Your Cost of Attendance (COA) is an estimate of the expenses you are likely to incur during the academic year while attending the Dakota College at Bottineau. This is not a bill. This is only an estimate of your expenses.
The COA is based on full-time (12 credits per semester), nine-month enrollment period. The COA is equal to the maximum amount of financial aid less expected family contribution as determined by FAFSA (Scholarships, Loans, Grants, Waivers) that a student can receive in an academic year.

Change to Cost of Attendance (COA)- if a student has circumstances that could change their out of pocket expenses they may be able to appeal for additional COA eligiblity.  A change to the COA does not necessarily result in a change in financial aid eligibility. An increased COA can provide additional eligibility in a student’s educational budget for private aid. In some instances, a student may have increased eligibility for need-based and/or non-need based awards.

Below are some examples of costs that would be eligible for appeal:

• Costs associated with a student’s disability
• Childcare expenses for a dependent child of the student
• One-time purchase of a computer for education expenses

Contact financial aid to discuss the submission process for a Cost of Attendance appeal.  Financial aid forms can be found here.

Tuition 2025-2026 between 12-18 Credits on campus
in Bottineau (per year)

Course tuition and fees are the same between 12 and 18 credits. Online courses will be assessed a $39.66 Access Fee which will still be charged on any credits after 12 credits.  Students will start being charged additional tuition and fees after enrolling in 18 credits.

Collaborative courses are charged separately from regular DCB tuition and fees.

Actual costs for a student will vary depending on the student’s residency and location of enrollment (Minot, Valley City, Online).

Per semester charges can be found here: /admissions-financial-aid/paying-for-college.  All tuition and fees need to be divided by 12 to get a per credit charge:
Please contact the Business Office for billing questions.

Housing and Food

This is an estimate of living expenses while attending the Dakota College at Bottineau. This includes rent, food(21 meals per week), household supplies and utilities.

Students in less than 5 credits do not receive a budget for housing.

Transportation

Average transportation costs include standard vehicle maintenance, commuting to campus, and trips home.  What a student actually spends on travel may be higher or lower depending on their number of trips, distance, and mode of travel.

Books

Books and supplies may vary this is just an estimate of your expenses.

Students in 9-11 Credits receive a budget of 75% of the total.
Students in 6-8 Credits receive a budget of 50% of the total.
Students in less than 5 credits receive a budget of 25% of the total.

Miscellaneous

This is an estimate of costs for clothing, haircuts, entertainment, study abroad, and other living expenses that the student might already be paying for. What they actually spend on these types of items may be different per student needs.   

Program Fees

These are fees that are charged by the program per semester of enrollment in that program. 

Professional Licensure/Certification

Students in certain programs may be required to get a professional licensure or certification.  This is an estimate of the average cost of the licensure or certification for these programs.  This estimate will be applied to students cost of attendance in their final semester.

Breakdown per Credit

Take the base tuition (based on your residency), add the fees for your specific enrollment location.
This will give you the cost per credit.

Fees 2024-2025 (Per Credit)

Cost of Attendance PDF 2023-2024