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Direct/Indirect Costs for COA

Mary Samm

July 18, 2024 14:25

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We have many students who are very confused by the COA section in their student portal. While we know we can turn it off, we are striving for students to have a full self-service portal where they can see their information on demand, rather than waiting on our staff to generate the Offer Letter. 

We would like to be able to have the COA differentiate to students direct, institutional costs (i.e. tuition, housing for on-campus students, fees, etc.) and indirect/estimated costs (i.e. travel, books, etc.) so that they see their 'remaining need' as the amount of direct costs not covered by financial aid. 

 

Example (Asterisk indicate Direct Costs charged to the student):

Total Program COA: $50,000

Tuition*: $25,000

Housing*: $12,000

Books: $500

Travel: $250

Food*: $8000

Fees*: $4250

Packaged Aid: $15,000

Direct Cost: $41,250 (total of Tuition, Housing, Food and Fees)

Remaining Need: $26,250 (Direct Costs minus packaged aid) (*Currently this adds all COA items and subtracts packaged aid inflating what it appears that the student owes).

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6 comments

• 5
  
  Kristine Gripp July 26, 2024 19:18

  YES!  Also how it is presented on the aid offer letter. I have been asking for this for a few years, too! It is very confusing for the students to know what they will owe the school from the aid offer letter. I've also used asterisks to try to help illustrate to them what our indirect costs are, but it still leaves the math up to them and is not ideal. I'd want direct costs and indirect costs to have their own subtotals. ED and NASFAA and pretty much all aid advocacy groups are very strongly urging aid offer letters to do this. Most school letters already do this.

  Per NASFAA: 

  "In order to join CCTI, colleges’ financial aid letters must meet the Principles and Standards provided by CCTI. Through the use of “standardized, plain language,” among other requirements, every financial aid offer must include:

  • An estimate of the total Cost of Attendance, including a breakdown of costs to be paid by the school and costs paid by others;
  • The type and source of all financial aid separated into the following categories: grants and scholarships that do not require repayment, student loans and financing that must be repaid, and student employment or work;
  • An estimated net price for the student (derived by subtracting grants and scholarships from the total Cost of Attendance);
  • Information, either on the financial aid offer or by an easily identified and accessible weblink, explaining whether the financial aid is being offered once or on an ongoing basis, and if the aid is renewable, any requirements that must be met for renewal;
  • Unambiguous labeling of any “loan” with the use of that word; and
  • Commonly understood terms and definitions, using the CCTI glossary of terms.

  Edited by Kristine Gripp July 26, 2024 19:24
• 4
  
  Kristine Gripp July 26, 2024 19:21

  I'd also LOVE for there to be some sort of small text box area that we could use to provide more detail on that page to students. Ideally it could be student-specific if we wanted them to see a note at top of their financial aid tab.

• 2
  
  Melissa Hammond September 03, 2024 22:12

  Yes. I think the exported letters are so confusing in this regard. I also have opted at times to turn off the COA display in the student view, but then I get students who don't understand how their "Financial Need" number is generated. It would be so, so helpful if Populi could align both the COA view on the student screen, and the corresponding offer letters to align with these best practices.

• 2
  
  Brian Rains February 05, 2025 22:36

  I would love for this to be added as well! I want the direct and indirect costs to be made separate so that the student knows that they really only owe us $9500 after tuition, fees, scholarships etc. not $30,000 because it's added in all of fluff "indirect costs"

• 0
  
  Jolene Welsh February 06, 2025 14:15

  Wow this would be such a great tool if it had this enhancement. Please please make this happen. Make us a video with some dancing and we will all be happy. 

• 0
  
  Holly Swanson March 20, 2025 16:07

  I am also requesting that Populi make the direct and indirect costs accessible to be within the College Financing Plan or on the Cost of Attendance.