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ICC launches net price calculator to provide easily-understood cost and value

Itawamba Community College has launched a new and improved net price calculator to ensure that all students understand the cost to attend and especially that it is an affordable option, according to Terry Bland, director of Financial Aid.

            The College Cost Transparency Initiative – a task force composed of the leaders of 10 higher education associations representing college presidents, financial aid offices and admissions and school counselors – previously announced that more than 360 institutions of higher education have voluntarily committed to follow a set of principles and standards that ensure transparency, clarity and understanding around communicating student financial aid offers, Bland said. Together, these institutions serve more than 3.8 million college students in the United States.

            “Itawamba Community College is excited about this opportunity to demonstrate our affordability to prospective students,” said ICC President Dr. Jay Allen. “Our cost is approximately one-third that of a university, our annual tuition is significantly among the lowest of Mississippi’s 15 independently governed two-year institutions and our scholarship program is one of the best in the state.” In addition, ICC continues to offer guaranteed tuition to every high school graduate each year in its five-county district.

            Bland said that he is excited to show students and families the generous aid provided by ICC. “Meadow Price, our new NPC, was designed to be mobile first and student friendly. We want to make it easy for students to understand the aid and scholarships that are available at Itawamba Community College and to be able to compare our costs to universities and other community colleges. This NPC enables us to do that.”

            Developed by Columbia University graduates, Meadow enables any current or prospective student to obtain a personalized price estimate in under 5 minutes. Cofounder Alfredo Brillembourg says the goal is to clarify and simplify the student financial experience as a whole. “As recent graduates ourselves, we realize that the finances of higher education are as complicated and cumbersome as they are expensive, and that complexity poses an equal barrier to access for students.”

With its ease of use, the platform calculates how much financial aid a specific student would receive and how much they would need to pay out of pocket,” Bland said. It helps them explore the different ways they can cover that cost. Cost can be viewed on a monthly, annual or total degree period. It also provides information about scholarship availability, student loans and other financial aid options available to assist in paying for school. The new calculator can be found at www.iccms.edu/npc.



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