Colorado State University Global: Cost and Outcomes (2026)
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- CSU Global is a public, online-only university in the CSU System, accredited by HLC
- CSU Global charges $385 a credit from July 2026, in every state
- Scorecard’s net price is above tuition because it counts food and housing
- Up to 90 transfer credits can count, 64 of them from community colleges
- Federal aid at CSU Global starts at 6 credits a trimester for undergraduates
- 43% of CSU Global’s 2017-18 starters earned an award within eight years
- Computer science and business bachelor’s degrees are CSU Global’s largest fields
- Who CSU Global fits, and the watch-outs
- Check your own aid before you apply to CSU Global
Colorado State University Global charges $385 a credit for undergraduates starting in July 2026 or later, and College Scorecard lists $9,000 in tuition and fees for 2025-26, in-state or out. It is the public, online-only university in Denver, which “is not the same institution as Colorado State University in Fort Collins,” in its own words.
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Check your aid before you choose CSU Global
Your Pell estimate, a possible state grant, Work-Study and federal loan limits under the rules for the year you start (2026-27 or 2027-28). About two minutes, no name or email. It assumes full-time study, and part-time Pell is prorated. CSU Global's financial aid office sets your actual offer.
Check my aid43% of all students who started in 2017-18 earned an award within eight years (College Scorecard, October 2026).
If you are paying with your own money this time, the fear is losing it on courses you do not finish. CSU Global’s Tuition Guarantee keeps your rate the same “from your first class to your last” while you stay continuously enrolled, which for undergraduates means “a minimum of six (6) credits during a trimester.” A course “may be dropped on or before the seventh day (census date) without penalty.”
CSU Global’s 2024-25 net price, $17,732 across 97 students, counts living costs, so it sits above tuition.
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CSU Global is a public, online-only university in the CSU System, accredited by HLC
| Fact | Colorado State University Global |
|---|---|
| Control | Public; governed by the Colorado State University System Board of Governors |
| Founded | 2007, “the first independent, fully online state university in the country” (CSU Global) |
| Accreditor | Higher Learning Commission (HLC); accreditation continued effective August 4, 2026 |
| Students enrolled only in distance education (fall 2024) | 100% of undergraduates and of graduate students |
| Degree-seeking undergraduates (fall 2024) | 6,563, 67% part-time |
| Graduate students (fall 2024) | 3,100 |
| Undergraduates 25 or older (fall 2023) | 84% |
| Admissions (fall 2024) | 98% of 501 applicants admitted; $25 application fee (2024-2025) |
| Federal school ID (UNITID) | 476975 |
CSU Global says HLC continued its accreditation effective August 4, 2026, “with the next Reaffirmation of Accreditation in 2035-36.” It calls HLC “an institutional accreditor recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).”
In the CSU System’s May 7, 2026 budget release, CSU Global’s interim president and CEO, Audra Spicer, called CSU Global “an institution that does not receive state funding.”
CSU Global charges $385 a credit from July 2026, in every state
Undergraduate tuition rose from $375 to $385 a credit at the Fall A term start on July 20, 2026, the System’s release says. Under its tuition lock guarantee, “there will be no changes to rates for current active students,” including those who started classes before July 20, 2026.
| Who pays it | Undergraduate, per credit | Graduate, per credit |
|---|---|---|
| Regular rate, in-state or out-of-state | $385 | $675 |
| Active-duty, National Guard and Reserve members | $250 | $450 |
| Their spouses and eligible dependents | $250 | $607.50 |
| Veterans with an honorable discharge, and their spouses and dependents | $346.50 | $607.50 |
| Department of Defense civilian employees | $346.50 | $607.50 |
For students starting July 2026, CSU Global lists a 3-credit undergraduate course at $1,155 and a year at $9,240, counting 24 credits, with fees of $0. The System’s release says the $250 undergraduate rate for service members and their spouses and eligible dependents stays unchanged.
