College Opportunity Fund (COF)

When you attend a participating college throughout the state, you are eligible to receive a stipend to help pay for your courses. It’s as simple as that. The amount of the per-credit-hour tuition stipend is set annually and pays a good portion of your total in-state tuition.

Eligible new and returning undergraduate students must apply, be admitted, and enroll in classes to receive this benefit. You can use this stipend to pay on a per-credit-hour basis and the stipend gets sent directly to the college, making it easier for you.

Undergraduate students enrolled at CCD are eligible if you are classified as a Colorado resident for tuition purposes.

When you register for classes through CCDConnect, you can also authorize the use of your COF stipend. Do this by clicking the "COF" icon on the Dashboard and follow the steps. If you have registered for classes, but don’t know if you have authorized the use of your COF stipend, you can contact the Office of Registration & Records at 303.556.2420. In addition, there is a "lifetime" authorization option and we recommend you take advantage of this option. Otherwise, you will have to select to authorize your COF stipend for each semester you attend CCD.

The amount for the academic year 2020-2021 has been set at $40.00 per semester credit hour for eligible students.

No. You only apply once. When you complete the stipend application, you create an account with 145 available undergraduate hours. You can receive stipend funding for these hours at any participating college in the state of Colorado if you meet the eligibility requirements.

The law that created the College Opportunity Fund caps a student's eligibility for this state funding at 145 credit hours. However, there are exceptions and waivers that can be granted by CCD and by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE).

The College Opportunity Fund grants 145 stipend-covered hours of eligibility to all resident students. If you go over your 145-hour lifetime-credit-hour cap, you may apply to CCD for a one-time, one-year waiver. If CCD cannot grant a waiver or you need additional hours to complete an undergraduate degree, you may then apply to CCHE for a waiver.  The law allows for CCHE to grant waivers on special occasions and extenuating circumstances; please visit the College Opportunity Fund website to learn more.

You must also meet with a Program Advisor/General Advisor to develop an Academic Plan and must submit their request in writing in order to receive this waiver. Please first contact the Office of Registration and Records to get started on this process.

If you have authorized your COF, the COF stipend will appear on your tuition bill within three to five (3-5) business days after you register for classes in CCDConnect. If you do not see the COF stipend applied to your tuition bill after this, please contact the Office of Registration and Records at 303.556.2420 or at CCD.ORR@ccd.edu using your college-assigned student email for troubleshooting.

There is an appeal process if you believe a mistake was made in the current or prior semester’s COF stipend/billing. The Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) will accept billing appeals from you for the COF for semesters that have already passed. To submit an appeal for a past semester, please download and print this form and submit it to the Colorado Department of Higher Education.