment Options

Deadlines for tuition and fees payment are listed in the dates and deadlines section of your program’s academic calendar. You can pay for your course online by echeck, money order, or credit card. You will be assessed a nonrefundable 2.85% service fee for credit card payments. Access online payments via Buff Portal via the Tuition & Fees card. Click on Balance Summary, then View/Pay Bill, which will direct you to CU Bill&Pay, the university’s secure online billing and payment system.

Email Continuing Education at cebursar@colorado.edu or call us at 303-492-2212 if you have any questions.

You or other authorized payers can make secure payments online via Buff Portal with Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express. You will be charged a nonrefundable 2.85% service fee for credit card payments. Debit cards are acceptable but the non-refundable service fee of 2.85% of the payment amount applies. The total is based on the payment amount for each transaction. The rate is established by our vendor NelNet to cover the credit card transaction fees assessed by credit card companies, and the university does not receive any part of the service fee.

To avoid the service fee, you can use an echeck using your checking or savings account instead. Select the online echeck payment option and enter your bank routing and account numbers. Payments can also be mailed to Continuing Education, 1505 University Avenue, 178 UCB, Boulder CO 80309-0178. To divide your bill payments between credit card and echeck, follow the instructions for How to View and Pay Itemized Bill.

If you have any questions about paying with a credit card, please contact Continuing Education at 303-492-2212 or by email at cebursar@colorado.edu.

International students can make education payments in the currency of their choice through a secure online service. Visit the Flywire website to transfer funds. The service converts funds to U.S. dollars and directly transfers the payment to CU Boulder.

For questions, contact Continuing Education at 303-492-2212 or cebursar@colorado.edu.

Employee reimbursement is when you enroll in a class and your company agrees to reimburse you after you have completed the class and met grade requirements. You must pay for the class at the time of registration or by the appropriate due date. If the class is for credit, you also have the option of making a payment arrangement. If your employer or sponsor would like to pay CU Boulder directly, please contact CE3rdparty@colorado.edu to make arrangements with the Bursar’s Office.

Note: Courses in this program are eligible for the University of Colorado Employee Tuition Benefit Program. Visit the CU Employee Tuition Benefit website for more information.

Payment Plans

You may be eligible to pay your tuition and fees in installments over the course of the current semester. Optional payment plans are available for students or their authorized payers. Re-enrollment is required each semester you choose to participate.

A payment plan is a good option for students who can allow debits from one bank account or credit card to occur on a consistent basis. Payments must be made via automatic deduction (ACH) from a regular United States checking or savings account or credit/debit card. This option is not a good fit if payments will be made from multiple sources because automatic deductions/debits must come from only one bank account or credit card.

CU Boulder accepts American Express, MasterCard, Visa and DISCOVER. Automatic deductions are processed on the 5th of the month. When the 5th falls on a weekend, payments are processed the following business day. Dates and plan terms may be subject to change without notice.

A minimum of $250 tuition and fee balance (estimated or actual).
Tuition and fee account must be in good standing (not past due).

$30 non-refundable enrollment fee per semester (charged by NelNet Business Solutions)
$30 fee if a payment plan payment is returned (charged by NelNet Business Solutions)
A nonrefundable 2.85 percent (2.85%) service fee applies to all credit/debit card payments (charged by NelNet Business Solutions)

Log in to Buff Portal. Authorized payers log in to CU Bill&Pay and go to step 4. Please note: Whoever signs up for the plan becomes the “plan owner” and only that person can change the plan.
Click on the Billing Information tab.
Select Payment Plans.
In the left menu, select CE Boulder Payment Plan.
Follow the instructions to enroll in the plan.
When you complete enrollment and activate your plan, your automatic deduction/debit is scheduled to occur on the 5th of each month. You do not need to do anything further. (If you need to cancel your plan, contact the Accounting department at 303-492-2212 or cebursar@colorado.edu.)
You must re-enroll in the plan each semester.

The amount of your account balance may change due to changes in course fees, adding or dropping classes, or financial aid. If your tuition and fee account balance decreases, the payment plan monthly deductions will be rebalanced automatically so that the adjusted balance is split evenly over the remaining months of your plan. You do not need to take action in this case.

If your tuition and fee account balance increases, the plan owner is required to log in and manually rebalance the payment plan. For instructions, see the how-to guide on the Bursar’s website.

If you have questions or need to cancel a payment plan, contact us at 303-492-2212 or email cebursar@colorado.edu.

Refunds and Tuition Adjustments

Students who drop or withdraw from a course or courses may be eligible for a tuition adjustment depending on their residency status, when they drop or withdraw from the course, and the number of credits in which they are enrolled. If you are eligible for a tuition adjustment, you will only get a refund if you have paid tuition. If you have not paid tuition, the amount you owe will be adjusted (eliminated).

Students who are eligible for a tuition adjustment/refund will receive a percentage of the tuition of the class or classes from which they are dropping or withdrawing. For example: A 60% tuition adjustment means a 60% tuition refund and 40% tuition payment.

The percentage of the tuition adjustment/refund is based on when you drop or withdraw from the class or classes. Please refer to your program’s dates and deadlines page for specific deadlines.

When receiving a partial tuition adjustment (as opposed to a full refund), student fees are non-refundable unless you can prove through the petition process that you were never able to access any of the services provided by the student fees.

Financial Aid

Graduate students pursuing the Master’s in Outdoor Recreation Economy may qualify for federal financial aid and other student loan programs to cover their educational costs. For additional information, please consult the Office of Financial Aid’s webpage for graduate and professional students.

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