Demystifying College Costs: What Consumers Want to Know

College Costs Focus Groups

REPORT SUMMARY

August 2008

How well are colleges informing consumers about college cost issues?  Do they share enough information – and the right information?  Are college officials talking about cost in a way that consumers find informative and constructive during the college preparation and selection processes?  What type of information do consumers want to see more of?  Are colleges transparent enough on costs?  These are among the questions NAICU wished to explore through a series of focus groups conducted across the nation in late spring 2008. 

A brainstorming session was held at the NAICU Board meetings in mid-April 2008 to elicit current best thinking on themes that when supported by national and/or institution-specific data would address the information needs of students and parents.  The outputs of that session were further refined, with the end-result being several commonly used themes to explore.  The following summary is based on the results of those focus groups, conducted by Opinion Research Corporation.

OVERVIEW

What Place Do College Costs Have in the Minds of the Public?

The cost of a college education was the most frequently mentioned and most top-of-mind issue in higher education among the parents and members of the general public in these focus groups.  This was most often expressed in terms of “cost,” “tuition,” and “financial aid.”   Most believe that the cost of college has been rising and continues to rise, and that the rate of increase is outpacing that of other costs.  This is believed to impose a considerable burden on parents and students, and many who are anticipating the expense are at a loss as to how they are going to deal with it.

Reactions to this perceived situation by any individual can be summarized as a combination of varying levels of understanding, suspicion, and resignation.

• Understanding:  Many readily acknowledge that the costs that colleges themselves face in terms of building and maintenance of facilities, faculty salaries, improved academic offerings, and so on are rising, and that in addition there has been an expansion of the services and infrastructure that colleges are being asked to provide, often by parents and students themselves (for example, enhanced security, computer connectivity, and dining choices). 
• Suspicion:  At the same time concern also is expressed that there are or may be unnecessary types of expenditures being made by colleges that are not seen as directly contributing to the education of students, such as excessive administrator salaries and perks and extensive sports facilities. 
• Resignation:  For most of those who do or will have children in college, their bottom-line conclusion is that a college degree and its associated costs are necessary, despite the expense involved and some dissatisfaction and misgivings regarding the cost.  The main concern for some parents then becomes figuring out how they or their children are going to pay for it at all, and for other parents how this expense is going to be made to fit into their own intended lifestyle.  For independent colleges and universities, one danger is that when they do consider tuition costs in this way, the common perception that private colleges cost more will outweigh the likewise common perception that private colleges provide a superior education.

Parents and even the general public are most unhappy and will complain to each other when understanding is low, when suspicion is high, and they become resigned to limited college options and that the quality level of education they want for their children may be out of reach.

How Can Private Colleges & Universities Help?

This research suggests that parents and the public want institution-specific information that increases understanding, reduces suspicion, and turns resignation into positive acceptance.  Three key “themes” that appear to be most effective in reaching these outcomes emerged from the focus group conversations.

1. Transparency:  Provide assurance and evidence that tuition and other college costs are being spent predominantly on providing a quality education and on ensuring student success after graduation.  This will increase understanding and reduce suspicion.


2. Demonstration of value:  Related to the first point, but very specific to the issue of cost, communicate that—especially in the case of independent colleges—the benefits of the education being paid for are those that parents and students desire.  Parents and students most prominently (but not exclusively) want to understand the relationship between the education received and preparation for a successful career and life.  This should provide more reasons to accept the need for a college education in a positive way, and in a manner that demonstrates the special value offered by independent colleges and universities.


3. Help and guidance:  Given the perceived necessity of securing a college degree, and the acknowledged very significant and increasing costs involved, help students and parents navigate the admissions and financial aid maze and understand more about what they will actually end up paying and what they can do to reduce the magnitude of the burden. This will help them be more comfortable and accepting of their choices, and (perhaps particularly in the case of independent colleges) may help them find financial aid and other help that will reduce the costs they face.

CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS

From the perspective of parents, prospective students, and the general public, the main responses to the perceived high and rising costs of college involve combinations of understanding, suspicion, and resignation/acceptance.  Effective communications with these audiences must address these aspects of their response, either singly or in message combinations.  Such communications can do this, either singly or in combination, by increasing transparency, demonstrating value, and providing help and guidance.

These findings suggest that effective addressing of concerns that parents, students, and the general public have with the cost of an independent college education should go beyond a series of short messages.  There is a hunger for information that cannot be provided using a handful of words.  Stand-along slogans or taglines do not serve consumers.  But a valuable use of the types of brief messages tested here can be to introduce major ideas, make important key points, and also act as “stepping-off points” to the sorts of more substantial information, help, and guidance that are very much wanted.

Therefore a multi-theme/multi-component effort that addresses the key consumer requirements and is linked to substantive, formal information sources may be the most appropriate course of action.  Based on the findings from this study, a set of themes that could follow this course, when supported by substantial information, is as follows:

 

   *     This is a suggested possible revision of the original theme discussed.

   * *   This is a revised version of the original theme “You get what you pay for – a high-quality education costs money.”

