Questioning the Calculations: Are Colleges Complying with Federal and Ethical Mandates for Providing Students with Estimated Costs?

By MacGregor Obergfell

The Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education recently published a brief on the use of Net Price Calculators (NPCs). The brief examined the use of NPCs at 80 four-year institutions, both public and private not for profit, that enroll at least 25% Pell eligible students and have competitive admissions.

All Title IV eligible institutions are required by federal law to have a NPC on their website. NPCs are required to: 1) provide individualized estimates of total cost of attendance, total grant aid, and net price; 2) provide estimated costs of tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, and other expenses; 3) list the percentage of students receiving grant based aid; 4) state that cost and price estimates are non-binding and that the FAFSA must be submitted; and 5) include a link to the Department of Education’s website.

Among the findings of the report:

• The study finds that institutions frequently include inaccurate and inconsistent information in their NPCs:
• • 31 institutions used cost estimates that were at least 3 years old.
  • 26 institutions did not highlight the total net price on their calculators.
  • Only 41 institutions disaggregated grants into separate categories, including Pell Grants. Only 44 institutions included loans in their calculator.
  • Fewer than half of institutions examined (34) included options for both dependent and independent students.
  • Institutions also varied in what they included in cost of attendance, in some cases omitting costs such as books and supplies, transportation, and living arrangements. In some cases, grants and loans were combined in one line.
• Of the 80 institutions examined, 70 institutions had their NPC on their homepage. NPCs could not be found on 2 institutions’ websites.
  • 17 institutions had additional scholarship and tuition and fees calculators.
  • Only 17 institutions had campus-based contacts listed for further information or follow-up questions.
• The majority of public institutions examined used the NPC template provided by the Department of Education. The report finds that the template scores high on providing the legally required information, but institutions using it rarely include any additional information.
• The majority of private institutions examined used NPCs not created by the Department of Education. These NPCs often deviated from federal requirements, but more often included additional helpful information to students.

NPCs are valuable sources of information for students of all backgrounds as they begin their college search. This report highlights the strengths and weaknesses of current NPC use.