FINDLAY, Ohio & BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Please replace the release dated July 22, 2015 with the following corrected version due to multiple revisions.
The corrected release reads:
THE UNIVERSITY OF FINDLAY EMPOWERS FAMILIES WITH COMPREHENSIVE PERSONAL AFFORDABILITY PLANS AND REAL COST TRANSPARENCY
To help students and their families make the most informed decisions regarding college expenses, The University of Findlay, in partnership with Cegment, Inc., will be providing detailed and straightforward financial guidance that spans the entire college experience.
College students and their supporters want to know how much it will cost to earn a degree, how much debt they’ll likely have to incur to do so and how debt repayment will be structured. They’re rightfully asking, and The University of Findlay is comprehensively answering.
This proactive and multifaceted outreach effort, created with Cegment, an innovative technology and services company, specifically for Findlay, will begin in August.
How It Works
Before they even apply, potential UF students will receive a Personal Affordability Plan that answers the most pressing questions on families’ minds and reinforces the long-term value of a Findlay degree. It also encourages financial preparedness at the initial planning stage and stresses that a college degree is an investment. The plan illustrates how much students can expect to pay for their entire degree, regardless of whether they are a recent high school graduate, a transfer student, adult learner or someone who is considering enrolling in a doctoral program such as the University’s six-year pharmacy program.
The Personal Affordability Plan is generated after a student completes Cegment’s powerful online Personal Affordability Calculator. The University, already a cost transparency leader, has for the past two years provided a Total Degree Cost Calculator, which far exceeds the federal standard requiring colleges and universities to provide very basic first-year cost estimates. Now, Cegment’s enhanced, mobile-optimized online utility will create a plan to help people understand their total required investment in their chosen degree. Program cost and financial aid availability are continually maintained to provide students with the most current insight regarding college planning.
Additionally, aid award form letters from UF will be a thing of the past. Findlay will be adopting a Cegment-enhanced award letter that, in addition to detailing costs in an easy-to-understand manner, will also explain individualized financial aid options and offer borrowing guidance to improve students’ financial literacy and help them see how a college education can be affordable.
Continuing the Conversation
Even after students enroll, the flow of financial information to them and their families will continue through graduation. Students will be prepared to manage the repayment of education debt so that they can lead meaningful lives and pursue productive careers.
Sophomore and senior students at UF will receive facts and advice regarding their accumulated student debt and how their specific career choices could affect their education loan repayment after graduation. Beginning this fall, Cegment will provide UF seniors with a tailored Student Financial Success Guide, while sophomores will begin receiving their individualized reports in March 2016. The custom booklets will include post-graduation loan payment estimates based on personal circumstances, projected earnings based on their selected program, and budgeting counsel to help prepare them for financial success.
Why Now?
The University of Findlay’s cost education measures are not only timely, but necessary. As of February 2014, about 11.5 percent of all student debt in the U.S. was 90 or more days delinquent or in default, according to a widely cited Federal Reserve Bank of New York report. Today’s college students also indicate feeling less prepared to manage their money than any other challenges related to college life, as evidenced by a 2014 Money Matters on Campus national survey of 65,000 first-year undergraduate students. During the past three years, college students have become more likely to take out student loans in larger sums, but less likely to plan for how they will pay the debt after graduation. The Institute for College Access and Success reported that seven out of 10 seniors who graduated from public and nonprofit colleges in 2013 had accrued student loan debt.
“Improving our cost transparency will give students a greater understanding about their real cost, including education loan repayments after graduation,” said Rebecca Butler, The University of Findlay’s vice president for enrollment management. “We strongly believe that focusing on improving students’ financial preparedness will help attract more quality students and improve student retention.”
“We want our students well prepared to manage education debt after graduation and, more importantly, well prepared to manage their personal finances and budget as they transition to their professional careers,” said Butler said.
“Our approach helps colleges better engage with students by providing personal insight about an individual’s real cost,” said Brad Baker, CEO of Cegment. “Our Personal Affordability Calculators help families understand their personal cost within the context of the value and benefits of an education at Findlay. They also initiate financial preparedness discussions that will greatly benefit students in developing critical life skills.”
“It’s our commitment to helping families make better college decisions and helping colleges retain the students they work so hard to recruit and enroll,” he said.
About The University of Findlay
The University of Findlay is a flexible, forward-looking institution that is constantly seeking ways to better serve students and the community. Its mission is to help individuals find the path to a meaningful life and productive career. Established in 1882, the University was founded on the principles of personal faith, civic-mindedness and scholarly achievement. It is committed to providing the personal attention essential to the development of students as whole persons – knowledgeable, creative, ethical and compassionate leaders in a global environment. The University of Findlay offers more than 60 majors in business, education, health, liberal arts, pharmacy and sciences.
About Cegment
Based in Boston, Massachusetts, Cegment, Inc. is an innovative technology services company that enables colleges and universities to communicate personalized affordability and unique value to individual students. Its personalized cost and value information lets colleges engage with “an audience of one” by addressing an individual’s specific concerns and interests. The company’s services include the nation’s most sophisticated net price, student aid and total-cost-of-degree estimation technology; new-generation financial aid award letters; personal enrollment planners; custom marketing and communications programs; financial literacy education; financial aid support programs; and insightful data analytics. Cegment helps colleges provide cost transparency and increase engagement with prospective students to achieve enrollment goals. www.cegment.com • Twitter: @Cegment • Facebook: /Cegment
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