Frequently Asked Questions

As with all the colleges in the Colorado Community College System, Trinidad State is an open-enrollment institution, which means everyone who applies is accepted. However, new students must have either a high-school diploma or a GED prior to enrolling in college classes. Additionally, on-campus students must also provide a copy of their immunization records. Some individual programs may have specific admission requirements; review the web page for the program in which you are interested to see if this is the case. 

The Accuplacer® is a placement test that helps faculty and advisors at Trinidad State determine your level of comfort with math, reading, and English topics. Based on your current skill level, you will be registered for math and English classes in which you are most likely to be successful. Other courses may also require specific minimum scores to register for the class, or completion of a reading or remedial math or English class.

It is a State of Colorado requirement that all students take the Accuplacer®. If you are an online student and can’t visit the campus testing center to take the Accuplacer®, contact the Testing Center for instructions to take the test remotely. 

This is one test you can’t fail! Your scores will simply determine level of placement for success in math and English, along with other classes requiring specific minimum Accuplacer® scores. 

Absolutely! There are many Accuplacer® practice and resources links available on the Trinidad State Testing Center web site.

Only credit hours from a regionally-accredited institution or on an official military transcript can be accepted for transfer, and some credits more than 10 years old may not be accepted for transfer unless a degree or certificate was earned at the other institution (this policy is program-dependent). Whether transfer credits will apply toward the degree or certificate you are seeking from Trinidad State will be at the discretion of the advisor or faculty member for your program. This is the same procedure for transferring in ACE-recommended credits or other experience on a SMART transcript.

Official transcripts must be sent directly from the college or university you attended previously, or from the military, to: Trinidad State College, 600 Prospect St., Trinidad, CO 81082, Attn: Registrar’s Office. 

Possibly; you can try to test out of some general education courses through standardized testing, including exams such as CLEP, DSST, UExcel, AP, or IB; you may also use other methods of Prior Learning Assessment to receive credit, such as ACE recommendations, challenge examinations, or portfolios. Which type of “testing out” is available will depend on the course for which you want to receive credit. For more information, contact Trinidad State Registrars Office, or the course instructor (challenge exams).

See CollegeBoard for information about CLEP exams and CLEP exam descriptions. Information about UExcel exams is available on the Excelsior College web site, which is the institution through which UExcel exams are offered. 

The Trinidad State portal provides a single login point where you can take care of all your Trinidad State business and keep up with what is going on at Trinidad State! Some things you can do in the portal include: Register for classes and pay your bill, update your personal information, check your daily schedule, log into your D2L courses, check your Trinidad State student e-mail, access your financial aid award information, contact your instructors, get personalized Trinidad State announcements, and more.

To discover all the services and information available through the portal, click Portal from the bottom of the Trinidad State home page, under Quick Links, and login using your student ID number (S number) and password. If you don’t know your password, there is a link from the login page to reset it.

For students taking CCCOnline classes, please note that this portal is separate from CCCOnline, although you can register for CCCOnline classes and access your CCCOnline classes from within the Trinidad State portal. 

All students, including online and out-of-state students, are eligible to apply for financial aid. All financial aid is awarded based on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), so completing and submitting the FAFSA is the first step toward determining whether you may receive Pell grants and/or student loans.

See How to Apply for Financial Aid, along with the other information linked from the left side nav bar on the Financial Aid web page.

The Trinidad State Business Office prefers to have payment for courses before the census date (or last day to drop). Census dates for each semester are shown on the Trinidad State Academic Calendar or CCCOnline Academic Calendar Dates, depending on where you are attending or accessing your classes. Trinidad State does *NOT* drop students for non-payment, so you can pay after the census date; however, you won't be able to register for subsequent semesters, receive transcripts, or graduate until your bill is paid in full. Accounts are considered past due on the last day of the semester and will be turned over to collections if not paid in full.
Here is our Student Payment Agreement with additional information.

The College Opportunity Fund (COF) is the way the State of Colorado subsidizes higher education for in-state students, by sending it to the institution designated by the student. The student must apply for and authorize the use of the stipend, which is then sent to the college they are attending and applied to the student’s tuition, appearing as a credit on the student’s tuition bill.

All Colorado resident students are eligible, but you must sign up to receive COF funds. If you do not apply for and authorize COF funding, you will be responsible for the full tuition billed. 

We mail a paper statement twice per semester to the local address on file with student services. Electronic statement notifications are e-mailed to the student e-mail address on the first of every month. Account balances, including account details, can also be accessed and paid on the student portal at any time by selecting the “Billing” tab. 

First, talk to Financial Aid to determine your eligibility for scholarships, grants, and loans. If you have a balance remaining you may pay your bill online through the student portal using a debit or credit card. You may also choose to pay with a credit or debit card by calling 800-621-8752 ext.5547 or by mailing a check to the address below.
Trinidad State College
Attn: Accounts Receivable
600 Prospect Street
Trinidad CO 81082 

In January of each year, CCCS, on behalf of all colleges within the system, mails IRS Form 1098-T to students who had qualified tuition and other related educational expenses billed to them during the previous calendar year (January 1 – December 31, YYYY).

Occasionally, new students’ accounts do not get properly coded as either Resident (for those residing in Colorado for at least the past 12 months) or Non-Resident (for all other students). If your bill shows Residency Needs Review, that is the issue. Contact Admissions (1-800-621- 8752, ext. 5621) and tell them your account is showing residency needs review. Once they have coded it correctly, your account will automatically adjust to show the correct balance.

