How transparent is your institution?
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, institutions will need to shift focus on proactive governance to protect students and mitigate downstream risks to reputation.
One key area that cannot be understated is the importance of disclosure.
Why disclosure?
Disclosures come in many forms in the industry. From the Clery Act to FERPA to tuition costs and refunds, the list is growing, 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. 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 that is committed to ensuring tuition transparency is the College Cost Transparency Initiative (CCT). Their mission focuses on making sure families and students understand 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, there is no standardization in tuition pricing, which makes it complicated for students and parents to compare costs. Further, tuition is one piece, there are several mandatory fees that can sharply increase the cost of attendance. All of which adds to suspicion about the true cost of education.
Tuition refund policies are also creating risk for institutions due to:.
Inconsistent practices: some policies are clear and concise, while others are more opaque, making it difficult for students to be aware of deadlines.
Some policies are inflexible and may not account for student mental health needs which exacerbates an already ongoing crisis.
Taxonomy is confusing. Words mean different things to different audiences.
Non-refundable fees add additional unaccounted financial burdens to students and families.
How can these risks be mitigated?
Develop clear policies with consistent and standardized wording.
Don't bury important details in the fine print.
Conduct regular reviews on existing policies to make sure they are aligned with current regulations.
Partner with your risk management, audit and legal teams to understand the risks and impacts of non-disclosure.
Train and educate your students, faculty and staff.
Embracing transparency is essential to facilitating informed decision-making, ,mitigating costly surprises, and most importantly, building credibility and trust with students and families.
How are you supporting the importance of transparency within your institution?
