Colorado student and vocational grants: Colorado Student Grant, Promise, COF and WIOA (2026-27)

Colorado Student Grant amounts and SAI cutoffs for 2026-27

The Colorado Student Grant is for undergraduates in an approved certificate or degree program who are Colorado residents, enrolled at least half time, and in good academic standing ⁠¹. Public and nonprofit colleges have “financial aid flexibility” under CDHE’s guidelines: they set their own SAI cutoffs and award sizes, but the state expects the neediest students to be served first ⁠¹. For-profit (proprietary) schools must follow the state’s three-level schedule, which CDHE says stays in force until the Commission replaces it. As of October 2026, the AY 2025-26 guidelines are still the edition CDHE posts ⁠¹.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Source: CDHE guidelines, AY 2025-26 ⁠¹. Minimums are full-year amounts. Part-year awards can be smaller, and a college may award less than the minimum when your unmet need is under it but above $100 ⁠¹.

At public universities, the published 2026-27 ceilings match the $5,000 Level 1 maximum, but who gets considered differs a lot. UCCS considers residents with a 2026-27 SAI from -1,500 to 12,000 who are not near the Pell lifetime limit, for up to $5,000 ⁠². CU Boulder considers resident undergraduates with an SAI of 9,000 or less who take 6 or more credits ⁠³. Colleges do not have to fund half-time students or summer terms. The standardized state amount assumes full-time enrollment in fall and spring ⁠¹. Because the money is a fixed allocation, filing late can leave you out. Colorado State University, for example, set June 1, 2026 as its priority date for state and institutional grants in 2026-27 ⁠⁴.

FAFSA or CASFA: Colorado’s state-only application

The Colorado Application for State Financial Aid (CASFA) is CDHE’s alternative to the FAFSA. It is built mainly for students covered by Colorado’s ASSET law, who qualify for in-state tuition and state aid without lawful immigration status. To qualify, you must have attended a Colorado high school for at least one year before graduating (or lived in Colorado for a year before passing a high school equivalency exam in the state), and lived in Colorado for 12 consecutive months before enrolling ⁠¹. CDHE has also opened CASFA to students from mixed-status families who are eligible for federal aid but prefer not to share a parent’s data outside Colorado colleges ⁠⁵. That choice has a cost: CASFA counts only for state and college aid, so you give up Pell and federal loans. CDHE warns that state aid may not fully replace them ⁠⁵. File only one of the two forms. The 2027-28 FAFSA and the 2027-28 CASFA are both open now ⁠⁵.

Colorado Promise is a tax refund, not an upfront grant

Colorado Promise: Two Free Years of College Expanded does not lower your bill when you enroll. It reimburses the tuition and fees you paid after all grants and scholarships through a refundable state income tax credit, which you claim the following year ⁠⁶⁠⁷. It also reimburses tuition you paid with federal or private loans, because only “free aid” is subtracted ⁠⁷. There is no separate application: your college decides whether you are eligible ⁠⁶. The rules:

• You qualify for in-state tuition and finished high school (or a GED) after January 1, 2024, or you were already enrolled at a Colorado public college in fall 2024 ⁠⁶⁠⁷.
• You enroll at any Colorado public institution, including area technical colleges, within two academic years of finishing high school ⁠⁶.
• You file a FAFSA or CASFA every year, ideally before January 15, and your household AGI on it is $90,000 or less. That AGI comes from the tax return two years before the school year ⁠⁶.
• Each term, you start with fewer than 66 college credits, complete at least six credits and earn a term GPA of 2.5 or higher. AP, IB and concurrent-enrollment credits do not count toward the 65-credit cap ⁠⁶.
• You personally file a Colorado tax return. Parents cannot claim the credit for you ⁠⁷.

The credit can be combined with a college’s own promise program. If that program covers tuition but not fees, Colorado Promise can refund the fees ⁠⁷.

The $116-per-credit COF stipend you must authorize

The College Opportunity Fund (COF) pays part of in-state undergraduate tuition straight to your public college. For 2026-27 it is worth $116 per credit hour, so a 15-credit term at Otero College carries a $1,740 COF credit ⁠⁹. There is no income test at public colleges. At participating private colleges, only Pell-eligible students qualify ⁠⁸. You must do two things. First, create a COF account through College Assist. Second, authorize the stipend at your college. If you skip either step, you owe the full tuition, including the stipend amount ⁠⁸. Each student gets 145 lifetime undergraduate credit hours. Waivers are available after that, first from the college and then from the Commission ⁠⁸.

