3rd Party Sponsorships
A third-party sponsor is an entity who pays educational expenses on behalf of a non-related student when billed by the university. Sponsor payments are called third-party sponsorships and they are subject to the same federal reporting requirements as other financial aid.
Fellowships or sponsored research are not considered third-party sponsorships.
Sponsors who do not require an official invoice from the university are administered by the Scholarship Services Program. Trusts should note whether they are related or unrelated parties.
Sponsors cannot be related to the student. The sponsor is required to provide the Bursar’s Office with a list of all sponsored students and any changes affecting their commitments through a letter of authorization. The sponsor must have satisfied all prior commitments in a timely manner, and the sponsor agrees to abide by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) and not disclose student information to others without the express written approval of the student.
***The Bursar’s Office reserves the right to reject sponsorships.***
A letter of authorization is a signed letter by the designated sponsor’s representative and must be sent on official letterhead paper from the sponsor and should include the following information:
- The sponsored student’s name and identification number
- The amount of the sponsorship or the basis for calculating the award
- Type of charges the sponsor will pay for (tuition, mandatory fees, optional fees, health insurance, on-campus housing and meals, books, parking, etc.)
- The period of the sponsorship
- The sponsor’s name and contact name, address, and phone number
- Email address for billing purposes – all invoices are sent via email
- Any applicable purchase order numbers, work order authorizations, or other billing codes
- Company ID numbers, badge numbers or contract numbers
The letter of authorization should be sent to the university’s 3rd Party Sponsorships department as soon as approval has been granted from the sponsor to the student. The sooner we are notified the better since early notification prevents late and finance charges from accruing. It gives the students better information about what they personally will be expected to pay and eliminates unnecessary concern and follow-up by students and their families. Late and finance charges incurred on student accounts due to late sponsorship authorizations received after the university’s published first payment due date will not be waived. However, under special circumstances, we will evaluate this on a case-by-case basis. The first payment due date is typically the fifth day of the month following the first day of classes.
Authorization letters can be submitted to the 3rd Party Sponsorships department by the following methods:
Email: 3rdparty@colorado.edu
Mail:
Bursar’s Office – Sponsorships Account Coordinator
University of Colorado Boulder
43 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0043
A sponsor may revoke current financial support for any student by sending the university an official notification by mail or email. Upon notification, the student will be expected to pay all outstanding charges. Until the charges are paid, the student may be subject to late payment penalties including assessments of late and finance charges, inability to register for future terms, inability to obtain transcripts, etc.
If a sponsored student withdraws before the end of a semester, the sponsor will be billed for sponsored expenses in accordance with the university’s withdrawal policy. The withdrawal policy and the refund/assessment schedule can be found at the Office of the Registrar.
Some sponsors require that grades and/or official transcripts be sent after the completion of each semester or academic year. It is the student’s responsibility to provide the sponsor with any such required information. For further information regarding grade processing timelines, please see . The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) allows universities to disclose student records or identifiable information without the student’s consent to persons or organizations providing financial aid (e.g., sponsorships) to the student. Sponsors must agree to abide by FERPA and not disclose this private information to others without the express written approval from the student.
Sponsors who have specific guidelines related to online coursework or coursework taken for no credit must ensure that they communicate such restrictions directly to their students. The 3rd Party Sponsorships department does not monitor or restrict a student’s enrollment nor alter the tuition charge appearing on the student’s bill. Tuition is based on total credit hour enrollment for Colorado resident students and is a flat rate for non-resident students and is billed to sponsors as such, regardless of instruction mode.
For all newly admitted and returning university graduate students, the university assesses a confirmation deposit. The charge for the confirmation deposit is $200 and cannot be processed by the 3rd Party Sponsorships department because it may be refundable. When the student leaves the university, the deposit is applied to unpaid charges, and any remaining deposit is directly refunded into the student’s bank account on file. The deposit is refunded to the student regardless of who pays it. If a sponsor chooses to pay the $200 confirmation deposit, they must send the payment separately from 3rd Party Sponsorship payments and must send it directly to the Office of Cash Management on the student’s behalf.
The provides a stipend to eligible undergraduate students paying in-state tuition. Â鶹ŇůÔş must apply for and authorize the stipend. Unless the sponsor indicates otherwise, the university will assume that all tuition-based awards are meant to be tuition less the COF stipend without regard to whether the sponsored student has applied for and authorized it to his/her account. Sponsors of in-state undergraduate students should notify the university whether the awards pertain to the entire tuition charge or to the tuition charge less the COF stipend (also called student share of tuition).
Contact information for general correspondence only (no payments):
Bursar’s Office – Sponsorships Account Coordinator
University of Colorado Boulder
43 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0043
Email: 3rdparty@colorado.edu
Phone: 303-492-4369
CU Boulder Title IV School Code: 001370
Federal Employer ID Number: 84-6000555
The 3rd Party Billing process is initiated when the university receives a letter of authorization from the sponsor. Upon receipt of an official letter, the student’s bill is credited within 5–7 business days, for the expected amount of the sponsor payment. If a sponsor commitment is tied to the number of credit hours a student is taking or other factors that may vary during the course of the term, the student’s account is continually adjusted to reflect the changes and a financial hold is placed on the student account to prevent refunds of sponsorship monies until after the add/drop deadline. Credits are not final until the sponsor has made payment in full.
Invoices are emailed to sponsors beginning the week following the university’s census date (the third Friday of the semester). The university will make reasonable efforts to accommodate specific billing requirements of sponsors, but we expect students to provide any documentation, corroborations, or notifications required by their sponsors. If a more detailed breakdown of charges is needed than what our invoice provides, the student can either provide their sponsor with a copy of the detailed online bill or sponsors can find more information by clicking the “Tuition and Fees” tab above.
Once the sponsor has received the university’s invoice, payment is due upon receipt. Please be aware sponsorship awards for future terms will not be credited to student accounts unless all current term invoices have been paid in full. Payments can be sent by mail, wire transfer or ACH transmission.
Mail:
Bursar’s Office – OCM
3rd Party Sponsorships
University of Colorado Boulder
2055 Regent Dr., room 175
41 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0041
Wire or transfer: Contact 3rdparty@colorado.edu
***3rd party sponsors cannot use CUBill&Pay to make payments***
Department of Defense
You may be eligible for financial assistance from the military. For more information and to apply, visit . If approved, please forward all approval and authorization documentation to 3rdparty@colorado.edu.