Principles of Excellence

On April 27, 2012, President Obama signed Executive Order 13607, establishing "Principles of Excellence" for educational institutions servicing service members, veterans, spouses, and other family members. This Executive Order addresses key areas related to Federal military and veterans educational benefits programs.  The following is an outline of how University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) is complying with Section 2, paragraphs (a) through (h) of EO 13607. 

University of Colorado Colorado Springs has implemented a personalized and standardized cost form in the "Shopping Sheet" format developed by the Department of Education (for use beginning with the 2013-2014 award year). This "shopping sheet" provides personalized award information to all admitted students, including veterans, service members and family members. It is provided electronically via a link on the student's Banweb account under Financial Aid and is aid year specific.   Because the "shopping sheet" is accessible to students on their GoUCCS account, we do not email the form to them directly. However, we will include language on our emails to all students when we make an initial request for outstanding requirements and/or send an initial award notification. This language will inform them of their ability to access the "shopping sheet" via their account and how it can best be utilized.

To provide prospective students with personalized information covering the total cost of UCCS programs, UCCS provides the following resources:

College Navigator is a free consumer information tool designed to help students, parents, high school counselors, and others get information about over 7000 colleges and universities. College Shopping sheet in the UCCS Go Portal Once you have applied to attend UCCS, you can log into the Go Portal and utilize the college shopping sheet to determine how much financial aid you can expect to receive and what the net cost of attending UCCS will be. Note - students using VA education benefits and tuition assistance will not see these represented on the shopping sheet. Net Price Calculator is intended to provide estimated net price information to current and prospective students and their families based on what similar students paid in a previous year.

University of Colorado Colorado Springs provides informational links about student aid programs and DVA & DOD education benefit programs on its public website at /military.uccs.edu

University of Colorado Colorado Springs fully complies with the ED regulations (34 C.F.R. 668.71-888.75 and 668.14) related to program integrity issues, including restrictions on recruitment, misrepresentation, and payment of incentive compensation.  

University of Colorado Colorado Springs is accredited by the North Central Commission on Colleges and Universities, the official accrediting agency for the region. UCCS follows all "substantive change" requirements of our accrediting agency and any special agencies associated with the various schools and departments within the University.

Readmission of Service Members University of Colorado Colorado Springs complies with DOD/EO expectations to promptly readmit a service member into the same academic status he or she had when last attended or accepted for admission, when program attendance was interrupted due to service obligations.   Current Tuition Refund Process for Withdrawal due to Service Obligations University of Colorado Colorado Springs has developed a process for military students who have the potential to participate in military service during any given academic term. The policy is presented here - military.uccs.edu/current-students/active-duty-and-reservists

University of Colorado Colorado Springs supports student educational planning with an array of academic advising and evaluation tools that provide clear information detailing how students will fulfill all the requirements necessary to graduate and the expected timeline of completion. These tools are provided to all students, including individuals using Federal military and veteran's educational benefits.

• Credit for Military Training: UCCS awards appropriate credit for military training following ACE recommendations. Details on this policy and process are located here - military.uccs.edu/current-students/military-transfer-credit
• Degree Audits: Individualized degree audit evaluations are provided for undergraduates through an online, automated degree audit system (DARS). The DARS audit details the comprehensive list of requirements, including total hours, general education, degree, major, GPA, residence credit, etc., and evaluates those requirements against the student's transfer credits
• Graduate Degree Requirements: In addition to the annual course catalog, graduate degree requirements are communicated to students in a variety of ways depending on different departmental strategies, including departmentally tailored web pages, orientation, advising, advising materials, student handbooks, etc.
• Mandatory Orientation and Academic Advising: All new undergraduate students are required to attend an orientation and meet with an academic advisor during their first year of enrollment. Veteran students seeking certification of VA benefits attend a military specific orientation prior to requesting certification of enrollment.

University of Colorado Colorado Springs has a full staff in Veteran and Military Affairs (VMA) to help military connected students. The Director of the VMA is the main point of contact for students who are veterans, military service members or family members.