Colorado Mountain College students will be asked to spend more on tuition beginning in the fall.

The Colorado Mountain College board of trustees unanimously approved the inflation-based tuition increase and $50,000 in grants for school district partners during a Jan. 20 meeting at the college’s Vail Valley campus.

Beginning in the fall, tuition for in-district students will increase by $3 per credit hour, according to a news release. In-state students will see a tuition increase of $6 per credit hour, while non-resident students will see increases of $15 per credit hour.

The result will be a price tag of $110 per credit for in-district students, $220 per credit for in-state students and $560 per credit for non-resident students. An additional differential tuition rate of $79 per credit will be available for three academic programs — nursing, dental hygiene and radiologic technology – due to the higher costs associated with these programs, the release states.

This tuition increase for the 2026-27 academic year reflects an anticipated inflation rate of 2.8%, according to the release. The new rates will be applied in August 2026.

Trustees also unanimously approved fee increases on room and board costs for residence halls and learning materials, as well as some course-specific fees. Not all fees will increase during the 2026-27 year.

Despite the increases, college administrators said they expect the college will remain among the most affordable in the state and the nation for tuition and fees based on preliminary 2026-27 tuition information from other higher education institutions, the release states.

Concurrent enrollment

During its January meeting, the Colorado Mountain College board of trustees also authorized one-time $50,000 concurrent enrollment grants to each of the nine school districts within the college’s district, funded by the existing Mountain Promise reserve fund.

The purpose of the college-financed grants is to help partner school districts manage recent fiscal and enrollment challenges while maintaining students’ access to free college credits.

Approximately 43% of the college’s total student enrollment are concurrent enrollment students from neighborhood high schools, the release states.