Registration Policies

Before you apply for a course, please read this information about admission, tuition and fees, cancellations, refunds, transfers, and other policies.

Admissions

BOSS, Inc. is a nonprofit educational corporation and is open to all who wish to attend. Our admission process does not discriminate by race, creed, sex, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation or national origin (courses do carry age restrictions). We reserve the right to refuse admission to our program if we consider that the physical or emotional health of the applicant may present a risk to the applicant or other participants.

Registration

As is the case with most extended trips, the earlier you can make your plans, the easier it will be to arrange. We suggest you register for your BOSS course as soon as possible. Registrations reserve your space on a course. We accept applications on a first-come, first-served basis. Final acceptance in a course is dependent on receipt and review of all forms. To register, choose which course is best for you, then sign up for your course on our registration platform.

You can also sign up by calling the BOSS office at 800-335-7404.

Deposits are $400 for all courses except the Slickrock Gathering and Wilderness First Responder, which have a $200 deposit. The Wilderness First Responder Recertification course has a $100 deposit. The registration deposit is non-refundable after 7 days (see below for last-minute registrations). Deposits received for a course that is already full will be returned or can be applied to another course.

 Once a season starts, the deposit option will not be available, and full tuition will be due upon registration instead.  

Confirmation

A registration confirmation email and registration packet will be sent to you upon receipt of your deposit, assuming there is space available in the course. You will then have 30 days to return all necessary paperwork. Final acceptance is dependent on receipt and review of the paperwork. Should you have a disability we cannot accommodate or a medical condition that precludes you from participation, BOSS will refund your deposit and remove you from the course. Applicants who fail to send in completed paperwork will be placed on a waiting list and may jeopardize their place on the course.

Waiting list

If a course is full, you can join a waiting list. There is no cost for joining the waitlist. 

The BOSS waitlist is an automated process. If a space becomes available, we will contact the first person on the list by email. That person will have the chance to accept or decline the spot. After 48 hours, if there is no response, that person is removed from the waitlist, and we will send an invitation to the next person. Tuition is due in full to secure the spot.

If the waiting list becomes large enough, we will explore adding another course that will run concurrently if we have the staff available.

Tuition and Fees

All remaining tuition must be paid 60 days in advance of the course starting date. Applicants who have not paid in full by this time will be moved to a waiting list and may jeopardize their place in a course. New applicants who are interested in attending a course within 60 days should contact the BOSS office for space availability.

Extra costs, including equipment purchases, fishing permits, etc., may need to be paid during orientation. Any academic credit fees should be paid directly to the granting institution before the course start date.

To see a breakdown of where your tuition money goes, see here.

Tuition discounts and assistance

We offer tuition assistance and discounts to eligible students.

Cancellations, Refunds, and Transfers

BOSS incurs most program expenses while preparing for your course. These cancellation and refund policies reflect the fact that it is impossible to recover these costs for late cancellations, no-shows, or withdrawals from ongoing courses. It is also very difficult to fill a space on a course if you cancel at the last minute. Please note that the deposit is non-refundable 7 days after registration. Cancellations made within the 7-day grace period will receive a refund of payments minus processing fees.* For registrations made 30 days or less from the course start date the deposit is non-refundable after 24 hours.

BOSS does not make exceptions for cancellations made due to personal and medical emergencies.

Those who cancel their registration with BOSS after the 7-day or 24 hour grace period will be charged a cancellation fee in the following amount:

60 days or more:

Full Deposit plus processing fees* per course per person.

30-59 days:

Full Deposit plus processing fees* or 25% of tuition per course per person, whichever is greater.

15-29 days:

Full Deposit plus processing fees* or 50% of tuition per course per person, whichever is greater.

14 days or fewer:

100% of course tuition.

*Processing fees: includes a $5.95 registration fee, and 3.95% for credit card payment or 1.95% for eCheck payments made on tuition, per student. These fees come from the registration and credit card processing software we use and are non-refundable.

Credit may be issued in some cancellation instances on a case-by-case basis. If a student cancels their registration and is able to apply any payments as credit for a future course, that course tuition credit is non-refundable. Credit is usable within one year.

A student who wishes to transfer enrollment from one course to another may do so if there is space on the new course for a nominal administrative fee.

Transfers requested after full payment is due (60 days from the course’s start date) will be treated as cancellations, and follow our cancellation fee structure above. 

A participant will be responsible for all costs associated with late arrival or early departure, including transportation and evacuation costs. Once a course begins, late arrivals will not be allowed. Participants who arrive late and miss the course or who leave a course voluntarily or involuntarily once it has started, due to medical emergency, dismissal, evacuation, or any other reason, will not be entitled to refunds of any tuition or fees, and will not be transferred to another course.

Standards of Behavior

On BOSS Courses all participants are expected to maintain high standards of honor, morality, and integrity. We require participants to abstain from all use of alcohol and harmful drugs for the duration of the course. BOSS instructors and staff have the sole discretion to remove any participant from a course if perceived to be endangering themselves or another BOSS student or staff member. Participants will be removed if they present a safety concern, medical risk, behavior problem, engage in illegal activity, or anything else the staff believes detrimental to the course. BOSS courses also require students to abstain from using tobacco.

All prescribed and “over the counter “ drugs taken at the time of your course must be listed on the Health and Physical Exam Form. Failure to do so may jeopardize the health and safety of the participant and group and may be grounds for expulsion from a course. All BOSS students are required to have adequate health insurance to cover personal injury and evacuation while on the course.

If you do not have health insurance, Travel Guard and some other insurance companies offer temporary health & accident insurance policies. Not providing adequate coverage will cancel your acceptance to the BOSS program and forfeit your tuition. All students, and parents or legal guardians of minor participants (those under 18 years old), must agree to these terms and sign accordingly on their course registration materials.