Institutional Approaches to the Net Price Calculator Mandate: A Market-Based Analysis

• In Event: 73.035 - Revisiting Financial Literacy and Financial Aid

Abstract

Building upon recent policy emphasis on financial transparency and college cost, we analyze institutional responses to the federal Net Price Calculator mandate that went into effect in late 2011. Focusing our analysis primarily on tuition-dependent, nonprofit private colleges and universities, we find significant variation in the way institutions responded to this mandate, making the intended outcomes of price transparency and comparability a difficult, if not impossible, task for prospective students and families. Nevertheless, the calculators and the webpages traversed to arrive at the calculators reveal a significant amount about these institutions, including values, enrollment management strategies, and ultimately, commitment to student access, particularly at less resourced, nationally-competitive schools, which enroll higher proportions of Pell Grant recipients.

Authors

• Jason Clark Lee, University of Georgia

• Erin B. Ciarimboli, University of Georgia