Sticker Price & Affordability Get Real at Weber State University
It isn’t unusual to find admissions and financial aid professionals who complain that potential students don’t understand that few people actually pay the “sticker price” they find in a “costs” section of a website.
Why don’t they understand? Too many colleges and universities fail to clearly tell people that the “sticker price” is meaningless for almost everyone attending the school.
Weber State University sets an example with easy-to-understand “sticker price” and “affordability” content that addresses debt fears right from the start.
What’s to like about the affordability page:
- The page is easy to scan. Visitors will quickly arrive at the “Let’s Look At The sticker Price vs The Actual Cost” subhead.
- There’s also a prominent link to a “True Cost Calculator.” The calculator is easy to use to get an initial likely merit scholarship report. Need-based aid isn’t as easy to complete although it is better than many more elaborate net cost calculators. This is another where the MyinTution approach shines by comparison.
An odd note:
- One of several debt reduction “tips” urges students to complete their degree in 4 years as “Extra semesters will lead to extra cost.” For sure that’s true. Another “tip” suggests working while enrolled to reduce debt… and shows that 33 percent have full-time off-campus jobs. The need to work that much just might hinder the 4-year degree completion goal.
- The actual 4 year graduation rate at Weber State is well under 50 percent.
- And so this page would be better yet if it included the actual debt level of students who graduate after 4 and 6 years.
Follow the Link of the Week…
Review one university’s approach to debt reduction and affordability content when you visit the Weber State University “Affordability” page.
Speed on mobile… 4.5 seconds to first view, 9.3 seconds to full interactivity
Google PageSpeed Insights measures the time to first view of the “Affordability ” page on a mobile phone at just OK 4.5 seconds. Time to full interactivity was a sluggish 9.3 seconds.
The first step to improving mobile speed is seldom seen: “Eliminate render-blocking resources.”
Website Carbon Calculator… cleaner than most others
Thanks to Gerry McGovern and his efforts to reduce “world wide waste” for the referral.
This Weber State affordability page is “dirtier than 79% of web pages tested.”
Does your website help or hurt the climate? Test your website pages at “Website Carbon Calculator.”
Recommend a future Link of the Week
Always eager to get recommendations of websites that dare to be different… or just do something ordinary in a special way. Write a comment with link here or send me the link at bob@bobjohnsonconsulting.com.