Scorecard’s net price is above tuition because it counts food and housing
The $17,732 net price for 2024-25 covers 97 full-time, first-time undergraduates with federal aid. College Navigator: “Average net price is generated by subtracting the average amount of federal, state/local government, or institutional grant or scholarship aid from the total cost of attendance.”
For a beginning student living off campus in 2024-25, Navigator lists $9,000 in tuition and fees, $566 for books and supplies, $13,048 for food and housing and $1,432 for other expenses. That is $24,046, of which $15,046 is not tuition and fees, by our math.
The budget also caps your aid: “A student’s combined federal aid and non-federal funding sources must not exceed the student’s cost of attendance (COA) for a given academic year.” Our guide to the cost of attendance for online students explains what the law lets a school count.
Up to 90 transfer credits can count, 64 of them from community colleges
CSU Global’s rule: “Up to 90 total transfer credits may be accepted, including up to 64 credits from community colleges and up to 60 credits from non-traditional sources such as credit-by-exam or prior learning experiences.” It adds that “program requirements vary.”
You can get “an initial transfer credit estimate in 1-3 days,” with “an official evaluation completed within 30 days of admission.” CSU Global says it may accept credit for military service “evaluated according to American Council on Education Guidelines”; the official evaluation decides.
| Credits transferred | At $385 (regular) | At $346.50 (veteran) | At $250 (service member or spouse) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 (90 left) | $34,650 | $31,185 | $22,500 |
| 60 (60 left) | $23,100 | $20,790 | $15,000 |
| 90 (30 left) | $11,550 | $10,395 | $7,500 |
The $385 column matches CSU Global’s own estimates for 30, 60 and 90 transfer credits. Our guide to how many credits transfer explains caps like these at other schools.
Federal aid at CSU Global starts at 6 credits a trimester for undergraduates
CSU Global counts an undergraduate as full time at 12 or more credits a trimester and half time at 6 to 8; graduate students are half time at 3. “Students who begin attendance in a trimester as less than half-time will not qualify for a financial aid disbursement.”
Pell pays up to $7,395 for 2026-27 to eligible undergraduates working on a first bachelor’s degree. CSU Global says students “who attend full-time (at least 12 credits per trimester) receive their full annual Pell Grant in two trimesters.” In 2024-25, 34% of undergraduates had a Pell Grant and 37% a federal loan; the FAFSA, Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The free federal form for grants, federal student loans and work-study. Most states and schools use it for their own aid too. school code is 042087.
43% of CSU Global’s 2017-18 starters earned an award within eight years
| Measure | Colorado State University Global |
|---|---|
| Earned an award within 8 years (all students who started in 2017-18) | 43% |
| Graduated within 6 years (first-time, full-time, fall 2019 cohort) | 26% |
| Median earnings 6 years after starting (2015-16 and 2016-17 entrants) | $70,495 |
| Median earnings 10 years after starting (2011-12 and 2012-13 entrants) | $82,047 |
| Graduates’ median earnings 4 years after finishing (2017-18 and 2018-19 finishers) | $79,486 |
| Graduates’ median federal loan debt (entered repayment in fiscal 2024 and 2025) | $23,000 |
Your own payoff depends on the program, the job you aim for and how many credits you still have to buy.
Computer science and business bachelor’s degrees are CSU Global’s largest fields
| Field and credential | Awards, 2023-24 | Median earnings, 4 yrs after | Median federal debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer and Information Sciences, General (bachelor's) | 439 | $91,204 | $25,000 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations (bachelor's) | 387 | $83,415 | $25,000 |
| Human Resources Management and Services (master's) | 269 | $90,296 | $38,445 |
| Human Resources Management and Services (bachelor's) | 244 | $73,403 | $25,000 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations (master's) | 167 | $102,672 | $40,366 |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services (master's) | 166 | $94,688 | $42,914 |
| Accounting and Related Services (bachelor's) | 157 | $75,415 | $26,750 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General (master's) | 153 | $102,553 | $39,413 |
Field names are federal CIP categories, and Scorecard marks every credential here as fully online. Our guide to online accounting degrees and the CPA sets the accounting row against other schools.
