In accordance with the Sec. 111 of the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (HEOA), the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) at the U.S. Department of Education (Department), announce the release of a net price calculator template. With its release, all Institutions participating in Title IV Student Financial Aid Programs institutions have two years to:
Using both student-entered and institution-provided data, the Department’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 from which additional feedback was received for its development.
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 link to the calculator is available under "What’s New" at
http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/netpricecalculator/, or at the bottom of the page at
http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/resource/.
For assistance using the template, please contact the Net Price Calculator Help Desk toll-free at (877) 299-3593, or npc@inovas.net.