For Resident students, you may need to provide the Admissions Office with additional documentation before you will receive in-state tuition rates. If this is the case, you will be advised by the Admissions personnel as to what is required. 

Access the Graduation Checklist and download an Application for Graduation from this web page. Submit your completed application to the Registrar’s Office. Contact your college advisor with any questions. Please note that you will not receive your diploma until your account has a zero balance (see Billing information above).

It takes 8-12 weeks for diplomas to be received by the school after they’re ordered; if you need to prove you have graduated, you can order an official transcript (see next question).

CCCOnline, a consortium comprised of the thirteen Community Colleges in the Colorado Community College System, offers courses, not degrees or certificates, to students seeking online classes. Degrees and certificates vary from college to college within the CCC system, so before enrolling, students should talk with a Trinidad State advisor about educational goals and required coursework. Through the partner colleges, such as Trinidad State, CCCOnline offers online courses that meet the requirements for fully accredited Associate of Arts Degrees, Associate of Applied Science Degrees, and Certificates, in various disciplines.

Students enrolled in the OSHT online program will generally take their OSH courses through TSJC Online and their general education courses via CCCOnline; however, some required general education courses are also offered through TSJC Online. In these cases, the course may be taken via either TSJC Online or CCCOnline.

No, CCCOnline semesters typically begin later and end earlier than Trinidad State semesters, since there are no designated “vacation” days. You can view the CCCOnline Academic Calendar for important dates pertaining to CCCOnline courses each semester. 

The online courses are typically set up in units or modules, and students usually have about a week or 10 days to complete each unit/module, depending on the course and the semester. Trinidad State’s Summer semester is just 8 weeks long (10 weeks for OSH classes) and CCCOnline Summer courses are either 6 weeks or 10 weeks, while Trinidad State Fall and Spring semesters are 15 weeks and CCCOnline has various offerings of different lengths (6, 10, or 15 weeks) during the Fall and Spring. Courses may include any or all of the following: reading assignments, written assignments, viewing assignments (i.e., PowerPoint presentations or video clips), web search assignments, discussions, quizzes, exams, and projects. 

There are no set days or times that you have to be online; however, there are due dates for the assignments, quizzes, discussions, etc. in each unit/module of the online course, allowing you to complete the work during a period of several days when it is most convenient for you. 

Generally, the average guideline is that a student will spend 8-10 hours per week working on a 3-credit-hour course during a 15-week semester, with more weekly hours required for shorter terms. However, some students may spend more time and some may spend less; some classes or units/modules within a class may require more time than others, as well. Time spent could also include such factors as reading speed and comprehension and typing speed. 

No, proctors are not required for tests in CCCOnline or TSC Online (OSH) courses. These online courses utilize various means of assessment in addition to test and quizzes; and the online testing tools allow for ways to reduce cheating on tests, as well, eliminating the need for testing proctors. 

Yes, for general education courses, CCCOnline provides various academic resources for students, including tutoring options such as NetTutor and the Online Tutoring Lab (OTL). In all TSC Online courses, there is a tutoring service called Brainfuse Help Now. 

The online science courses that include labs charge a lab kit fee and lab kits are then sent directly to you, enabling you to complete lab work on your own, offline, with written assignments related to that work being submitted in the online course.

For information on the OSH 255 Industrial Hygiene Instrument Lab course, see above section. 

You will be required to purchase a webcam, with a built-in microphone, or a webcam and microphone, to record your speeches for instructor and peer critiquing in the course at various times during the semester. Many laptop computers come with a webcam and microphone built into the computer, or you may currently own this hardware, in which case you will not need to purchase anything as long as you can create a file to send to your instructor. 

For all TSC Online and CCCOnline classes, books may be ordered from the Trinidad State Virtual Bookstore. For help with ordering books, click the Help link from the bookstore home page, then click the icon for the area you need help with, or call, email, or chat with bookstore staff using the contact information on the Help page. 

You will have to visit with the designated advisor for your selected program prior to enrolling in your first semester at Trinidad State, in order to have the New Student Registration Hold removed.

Your advisor can assist with ensuring that you are enrolling in the correct classes for timely degree or certificate completion and can also register you for classes. Alternatively, you can register yourself online (see information about the Trinidad State Portal in the first section above). 

First, see if your question is answered on the Financial Aid web pages, by accessing the various links on the left side nav bar.

Please note that it takes approximately 2-4 weeks to process your financial aid after you have applied and your SAR has been received by the college financial aid office. If you attempt to contact the financial aid office sooner than this, they will not be able to help, as they will not have completed processing your financial aid award.

If you need a copy of your bill or want to make a payment, see the instructions under “General College-Related Questions” above. 

The Trinidad State Bookstore provides information about required textbooks, calculators, lab equipment, and any other materials necessary for online classes. Students can select their courses and view the required materials without having to make a purchase.

You can access both TSC Online and CCCOnline classes through the Trinidad State portal, linked from the bottom of the Trinidad State home page, under Quick Links, by logging in with your S# and password, then looking for the links to access CCCOnline or Trinidad State D2L.

You can also access your courses directly at CCCOnline Desire2Learn or TSC Online Desire2Learn. To login to your classes outside of the portal, use the same login information used to access the portal. If you can’t remember your S# or PIN, use the links provided on the login pages for “Forgot User ID” or “Forgot Password.”