Making College Affordable at IU Indy – Part II

Our thanks to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education (ICHE) for a recently released report on Hoosiers’ attitudes towards higher education.  Click here for a summary of the findings.

The report, as shared previously, is timely and actionable, highlighting that while more than 80% of high school students and their parents believe college is important, their biggest concerns are the lack of sufficient career coaching and costs associated with higher education. Interestingly, almost all those surveyed tended to inflate the costs related to higher education. It is encouraging to note that careers and costs are the two areas where IU Indy is working to provide a clear and simple explanation of what we do to support our students.

This week, I want to highlight the message about costs. To reiterate some of what was shared in last week’s blog:

• At IU Indy, tuition and fees per year are around $11,000.
• At IU Indy, 80% of our resident undergraduate students receive some form of financial aid.
• Gift aid can be sourced through federal, state, private funds. These include Pell grants, the 21^st Century Scholarship (for residents of Indiana), donor funds raised by IU as well as IU operating dollars used to fund scholarships.
• The average annual gift aid per student at IU Indianapolis is around $10,800.
• In other words, while the annual sticker price (tuition and fees) is around $11,000, the average amount of gift aid is $10,800, leaving a gap of $200 per year for tuition and fees that the student has to pay.
• To put it simply, on average, a student with financial need incurs out-of-pocket expenses of $200 per year, or $0.55 a day to cover tuition and fees at IU Indy.
• While these are average numbers, it is important to note that 80% of IU Indy students receive some form of gift or financial aid.
• Student success is our North Star and raising funds for student scholarships is a priority for IU Indy.
• Finally, our financial aid office is available to assist parents and their families plan for college and consider ways to pay for college.

At IU Indianapolis, a high-quality degree is not just a possibility - it is affordable and attainable.

Go Jags!

Latha Ramchand
Chancellor