National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators

Report Finds Too Much Flexibility and Lack of Comparability in Net Price Calculators

A new report finds that net price calculators (NPCs) have the potential to help students and parents gather and compare college expenses and financial aid information, but suffer from limitations due in part to a lack of comparability from institution to institution. The report, titled, "The Bottom Line: Ensuring That Students and Parents Understand the Net Price of College," was conducted by the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance to advise the U.S. Department of Education on the implementation of NPCs in accordance with the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) of 2008, which requires each institution to provide an NPC on its website by fall 2011, using a Department of Education template as guidance.