The College Opportunity Fund is a tuition discount provided by the state of Colorado to students who meet the qualifications for in-state tuition rates and lawful presence in the United States. The COF amount is subject to yearly change by the state of Colorado. The state provides eligible students with 145 COF hours during their undergraduate career.
How does COF work?
Here is an example:
COF amount = $104 discount per credit hour
Your credit hours enrolled for Spring 2023 = 12 credit hours
12 credit hours x $104 discount per credit hour = $1248 total tuition discount for
Spring 2023
*Starting Fall 2023 through Summer 2024, COF Stipend amount is $116.00 per credit hour.
You must Apply (create an account) for AND Authorize COF in order to receive it.
Apply for COF at https://cof.college-assist.org/
Authorize COF via your student portal.
Who is Eligible?
All students who have residency status according to PPSC policy and lawful presence in the US according to COF policy.
Current and former military and dependents are eligible for COF regardless of residency
or lawful presence status.
DACA, select undocumented students, permanent residents, and student on select visas
are all COF eligible.
Other tuition funding programs may require you to use COF. Please double check with your funding sources regarding any COF requirements.
If you have questions about your eligibility, please contact records@pikespeak.edu
If you are unsure of how your military, veteran or VR&E benefit may be impacted by declining to use COF, please email mvp@pikespeak.edu.
VA will be billed for your full tuition and fees so you may choose whether or not
you would like to utilize COF or decline COF and utilize it at another time in your
undergraduate career or a different semester at PPSC. If you choose not to utilize
COF this semester, please submit the Decline COF form as soon as possible. If you choose to decline using COF, VA will be billed for the full tuition and fees.
You must notify PPSC each semester of your choice to not use COF by submitting the
Decline COF form.
GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government website: https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.
You can choose whether or not you would like to utilize COF or decline COF and utilize
it at another time in your undergraduate career or a different semester at PPSC. If
you choose not to utilize COF this semester, please submit the Decline COF form each semester.
GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official
U.S. government website: https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.
You are eligible for COF regardless of your residency or lawful presence status. High School Concurrent Programs require COF to achieve 100% tuition payment. If you choose not to use COF, you will be responsible for the amount that COF would cover.
You must have resident status with PPSC. Please provide a copy of your DACA card to records@pikespeak.edu.
You must have resident status with PPSC. Please provide a copy of your visa to records@pikespeak.edu to ensure it qualifies for COF.
The COF discount applies by the credit hour, so you have to be enrolled in classes in order to receive COF funds.
Your COF account is the hub where the college(s) that you are attending will draw
your COF funds to apply to your tuition.
To create a COF account, please visit: https://cof.college-assist.org/
You only have to create a COF account once. You may have done this already when you applied to PPSC or have used COF in the past. If you already have a COF account, the website will stop you from creating a duplicate. If you are unsure, please email records@pikespeak.edu so we can check for you!
Include your name and S# in all correspondence.
Pro Tip: Please make sure you use the exact same information you used to complete your college application to create your COF account. This will help your COF account sync with your student record without error.
Authorizing COF with the school you're attending is how you tell the school that it's okay to take the appropriate funds from your COF account to apply to your tuition.
For PPSC, you must authorize COF each semester through your student portal.
If you are transferring to another college and want to use COF there, you must contact that college to ask how they do COF authorizations.
You may use your COF funds at multiple schools at one time. You just have to make sure that you have authorized at each college for the semester.
Pro Tip for PPSC COF Authorization: If your student portal says “No Changes Made” that means you have already authorized and are good to go.
Please allow 3-5 business days from completing the above steps for COF to show up on your student bill. If you don't see it, please make sure COF is open for the semester. If it is open for the semester and you still don't see it apply, please email records@pikespeak.edu
Include your name and S# in all correspondence.
Fall Semester COF: Opens to begin applying to student bills the first week of July; Deadline to receive COF for Fall is the last week of January
Summer Semester COF: Opens to begin applying to student bills the first week of April; Deadline to receive COF for Summer is the first week of September
Spring Semester COF: Opens to begin applying to student bills the first week of December; Deadline to receive COF for Spring is the last week of May
COF will discount 145 undergraduate credit hours per student, per lifetime. The following may be options for you to extend your 145 hour COF limit if you've already used them.
Institutional Waiver – Only complete this form if you have already used several hours of COF (ie if you have previous degrees or have been attending college for several years). If you're not sure, your best bet is to make sure you complete the steps above. Sign up for COF, authorize through your student portal and look for COF to apply after you register. If you don't see it, please email records@pikespeak.edu. We can let you know if you need an institutional waiver.
Post Baccalaureate COF Waiver– One-time extension of 30 COF hours for those with a bachelor’s degree. Email records@pikespeak.edu for details.
Colorado Commission on Higher Education COF Waiver –Students who have exhausted other waivers or need more than a 30 credit extension.
Watch this video to learn more about how to apply and authorize this stipend.