This list, along with the Financial Aid Shopping Sheet and the College Scorecard, are pieces of President Obama's plan to make college available to every American that wishes to attend. They serve as a way to allow students and families to make educated decisions having access to costs, grad rates, and average loans by institution. The list also encourages institutions be more up front and transparent about their tuition costs.
U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan says, “These lists support our efforts to make college more accessible and to help families make informed decisions on the single most important investment students can make in their own futures ... Empowering students and families with this information is critical to reaching President Obama’s 2020 goal for America to once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.”
The list is searchable by:
- Tuition & required fees: 5% of institutions that have the highest tuition and required fees last year. Or 5% of institutions that have the highest increase in tuition and required fees last year. Or 10% of institutions that have the lowest tuition and required fees last year.
- Net price: 5% of institutions that have the highest net price last year. Or 5% of institutions that have the highest increase in net price last year (as a percentage of change over 3 year pay period). Or 10% of institutions that have the lowest net price last year
- Categories: such as public, private, non-profit, for-profit, two-year & four-year programs
Thanks to the the Higher Education Opportunity Act, which was passed in 2008, these cost lists will be updated on an annual basis using the National Center for Education Statistics' Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. Additionally, more updated data on each school is available at the Department's College Navigator.
Source ed.gov