The value of net price calculators and 5 things to consider before selecting one for your college

In an era of economic difficulty and soaring college costs, price is naturally a concern for many prospective college students and their families. In light of this, the federal government has mandated that colleges and universities must display online net price calculators on their Web sites by October 31, 2011.

While this is a federal requirement, it is also a great opportunity for institutions to add a strong student recruitment tool to the campus home page. More and more college students are conducting their college searches anonymously online, and the cost of attending a college is one of their top questions. If you can address their concerns about cost—and especially about financial aid and scholarships—you’ll take a big step toward engaging a prospective student and pushing them further into your recruitment funnel.

However, there are important considerations when it comes to net price calculators. Whether you are thinking of purchasing a online cost calculator application, developing your own, or using the federal estimator, here are five things to consider:

1) Customization, especially for merit aid awarding. This is by far the biggest drawback with the federal calculator, a generic calculator that does not at all reflect campus-specific merit-aid awards. It is crucial to show prospective students and their families the full amount of aid for which they are eligible. Otherwise, you risk overstating the net cost of attendance and possibly scaring off potential students.

2) Ease of completing the calculator. The financial aid process is a bewildering one for many students, and the net cost calculator represents an opportunity to simplify that process and educate students. However, a complex calculator (such as one that requires complete FAFSA data) may intimidate students and, worse, discourage them from completing their estimates. An unfinished estimate does a disservice to the student as well as your institution.

3) Accuracy. Customization and ease will only work if the final estimate is as accurate as possible. The last thing you want is for students to take issue with a final aid award that varies wildly from the estimate they received from your online calculator.

4) Reporting capabilities. Consider this: a student comes to your Web site, completes a cost estimate, and returns to the Internet. Do you have any data or record of that interaction? You should. Choose a calculator that is able to deliver data about estimates so that you can have valuable information for strategic planning (while also protecting individual student privacy, of course).

5) Support. If using a third-party firm, consider the support you’ll receive. Will you have the assistance you need with collecting data, maintaining the calculator, and understanding the data you receive? If developing your own, will you have the resources to maintain and adjust the calculator as needed? 

No matter how you implement an online cost calculator, remember this: It’s vital to deliver accurate information to students that shows them the full spectrum of aid they can receive. It addresses one of their key concerns while positioning your campus as competitively as possible on price. If you would like to talk with me directly about choosing a net price calculator, please feel free to e-mail me. Best of luck!