Financial Relief

person in a hammock sleeping bag, looking at feet, holding an "oredigger" coffee cup
blaster the donkey looking to the left
a dog with tongue out and head cocked to side with Guggenheim hall in distance, blue sky, green grass
Ordigger Classic: Cycling is one of the many club sports at Mines

Purpose:

The Colorado School of Mines (Mines) recognizes a student may need to withdraw from Mines, or reduce the number of class credits by way of a course withdrawal, after the semester begins.  When this occurs, the Mines’ refund policy will determine if the student is eligible for a full or partial refund of tuition and fees paid for that semester.

Mines also recognizes the need for a student to have a process to appeal the Mines’ refund policy when unexpected and serious extenuating circumstances exist related to a student’s need to withdraw from Mines or reduce the number of credit hours. A student may also process to appeal the Mines’ refund policy when unexpected, anomalous circumstances transpire which present financial hardship or burden for a student.

Policy:

Mines’ published annual Academic Catalog outlines the tuition and fee refund policy. In the event of an unexpected and serious, or anomalous circumstance(s), a student may petition a waiver from the tuition and fee refund policy.

In such an event, graduate students should approach the Graduate Dean (or representative) and undergraduate students should contact the Assistant Vice President for Student Life (or representative) and request leniency from the tuition and fee refund policy.

After reviewing the matter in detail and/or meeting with the student making the waiver petition, the Graduate Dean and Assistant Vice President for Student Life are permitted to take one of the following actions:

  1. Decline the request in circumstances deemed unmerited or beyond the scope of the policy.
  2. Offer a 20% or 40% tuition waiver.

In egregious situations, the Dean or Assistant Vice President may present waivers to the institutional Executive Team for immediate action. 

Decisions made by Graduate Dean and Assistant Vice President for Student Life may be shared preliminarily with the student but are pending until approved by the Financial Relief and Leniency Committee. Deans will present pending decisions as a first-order of business in Committee meetings. The Committee may sustain the pending decision for further review or discussion.

Appeals:

If a student wishes to appeal the decision of the Graduate Dean or Assistant Vice President for Student Life, they may do so via the Financial Relief and Leniency Committee (the Committee).

In such instances, appeals should be submitted according to process outlined by Graduate Dean (or representative) for graduate students, or by Assistant Vice President for Student Life (or representative) for undergraduate students. A completed appeal will include, but not be limited to:

  • grounds for appeal (unexpected, serious extenuating circumstance or anomalous circumstance);
  • a student-written letter to the Committee clearly outlining the grounds for their appeal;
  • requested percentage leniency/adjustment/refund;
  • and, when appropriate: verifying, additive, or collaborative documentation.

The Committee will review the appeal and determine if a waiver to the refund policy is appropriate, given the circumstances provided by the student, and will approve the amount of the tuition and/or fee refund. Applicable student fees will not be waived if Mines has incurred actual costs associated with those fees, such as the intermodal transportation fee or student health insurance fee. The mandatory student technology fee and academic building construction fee will not be waived.

To read the full Financial Relief Policy, please proceed here: https://www.mines.edu/policy-library/financial/. Look for Tuition and Fee Waiver Appeal Policy. 

Additional Details: 

Only waiver requests for the current and immediately preceding semester, will be accepted, unless medical documentation clearly argues a student was reasonably unable to appeal earlier.

Approval of a waiver may or may not impact financial aid received during the semester or future semesters.  If the student is a financial aid recipient and the tuition appeal is approved, credit balances may be refunded to the appropriate financial aid program. Furthermore, the return of financial aid funds may result in a balance due on the student account.

The student is responsible for prompt payment of all charges applied to the student account, including charges for which a waiver has been submitted.  If a waiver is approved, the student’s account will be adjusted and refunds, as appropriate, will be issued.

A student may only appeal on the similar grounds/reasoning, once. A student can receive a maximum of two tuition and fee waiver approvals during their entire academic career, undergraduate and graduate, at Mines.

All decisions by the Committee are final and no further appeal process is available to the student. It is possible that the Committee decision is less than what was initially offered by the Graduate Dean or Assistant Vice President for Student Life.

Financial Relief Request, Step by Step:

Students are asked to submit a formal request for financial relief via the following link: https://fs29.formsite.com/UH4kpW/form3/index.html.

Please note: THIS IS NOT HOW A STUDENT WITHDRAWS FROM COURSEWORK. Instead, this is how a student seeks potential financial relief AFTER they have withdrawn from coursework.   

Completed submissions will be reviewed promptly and thoroughly. Soon thereafter, the student will receive communication from the appropriate Dean or Representative. Students are asked to continue monitoring their Mines email account.