Net Price Calculator Al Hermsen – Wayne State University Diane Fleming – Central Michigan University.

Net Price Calculator On October 29, 2009, U.S. Dept of Education made available a template for this calculator that institutions may use Institutions have 2 years from the release of the template to post a calculator on their own institutional websites An institution may use either the net price calculator developed by NCES or it may develop its own – Institutionally developed calculators must include at a minimum the same data elements found in the NCES calculator Dept of ED will not collect data for the calculator

Background HEOA Definition of Net Price Institutions price of attendance for FTFT students Total need- and merit-based federal, state, and institutional grant aid awarded to FTFT students Number of FTFT students receiving such aid Price of attendance = average annual cost of tuition and fees, room and board, books, supplies, and transportation Price of attendance = average annual cost of tuition and fees, room and board, books, supplies, and transportation

Minimum Data Elements -Inputs Input elements must include: Data elements to approximate the students Estimated Family Contribution (EFC), such as income, number in family, and dependency status or factors that estimate dependency status* *An institution may use either Federal Methodology or Institutional Methodology to approximate the students EFC.

Minimum Data Elements -Outputs Output elements must include: Estimated total price of attendance; Estimated tuition and fees; Estimated room and board; Estimated books and supplies; Estimated other expenses (personal expenses, transportation, etc.); Estimated total grant aid; Estimated net price; Percent of the cohort (full-time, first-time students) that received grant aid; and Caveats and disclaimers, as indicated in the HEOA.

Net Price Calculator Template Process – NCES worked with the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) to oversee development of the template – A Technical Review Panel (TRP) meeting was held in January 2009 Keep template simple and usable for all Title IV institutions Recognize that institutions have an interest in customizing their calculators

Net Price Calculator Template

How it Works 2 applications: – Institution application – institutions use this to input data of prices and grant aid and to set up the application – Student application – institutions place this on their websites for use by students, parents, etc.

Net Price Calculator Template How It Works Institutional Data Maintenance Application User Application

Institution App Institution accesses template – Answers a few screening questions to set up tables for data entry – Enters Table 1: Price of Attendance for Full-time, First- time Undergraduate Students Estimates of expenses for tuition & fees, room & board, other expenses, as reported on IC – Enters Table 2: Grants & Scholarships for Full-time, First- time Undergraduate Students Median amounts by EFC income range – Enters up to 3 context notes

Then, the magic… Zip file is created that contains the net price calculator customized with institutions own data File is downloaded by institution, and then put on institutions own website Calculator can be further customized to include institutions name, logo, etc.

Student App Student accesses net price calculator from institutions website – Enters a few items such as age, where they plan to live, marital status, income Based on student input, application uses a look up table to find an estimated net price that students with similar characteristics paid in a prior year

Screen 1: User answers basic questions Student App If student answers, no, sent to output screen and shows net price for non-FAFSA filers If student answers >23, then considered independent. Determines which cost of attendance to use to calculate net price.

Screen 2: User answers questions Student App If married, assumer independent. If have dependent children, assume independent. Else, assumes dependent Dependency status the used as one characteristic in EFC look up table

Screen 3: User answer questions Student App Each used as characteristics in median EFC look up table

Student App Screen 4: User reviews information entered

17 Behind the scenes: Application looks up median EFC (from ED data built into template) and cost of attendance (from institution- entered data).

Output: Produce net price output Student App Results Explanations and caveats Estimated net price

Assistance for Downloading Application Contact Ruba Nuwayhid of IT Innovative Solutions (240) , or

Net Price Calculator Initiatives to Implement Al Hermsen Director of Financial Aid Wayne State University

Voluntary System of Accountability Developed through a partnership between NASULGC and AASCU with funding from Lumina Three Components: Student & Family Information, Core Educational Outcomes, and Campus Student Engagement Net Cost Calculator is part of the Student & Family Component

VSA Calculator demo Step 1: Housing, Dependency, Residency Step 2: Parents marital status, income, taxes Step 3: Student income, tax, #family, # college Step 4: GPA, other options Step 5: Results: COA and Est. Grants, Loans/Work-study, EFC

Concerns Does Template fit your school picture/goals How much complexity do we build in Time frame for calculator Merit Aid component Outside scholarships?

Who Who sets goals Who sets up the programs Who does updates Who evaluates Who knows how much work this is

NET PRICE CALCULATOR CMU-STYLE Diane Lambart Fleming Associate Director – Programs & Client Services Scholarships & Financial Aid Central Michigan University

IN THE BEGINNING… Identified the following offices as key players: Scholarships & Financial Aid Bursar Admissions IT Institutional Research Budget & Planning Scheduled first meeting for August, 2009 The Bursars Office took the lead for this project Discussed merits of using NCES template or develop in-house NPC Clarified intent of the law that NPC focuses on providing information for first-time, full-time students

IN THE BEGINNING…(cont.) A core committee was formed from: Scholarships & Financial Aid Bursar Institutional Technology Decision to use best features of NCES template and customize it for CMU Use NCES disclaimer language in CMU NPC Link to FAFSA4caster website to determine dependency status and EFC Determine what office(s) provides look-up tables to IT for COA components OSFA provides look-up tables for gift assistance and loan eligibility

IN THE INTERIM… The committee met monthly to review the progress of the NPC. Committee assignments included: Review all language on NPC Develop explanatory Notes for NPC Test logic TEST LOGIC!!! Determine where the NPC link will be on your website: Registrars website OSFA website

…AND THEN IT WAS DONE! The NPC was designed to provide information about additional resources, e.g., PLUS, institutional scholarships, CMU Payment Plan and links to financial aid and admissions websites NPC begins – and ends – with disclaimer language Requested IT develop a counter to determine number of visitors to NPC website