College Opportunity Fund (COF) Stipend Changes for 2024-2025:
- How much of my UNC tuition will the COF stipend pay this year?
- How will I find out what it costs to attend UNC?
The most up-to-date cost information is online at www.unco.edu/costs/
- What are the “College Opportunity Fund” and “COF”?
The College Opportunity Fund—referred to as COF—is Colorado’s way of providing financial support for resident undergraduate students. COF was created by the Colorado Legislature and signed into law in May 2004 by Gov. Bill Owens. Colorado no longer appropriates tax dollars directly to colleges and universities. Instead, eligible undergraduates may apply for a state-funded COF stipend to put toward the cost of undergraduate education.
- What is a COF stipend?
- When does the College Opportunity Fund take effect?
- Who is eligible?
- Who is not eligible?
- UNC resident tuition & fees for one semester
- How do I apply for the COF stipend?
- How do I authorize COF?
You must authorize COF in your Ursa account by clicking on the “Financial” tab and then the COF Stipend Authorization link. Selecting “lifetime authorization” allows the authorization to be done one time for the entire time you are at UNC. The term authorization requires you to authorize COF every semester.
When you registered the first time you may have also gotten a pop up that asked you to authorize. If you did it then you don’t also have to login to Ursa.
- What is the deadline to apply and authorize the COF stipend?
- How does my COF stipend get from the state to UNC?
- You apply for a COF stipend using the online application.
- COF adds eligible students to a statewide database that tracks COF stipend use.
- You authorize UNC to apply your COF stipend to your UNC account
- UNC tells COF the number of credit hours you take each term.
- COF automatically sends the stipend to UNC each term.
- UNC credits the stipend against your total tuition charge.
- Your bill shows the stipend credit and the remaining tuition you owe for the term.
- Do I still have to pay tuition?
- Does the COF stipend replace Financial Aid?
- Will I get a check for the COF stipend?
- How many credit hours will the stipend help pay for?
The law that created the COF sets a student’s lifetime limit at 145 credit hours. New students get a COF stipend for 145 credit hours. Continuing students also have a lifetime limit of 145 credit hours, and the number of credit hours used will be based on their classification (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior).
- Is there an exception to the 145 credit hour lifetime limit?
Yes, UNC will automatically process a one-time, one-year Institutional waiver of the 145 credit hour limit and inform you by email. After you have exhausted the UNC waiver, you may apply for an additional waiver from the Commission on Higher Education.
- Will the stipend pay for every class?
- Can I choose to not apply the stipend to some classes?
- Can I use the COF stipend at more than one college at a time?
- Can undergraduates use the stipend for graduate courses?
- Must I do anything other than complete the stipend application?
- What if I transfer to another college?
You do not need to re-apply for the COF stipend if you transfer. Each college you attend will report the number of credit hours you take each term, and the hours will be applied toward your lifetime limit. The student must authorize each college/university for the term that they are attending a participating Colorado college/university.
- Why aren’t graduate students eligible for the COF stipend?