Net Price Calculator

Al Hermsen – Wayne State UniversityDiane 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

Institution’s 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

Minimum Data Elements -Inputs

Input elements must include:• Data elements to approximate the student’s

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 student’s EFC.

Minimum Data Elements -OutputsOutput 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

http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/resource

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

www.institution.edu/....

UserApplication

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 institution’s own data

• File is downloaded by institution, and then put on institution’s own website

• Calculator can be further customized to include institution’s name, logo, etc.

Student App

• Student accesses net price calculator from institution’s 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: Producenet price output

Student App Results

Explanations and caveats

Estimatednet price

Assistance for Downloading Application

Contact Ruba Nuwayhid of IT Innovative Solutions (240) 252-1707, or Ruba@inovas.net

Net Price CalculatorInitiatives to Implement

Al Hermsen Director of Financial Aid

Wayne State University ahermsen@wayne.edu

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 FlemingAssociate Director – Programs & Client ServicesScholarships & Financial AidCentral Michigan University989-774-7429flemi1dl@cmich.edu

IN THE BEGINNING…• Identified the following offices as key players:Scholarships & Financial AidBursarAdmissionsITInstitutional ResearchBudget & Planning• Scheduled first meeting for August, 2009• The Bursar’s 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 AidBursarInstitutional Technology• Decision to use best features of NCES template and customize it for CMUUse 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 TEST LOGIC!!!• Determine where the NPC link will be on your website: http://netconnect.cmich.edu/netpricecalculator/•Registrar’s websiteOSFA 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