Short certificates: the CTE Grant and Workforce Pell in Colorado

Colorado has its own grant for training that Pell will not pay for. The Tuition Assistance Program for Short CTE Certificates (the CTE Grant) covers tuition, fees and course materials in short certificate programs approved by a governing board that are not eligible for federal aid ⁠¹. Recipients must be Colorado residents and must show need through a Pell-eligible SAI or enrollment in TANF, SNAP, Medicaid, SSI, Section 8, WIC or free and reduced-price lunch. Income too low to require a federal tax return also counts ⁠¹. In FY 2025-26 the maximum award equaled the Pell maximum of $7,395, and colleges are told to give first-time recipients priority ⁠¹. Nineteen colleges receive CTE Grant funds, including Community College of Denver, Front Range, Pikes Peak, Red Rocks, Aims, Colorado Mountain College, Emily Griffith Technical College, Pickens Technical College and Technical College of the Rockies ⁠¹.

The federal Pell Grant for July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 ranges from $740 to $7,395 ⁠¹². Workforce Pell extends Pell to programs of 150 to 599 clock hours with at least 70% completion and 70% job placement. Students who already hold a bachelor’s degree can receive it, and it can be combined with WIOA funds ⁠¹¹. In Colorado, the Governor certifies programs after consulting the Colorado Workforce Development Council, and approvals are rolling. As of October 2026, the Colorado Community College System advises students not to assume a program qualifies until the college confirms it ⁠¹⁰.

WIOA training money through Colorado Workforce Centers

Adults and dislocated workers apply for WIOA Title I training at a local Colorado Workforce Center. The training is paid through an Individual Training Account (ITA), which can be used only for programs on Colorado’s Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL) ⁠¹³⁠¹⁴. The ETPL moved to a new web platform on July 1, 2026. Providers that missed the August 15, 2026 deadline for reporting participant data were dropped and must reapply, so check the current listing before you enroll ⁠¹³. Each local board sets its own cap. Arapahoe/Douglas Works!, for example, allows $6,000 per participant for tuition and training, $2,000 more if you are co-enrolled in its other programs, for short-term training in targeted industries finished within 18 months ⁠¹⁴. Federal rules make WIOA the payer of last resort: centers must look at Pell and state training grants first, and you can start training while a Pell decision is pending ⁠¹⁵.

Filing for 2027-28 in Colorado, step by step

1. Choose the FAFSA or the CASFA

   If you are a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen, file the 2027-28 FAFSA. If you are an ASSET student, or from a mixed-status family that prefers not to share data with the federal government, use the CASFA portal. Never file both ⁠⁵.

2. File before January 15, 2027, then check your college’s date

   January 15 is the date CDHE asks Colorado Promise students to meet, and colleges set their own priority dates for the Colorado Student Grant ⁠¹⁠⁴⁠⁶.

3. Confirm your Colorado residency

   In-state classification drives the Colorado Student Grant, COF and Colorado Promise ⁠¹⁠⁶. If your classification is wrong, fix it with the college before the term starts.

4. Create your COF account and authorize it

   Apply once through College Assist, then authorize the stipend in your college portal so the $116-per-credit credit appears on your bill ⁠⁸⁠⁹.

5. Answer verification and enroll at the right load

   Full-time enrollment gets the standard Colorado Student Grant amount. Colorado Promise requires completing at least six credits with a 2.5 term GPA ⁠¹⁠⁶.

6. File a Colorado tax return the next spring

   If you met the Colorado Promise rules, the refund comes through your state return, even if you would not otherwise owe tax ⁠⁶⁠⁷.

7. For short-term training, visit a Workforce Center

   Ask about eligibility for a WIOA ITA, pick a program on the ETPL, and ask the college whether the program also qualifies for the CTE Grant or Workforce Pell ⁠¹⁠¹⁰⁠¹³.

8. Appeal if something goes wrong

   Ask your financial aid office for professional judgment if your income has dropped ⁠¹⁠⁷. For a COF stipend lost in a past term, CDHE accepts appeals once you have tried to resolve it with your college ⁠⁸.