The components included in the above design are those that in their original and first-revision forms were the most well received as helpful by consumers.  How can these proposed elements be linked, so that they form a coherent whole approach?  One possibility might be that any display of the short messages include a brief footnote that is essentially a reference to further information (probably in the form a web link), particularly U-CAN (University & College Accountability Network), but also possibly other online resources from NAICU and even member institutions.  So, for example, the assertion that “It pays to shop around…” could provide a direct pointer to resources for actually doing that shopping around efficiently and thoroughly.  In the same manner, “A high-quality education…” could direct the reader to sources specifically designed to help people find financial aid help.  The exact form and nature of this linkage among the messages and information sources of course will require further consideration and discussion.

U-CAN—Providing Transparency and Demonstrating Value

In some of the groups, sample U-CAN pages were shown for comment.  They were very well received and demonstrated that they go a long way toward providing that very kind of transparency.  Certainly the “accountability” aspect of U-CAN is in many ways very similar in concept to the “transparency” presented here.  Pie charts showing exactly where tuition is spent that were recommended by participants in the groups would add further value to the U-CAN information.  NAICU may wish to explore whether such a pie chart, providing meaningful, comparable data, can be designed.

The U-CAN information has the additional benefit of demonstrating value exactly in the ways that focus group participants suggested, prior to seeing any messages or the U-CAN samples themselves.  This includes value especially in terms of important components such as internships and services that provide strong support and guidance in job-hunting and job placement after graduation.  U-CAN even addresses the third key “standard”—help and guidance for parents and students—by providing information on financial aid opportunities and links to other relevant sites.


Specific College Costs Information Themes: Reactions and Implications 

When reviewing the following section, please note that themes supported by focus groups participants need to be supplemented by relevant and substantive institutional information to provide the level of transparency expected by consumers.  The following themes are presented in their original form.  Consumer feedback led to the revised themes presented in the table on the preceding page.

The most well-received theme tested was:

This message was the most understood, believed, and personal, and also was thought to be the most effective in addressing the issue of college costs.  It provides both facts and guidance.  At the same time, though, it does stimulate curiosity and interest in having more specific information—the “therefore” of how one then goes about adequately shopping around and “getting the best deal.”  From that perspective this theme would be most effectively used in concert with data and other information that would provide more specific guidance.

Also relatively well received was the theme:

The greatest source of appeal of this theme is the positive nature of the statements it makes.  Some, but not all, saw it as having an obvious connection to addressing college costs.  It speaks to the value of a college education in ways that participants expressed even before having seen any of the messages.  The most prominent problem with this theme is that “Access for all students” is interpreted in too many different ways—from completely open admissions, to handicapped access, to convenient geographic location, to equal opportunity.  The other two points—quality of the learning environment and success for students—are clearer in their meaning.  With some rephrasing of “Access for all students”—possibly with something like “Providing educational opportunity for all”—this message could serve to bolster assurance of the value a college education offers.  The word “passionate” seemed to be either loved or hated, seemingly as a result of personal taste more than anything, so a potential further change to be considered would be replacing “passionate for” with “committed to” or even “absolutely committed to.”

This theme in its original form generated considerable criticism because of its apparent “elitism,” because some people do not believe (or do not want to believe) that it is a true statement, and perhaps most damagingly because it offered no solution or way out of the situation it portrays.

The revised version appeared to be more effective because it avoided the last objection by proposing that there is hope and a way that this difficult financial situation can be dealt with.  This revised version might be made even more effective by changing the wording to address other concerns with it that were raised, and to help it even more meet the standard of working toward providing help and guidance.   For example, it might be rewritten as “A high-quality education can be a substantial investment—but more than 85% of students at private colleges and universities receive tuition assistance.”  The use of a specific number such as 85% is valuable because it provides the kind of concrete fact that participants said they like to see.

METHODOLOGY

A total of eight focus groups were conducted in late spring 2008, two each in Atlanta, GA, St. Louis, MO, San Diego, CA, and Philadelphia, PA.  These locations were chosen to represent a diversity of US geographic areas. 

Three different respondent groupings were targeted, as follows:

• Type 1 (Inexperienced):  Parents with at least one child in the household.  No children are attending or have attended college, but the intention is that they will in the future
• Type 2 (Experienced):  Parents with at least one child who is currently in college, will be entering in the Fall, or has attended college within the past five years
• Type 3 (Mixed General Population):  A mix of #1, #2, and those without children or college plans

Other general screening criteria were that the participants be at least 18 years of age, have no family involved in higher education, and not have participated in a focus group within the past 6 months.  Twelve screened, qualified persons were recruited for each group, with the goal being to have 10 in the actual session.  Within each group a mix of gender, age, and ethnicity was sought and achieved.  Each group member was paid an incentive for participating, at a level appropriate for the location.

TABLE 1:  GROUP COMPOSITION BY LOCATION

Each group lasted for 2 hours and was led by an experienced professional researcher and moderator familiar with NAICU and the issues.  Members of the NAICU staff and others viewed each session from behind the mirror.

The findings and conclusions presented here are based on in-depth guided group conversations with adults around the U.S.  While qualitative research such as this necessarily involves smaller numbers of respondents than is the case with large-scale surveys, focus groups by design can provide greater depth of understanding and insight regarding individual motivations, knowledge, perceptions, attitudes, and opinions.  Further, in the case of this research, the degree of consistency in reactions to the tested concepts among the different types of respondents living in disparate geographies was unusually high, justifying increased confidence that the major findings and themes described here are not likely to be a product of chance and small sample size.

Report presented to NAICU by the Opinion Research Corporation