Staff from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has informed NASFAA that they hope to go live with their Net Price Calculator template within the next week.

The calculator template had originally been expected in August. The Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) requires that, within two years after the Department of Education (ED) makes the template available to institutions, each institution receiving Title IV program funds must post on its Web site a calculator based on ED's template or a similar calculator developed by the institution.

Net price is defined as the average yearly price actually charged to full-time, first-year undergraduate students receiving student aid at an institution of higher education and is calculated by subtracting the average need-based and merit-based grant aid from the institution's cost of attendance. As much as practicable, net price must be based on the individual student's cost of attendance and aid.

NASFAA will post an announcement in Today's News when the calculator template is released. NASFAA is working with the Association for Institutional Research on plans to assist schools with implementation of the calculator, and is also planning a short survey of institutions soon after the release to help assess needs.

For further information on the net price calculator, see GEN-08-12 and the Association for Institutional Research Web site. You can also view an interest session on the net price calculator from NASFAA's 2009 National Conference.

By Karen McCarthy
NASFAA Assistant Director for Professional Assessment, Training, and Regulatory Assistance

Posted 10/16/09 to www.NASFAA.org. Redistribution to non-NASFAA institutions is prohibited. Please submit Web site questions or comments to Web@NASFAA.org.