Editor’s Note: Read the Spanish version of this article here.

Colorado State University students who are interested in taking summer classes can now receive a grant to go toward their tuition.

Undergraduate Colorado residents can benefit from the increased CSU Summer Tuition Assistance Grant, and summer tuition is 30% less than fall and spring for nonresident undergraduates.

“Summer session has historically been a term where students who have the ability to afford it could attend summer. … This additional funding is actually making it possible (so) every low-income student that wants to attend summer session can make it happen.” –Tom Biedscheid, assistant vice president of the Division of Enrollment and Access

Students benefit from summer courses because they can help with GPA recovery, graduating early, exploring new classes, changing a major or lightening course loads in following semesters.

“Summer session has historically been a term where students who have the ability to afford it could attend summer,” said Tom Biedscheid, assistant vice president of the Division of Enrollment and Access. “This additional funding is actually making it possible (so) every low-income student that wants to attend summer session can make it happen.”

The summer tuition grant is on a first-come, first-served basis, so the Office of Financial Aid encourages everyone to sign up for classes as soon as possible. Summer registration starts March 22 at noon.

“Get registered as soon as summer registration opens up, and then we will automatically award their summer financial aid,” Biedscheid said.

Kimberly Lopez, a CSU student studying journalism and media communication, received $2,000 last summer from this grant and will graduate after taking her last two classes this summer.

“CSU is always looking at ways to increase retention and graduation rates of our students. … We see it as an investment in student success.” –Anne Van Arsdall, director of CSU Summer

“After my tuition is paid for and school expenses are covered, I still have extra money from these grants that are given through my financial aid, which I can use to cover rent or my car insurance,” Lopez said.

“Yes, I am going to work (fewer) hours this summer because I’m doing school; however, I have this extra grant money,” Lopez said.

During the summer session, CSU also allows students to stay on campus. According to CSU Summer Director Anne Van Arsdall, this summer, students will live in Parmelee Hall.

“What I like about it the most is that if students need some gap housing after summer before fall starts, they can stay there then too,” Van Arsdall said. “It’s really great because students pay for only the time that they stay.”

Ellen Audley, a program coordinator for CSU Summer, said every three out of five CSU students participate in summer sessions during their college career, and summer session enrollment is between 7,200 and 7,800 students.

“CSU is always looking at ways to increase retention and graduation rates of our students,” Van Arsdall said. “We see it as an investment in student success.”

The CSU System Board of Governors also approved $9 million to increase access to financial aid over the next three years “for rural and lower-income students,” according to a CSU SOURCE article.

“For low-income students, (summer) just wasn’t an option because the only aid that a student would have available to support summer enrollment is if they didn’t use all of their aid fall and spring,” Biedscheid said.

Madeleine Bourgois, a first-generation CSU student majoring in business administration with a finance concentration, took summer courses to graduate in 3 1/2 years. This allowed her to work during the summer.

“I was able to do my work kind of on my own schedule because my classes were asynchronous,” Bourgois said.

Audley found in survey results that students who take summer courses enjoy the shorter classes and the ability to take a lighter load in future semesters.

“A four-week session tends to be the favorite of the students’ survey because it’s the most immersive,” Audley said. “You get your credits down, and you’re onto something else.”

More information about summer courses can be found on the CSU Financial Aid website. There are also informational coffee sessions happening throughout the month of March, where there will be free coffee and financial aid counselors to answer questions.

“We have a million dollars a year for the next three years to offer financial aid in ways that we know will positively impact student success,” Biedscheid said. “This is exactly what we needed to make sure that every low-income student who could benefit by attending summer sessions had that opportunity.”

Reach Austria Cohn at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @AustriaCohn.