Dan Martin / news@whmi.com


All fifteen of Michigan's Public Universities have signed on to a new national initiative to ensure transparency and understanding.

According to a press release, the new initiative, called the "College Cost Transparency Initiative," or CCT, is designed to improve clarity regarding student financial aid offers. It was launched earlier this year by a national task force.

“As financial aid professionals we are committed to helping students and their families navigate a complex financial aid system consisting of multiple grant and loan programs with different eligibility requirements,” said Michael Rotundo, Director of Financial Aid at Northern Michigan University and chair of the Financial Aid Officers Committee of the Michigan Association of State Universities. “The guiding principles and standards from the CCT initiative will help us do just that.”

The CCT initiative’s guidance provides that financial aid offers to undergraduate students are transparent, ensuring that costs are understandable for students and families, and include the most accurate estimate possible of a student’s costs of attendance.

More than 360 institutions of higher education across the country have voluntarily committed to the effort.