Who CSU Global fits, and the watch-outs
It fits if
- You live outside Colorado. The $385 rate is the same in every state, and 77% of first-time undergraduates came from out of state (College Navigator, fall 2024).
- You bring credits. Up to 90 can transfer, including up to 64 from community colleges and up to 60 from exams and prior learning.
- You serve, or your spouse does. Active-duty, Guard and Reserve members and their spouses pay $250 an undergraduate credit.
Watch-outs
- Part-time study shrinks the budget. Below half time for more than one trimester, your budget leaves out housing and food.
- Drop early. After the drop date, “the tuition will not be refunded.”
- Award rates. 57% of all students who started in 2017-18 had not earned an award within eight years in Scorecard’s measure, by our math.
Check your own aid before you apply to CSU Global
The aid check applies the rules for the year you start (2026-27 or 2027-28) to your answers in about two minutes, with no name or email. CSU Global’s financial aid office sets your actual offer.
CSU Global and three other public universities profiled here, on the same measures in College Scorecard’s October 2026 data:
| School | In-state tuition and fees | Award in 8 years | Graduates' median federal debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona State University Online | $11,974 | 41% | $19,151 |
| Colorado State University Global | $9,000 | 43% | $23,000 |
| Purdue University Global | $10,095 | 30% | $25,625 |
| University of Maryland Global Campus | $8,280 | 32% | $19,000 |
Out-of-state tuition and fees for 2025-26 were $14,072 at Arizona State University Online, $14,406 at Purdue University Global and $12,336 at University of Maryland Global Campus, against $9,000 at CSU Global.
Degree Sources may refer readers to schools through partners. School matching is optional, comes after your aid result, and is not an application or admission to CSU Global or any school. The figures here come from federal data (College Scorecard and College Navigator), CSU Global’s own pages, Amazon’s Career Choice FAQ and our own labelled math, and this profile does not rank schools.
See your aid before you apply to CSU Global
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Sources
Every figure in this guide comes from one of these pages. How we check sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard: Colorado State University Global (UNITID 476975)
- College Scorecard data files, October 15, 2026 release
- College Scorecard data dictionary: field definitions and cohort years
- NCES College Navigator: Colorado State University Global (enrollment and distance education fall 2024, age fall 2023, 2024-25 expenses, net price definition, outcome measures, military benefits)
- Colorado State University Global, Tuition and Costs (2026-27, students starting July 2026)
- Colorado State University System, CSU Board approves campus budgets for fiscal year 2026-2027 (May 7, 2026)
- Colorado State University Global, Financial Services Policies (Tuition Guarantee)
- Colorado State University Global, Military Benefits and Tuition Rates
- Colorado State University Global, Financial Aid Policies (cost of attendance 2025-26, academic year, SAP)
- Colorado State University Global, Enrollment Status Policies
- Colorado State University Global, Types of Federal Financial Aid
- Colorado State University Global, Financial Aid (FAFSA school code)
- Colorado State University Global, Transfer Students
- Colorado State University Global, Official CSU Global Facts
- Colorado State University Global, Accreditation
- Amazon, Everything you need to know about Career Choice (updated October 23, 2025)
- Federal Student Aid, 2026-27 Federal Pell Grant maximum and minimum award amounts
Related Resources
Arizona State University Online: Cost and Outcomes (2026)
ASU Online: 43% of students finish within 8 years and graduates owe a median $19,500. Scorecard lists no tuition or net price for the online unit.
Purdue University Global Online: Cost and Outcomes (2026)
Purdue Global tuition was $10,101 in-state for 2024-25. 28% of students finish within 8 years, and graduates owe a median $26,078.
UMGC Online: Cost and Outcomes (2026)
UMGC charges $337 a credit in Maryland, $499 out of state and $250 for military in 2026-27. 32% earn a credential in 8 years; graduates owe a median $19,000.