How would you rate your experience working with Meadow?

5/5

How likely would you be to recommend Meadow to other institutions?

10/10

How does the Net Price Calculator help Wayland better serve its students and families?

At Wayland, cost is the main question we get asked about from prospective students. It’s so important for them to have financial clarity upfront so they know what they’re signing up for. But the average cost shown on university websites usually isn’t what a student actually ends up paying - it’s probably going to be much lower because most students are getting some form of financial aid.

So basically, students have no way of knowing how much they’re actually going to end up paying unless they’re willing to engage with us directly. This makes it difficult for them to make informed decisions and plan ahead financially. So providing that financial clarity upfront is critical to us at Wayland, and it’s critical for the industry as a whole. The net price calculator is the best resource we have to do that, and it’s why the requirement came into place to begin with.

Why did Wayland switch from its existing Net Price Calculator and what has the difference been like?

Historically, higher education has thought of the net price calculator as nothing more than a compliance requirement. Institutions have really only cared about it because of the federal regulation, so existing net price calculators were really just built to be a bare minimum to fulfill that requirement. They are so basic, hard to use, and the calculations aren’t accurate or valuable for many student populations because they lack the ability for dynamic customization. 

At Wayland, and at most institutions, every student is getting a different price based on their enrollment status, program, campus, and financial need. So the net price calculator wasn’t accurate for most students, but we weren’t able to make any type of corrections or changes that we needed either. It didn't feel like we were getting really what we wanted. It was a base product that was one-size-fits-all and we were bought into this base product.

Existing net price calculators were really just built to be a bare minimum to fulfill that compliance requirement.

Because of this, Wayland rarely had families using the net price calculator, but it definitely wasn't because they didn’t want to and Meadow has proven that. Meadow designed the net price calculator to be truly useful and consumer-friendly. It’s easy to navigate and the estimates are clear and accurate for every student (not just first-time, first-years), so since switching to Meadow the usage of our net price calculator has skyrocketed and whenever prospective students call with questions about costs, I have a reliable resource that I can always point them to.

Before, Wayland rarely had families using the net price calculator but it definitely wasn't because they didn’t want to. Meadow has proven that.

Meadow also shows more than just a net price estimate. Students get additional information about the resources available for them to cover their net price, like scholarships, and the next steps they need to take to continue in the enrollment process. So we’ve actually incorporated it into our enrollment and recruitment toolkit, which is huge since we have multiple campuses that are scattered all over, and even though each campus has their own recruiting model, the Meadow Net Price Calculator is able to work for all of them.

We’ve actually incorporated it into our enrollment and recruitment toolkit. We have multiple campuses that are scattered all over, and even though each campus has their own recruiting model, the Meadow net price calculator is able to work for all of them.

How has your transition been from the existing Net Price Calculator to Meadow?

Completely seamless. I haven't had to do much other than just kind of provide general information about our awarding, our cost of attendance, and that kind of thing. It was fast and our IT team hasn’t had to be involved at all.

How was your experience working with the Meadow team?

Working with a company that really values my opinion and kind of takes into consideration what our concerns are and what our needs are has been amazing.

It’s been absolutely wonderful! Working with a company that really values my opinion and kind of takes into consideration what our concerns are and what our needs are has been amazing. 

For me, it's much as much about me giving back to my community and being able to influence something that's helpful not only for our students, but for potential other students across the country. That's huge for me. So I love that I get to be a part of that and do something that I really believe is going to benefit our students.

What is your favorite Meadow capability or feature?

There's a lot. But I really like the general usability of it. I love that any person, the layman really, can kind of go in and use this tool and feel like they understand what they're seeing. And all of the helpful hints and all the detail that goes into creating that effect. It's really just built for a student or a parent who has no clue about the financial aid process at all, which I really, really love because we have so many students and families that are like that. So yeah, just having it be so easy to use, and very intuitive, is amazing.

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