Student Handbook

3.34 Waiver Request for Institutional Exception to the 145 College Opportunity Fund Lifetime Hours

Instructions to request additional COF lifetime hours

  1. Fill out this form completely and legibly; all appeals must be in writing.
  2. Submit all documentation with this form. All information submitted is confidential.
  3. Northeastern will consider each waiver request based on the materials provided and the facts submitted by the appropriate Northeastern offices and/or individuals.
  4. Northeastern must receive the COF Waiver Request within the semester you exceed your COF lifetime limit. Northeastern cannot grant COF Waiver Requests retroactively.
  5. Return the Waiver Request form and all supporting documentation to:

Records Office

Hays Student Center, Room 102
100 College Avenue
Sterling, CO 80751

Process and Deadlines

  1. The State of Colorado limits the number of waivers to COF lifetime hours that Northeastern can approve in a 12-month period (July through June). Northeastern’s Records Office monitors and grants the number of COF Waivers.
  2. If approved, Northeastern will award the student a one-time 30-credit hour waiver. The student must use the additional stipend hours within three consecutive semesters.              • Northeastern calculates excess COF lifetime hours at full tuition. Submitting a COF Waiver Request does not exempt you from tuition, fees, or deadlines and does not guarantee approval.
  3. If Northeastern approves the COF Waiver Request and awards additional COF lifetime hours, Northeastern will recalculate your tuition bill and adjust your COF lifetime hours. As part of the COF required reporting, Northeastern will notify the College Assist office of the COF institutional waiver status.
  4. Northeastern will notify you of a final decision in writing. The Waiver Request Committee will meet monthly to review all requests. The decision of the committee is final and binding-there is no appeal after the Committee has made its decision.

Waiver Criteria

The criteria reviewed by Northeastern officials to grant a waiver to the COF 145 lifetime hours include the following:

  1. Extenuating circumstances exist outside the student’s control (health, physical ability, change of work hours/location) that kept the student from finishing the degree program within the 145 COF lifetime credit hour limit.
  2. CCHE approved and the institution implemented an alteration of the degree requirements or standards for the student’s specific degree.
  3. The full-cost of tuition without the COF stipend would cause substantial economic hardship on the student or the student’s family.
  4. According to SB04-189 and SB05-132, priority for waivers to the COF undergraduate maximum hours are given to students who participated in the Post-Secondary Options Program (PSEO) during high school, and who still might need more than 145 COF hours to complete their associate’s degree/certificate program or to those seeking job retraining.

Additional Northeastern considerations for COF Waiver Requests:

  1. Review of the student’s academic transcript, including changes in major, course withdrawals, etc.
  2. If Northeastern granted a previous tuition refund. Since CCHE policy requires that students who withdraw from classes must use COF hours for those courses taken in that term even though tuition might have been refunded, this might be considered reason for a waiver of the 145 hours, for an amount of hours equal to the hours taken in the withdrawn semester.
  3. Review of transfer hours (if applicable) and how many did not count towards current degree program (only for students enrolled in Northeastern or college prior to July 1, 2005).

If a waiver is approved, you must complete the additional hours within three consecutive terms.

Only one institutional waiver for COF lifetime hours is allowed per student during that student’s lifetime. Please plan accordingly.

Please contact Student Services for a waiver form to be completed by the student.