Shoptalk 529, November 10, 2009
Industry Update
Net price calculator template available
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and ED's Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) have announced the release of a net price calculator template. This template will help schools in complying with the requirement in the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 that all institutions participating in Title IV student aid programs must provide a calculator that enables current and prospective students, families, and consumers to determine an estimate of a student's net price at a particular institution. Schools may either use ED's template or develop a customized version that must include, at a minimum, the same elements as ED's version. Schools must provide a Web-based net price calculator by October 29, 2011.
About the template
Using both student-entered and institution-provided data, ED's template allows prospective students to calculate an estimated net price at an institution using the following basic formula: price of attendance minus grant aid. Based on the information entered by the student, an average net price of attendance is generated based on what similar students paid in previous year.
The calculator was developed based on the suggestions of the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System's Technical Review Panel (TRP), which met on January 27-28, 2009, and included 58 individuals representing the federal government, state governments, postsecondary institutions from all sectors, association representatives, and others. There was also a 30-day public comment period following the meeting of the TRP, which provided additional feedback. The estimates generated by the template do not represent a final determination, or actual award, of financial assistance or a final net price — they are only estimates based on price of attendance and financial aid provided to students in a given year. The estimates shall not be binding on the Secretary of Education, the institution of higher education, or the state.
A special note for graduate and professional schools
The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) has obtained informal guidance from ED stating that the "requirements in the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (HEOA) that schools develop a net price calculator (NPC) are not applicable to graduate and professional schools."
More information
The template application is available at http://npc.inovas.net/institution.
For assistance using the template, please contact Ruba Nuwayhid of IT Innovative Solutions Corp. at (240) 252-1707, or send an email message to Ruba@inovas.net.
The NASFAA announcement is available at www.nasfaa.org/publications/2009/annpc110409.html. (Note that a membership may be required in order to access some content on the NASFAA website.)
