Numerous articles discuss the importance of trust, transparency, and accountability. These three words are integral to the success of colleges and universities. With decreasing confidence in higher education and increasing governmental oversight,10 institutions will need to shift their focus to proactive governance to protect students and mitigate downstream risks to reputation. One key area that must be considered is the importance of disclosure.
Why disclosure?
Disclosures come in many forms in the industry. The list is growing from the Clery Act to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) to tuition costs and refunds, and the information required can be time-sensitive and voluminous. In addition, frequent amendments to local, state, and federal regulations require constant monitoring.
Tuition and financial aid disclosures are two areas that made several headlines. The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) posted a blog about What Financial Aid Offers Don't Tell You About the Cost of College.11 One finding from the report was that “91% of colleges do not provide students accurate information in their financial aid offers about how much they will have to pay to attend their school.”
This statistic is troublesome and only fuels distrust. One group committed to ensuring tuition transparency is the College Cost Transparency Initiative (CCT). Their mission focuses on providing families and students with an understanding of the cost of college in a manner “that is clear, accurate, and transparent.” The good news is that several colleges and universities are starting to commit and support this cause.
Why are there challenges?
Unfortunately, tuition pricing is not standardized, which makes it complicated for students and parents to compare costs. Further, tuition is only one piece; several mandatory fees can sharply increase the cost of attendance. All of this adds to suspicion about the tru