While tuition increases in Britain prompted violent protests last month, rising college fees rarely elicit more than shrugs among most students in the United States.

But on Friday, a sophomore at the University of Colorado, Boulder, found a symbolic way to strike back.

The student, Nic Ramos, paid his entire spring semester tuition  all $14,309.51 of it  using dollar bills, a 50-cent piece and a penny.

“It kind of started as a joke,” said Mr. Ramos, an economics major.

“But when I thought about it more,” he said, “it’s just an absurd amount of money. I wanted to give the school a different way to look at tuition.”