Launching the Ithaca Commitment

By Danica Fisher ’05, April 7, 2023

Ithaca College reduces financial uncertainty on students and families.

The Ithaca Commitment simplifies the process of paying for an IC education and reduces financial uncertainty for students and their families.

(Photo by Chris Kitchen)

Attending college is an investment in the future, and with that in mind, Ithaca College is investing right back into its students with the launch of the Ithaca Commitment. Proactive and student centered, the Ithaca Commitment includes the four-year financial forecast and increase cap, streamlined financial aid process, and IC Advantage—a free online summer course for incoming students.

By capping the increase in cost and providing a four-year financial forecast for every undergraduate student, the Ithaca Commitment simplifies the process of paying for an IC education and reduces financial uncertainty for students and their families.

“Launched in 2021–22, the Ithaca Commitment empowers students to choose IC with confidence and support,” said Laurie Koehler, vice president for marketing and enrollment strategy. “This allows our students and their families to know the total maximum cost up front of their college education so that there are no surprises along the way. Instead, they can devote their energy to fully engaging in the immersive hands-on learning experience IC is known for providing.”

Four-Year Forecast and Increase Cap

Beginning with undergraduate students admitted for fall 2022, Ithaca College introduced an increase cap that limits how much students’ direct costs rise each year. For the Fall 2023 incoming class, direct costs will not increase more than 3.5% each year during their four years of undergraduate study. For each incoming class, the Board of Trustees determines the cap following recommendations from the president and college leadership.

At most colleges and universities, direct costs (tuition, fees, room, and board) commonly increase by different amounts from year to year. This makes it hard to project what the total cost of a student’s education will be when deciding where to attend. With the Ithaca Commitment, IC is guaranteeing that the direct costs to a student will not increase more than a certain percentage each year.

“By ensuring that students have clarity from the start about the cost of their education, we’ll enable them to make the most informed decisions about where to enroll and then to focus their energy on getting the most value out of their time here at Ithaca College.”

Laurie Koehler, vice president for marketing and enrollment strategy

After students are admitted to the college and apply for financial aid, IC provides students and families with a newly designed clear, detailed, four-year overview of expected college costs and financial aid—including a specified cap on combined costs for tuition, room, board, and fees. That way, students and families can understand and plan for the maximum direct costs of an IC education, from start to finish, before they enroll.

The goal of the Ithaca Commitment is to be transparent with all admitted students and their families, communicating their estimated total investment up front. The creation of the Ithaca Commitment was rooted in research around the benefits of presenting a four-year financial forecast at the time of admission, with 93% of matriculated students and 87% of non-matriculated students saying that information would positively influence their perception of a college’s affordability and value. In further research, 88% of prospective students felt that, if a college provided a four-year financial plan, it would make them more likely to enroll. These findings supported a move to adopt the four-year forecast and cost increase cap.

Streamlined Financial Aid Process

Ithaca College has made the financial aid process at IC simple and easy to understand. Students must submit either the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) if they are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident or the IC Financial Aid Application if they are not a U.S. citizen. In the fall of 2021, Ithaca College announced the elimination of the CSS profile—a form in addition to the FAFSA that is used by many colleges nationwide to award institutional aid—making it easier for students to apply for financial aid by submitting just one form.

Additionally, Ithaca College wants to eliminate ambiguity and make financial aid packages easy to understand. The financial aid package that students receive now provides a clear, detailed overview of what grants, scholarships, and other types of aid mean. Rather than burying what a student is expected to pay deep within the package, IC leads off with that number, something many families have expressed an appreciation for. Then families see a detailed breakdown and explanation of expected costs as well as the total amount IC is investing in a student during their four years of undergraduate study.

“After analyzing data, we realized that our financial aid application requirements were serving as a barrier to many students, and disproportionately so to students from populations historically underserved by institutions of higher education—students of color, first generation students, and students from low-income households. This new approach, driven by data, is a step forward in changing that.”

Shana Gore, executive director of student financial services

This simplified financial aid process and lessened financial burden doesn’t stop there. Admitted students receive personalized follow-up appointments to help explain their financial aid packages. In the first year of offering these appointments, a total of 665 first-year students participated, along with 61 transfer and 300 returning students.

“Eliminating the CSS Profile simplified the Ithaca College financial aid application process for students and families and now allows Ithaca College to offer complete financial aid packages to more students, earlier in their college decision process,” said Shana Gore, executive director of student financial services. “After analyzing data, we realized that our financial aid application requirements were serving as a barrier to many students, and disproportionately so to students from populations historically underserved by institutions of higher education—students of color, first generation students, and students from low-income households. This new approach, driven by data, is a step forward in changing that.”

The IC Advantage

Additionally as part of the Ithaca Commitment, the college offers one free IC Advantage course to every incoming student the summer before their first semester at Ithaca, with the opportunity to earn up to three total college credits. Now in its third year, the program has a proven track record of increasing the likelihood that a student will fully matriculate at IC in the fall and improving incoming student confidence, academic performance, and persistence.

Students are also eligible to take up to two additional one-credit courses for only $155 each. The IC Advantage allows students to master course content, become familiar with the college’s academic expectations, and make early contacts and friendships with professors and fellow incoming students.

Hundreds of incoming students have participated in IC Advantage each year since its inception, and 93% said it was an experience they would choose again, while 90% said it helped them prepare emotionally and intellectually for their transition to college. All students who successfully complete at least one IC Advantage course benefit, but students in the highest financial need category see the greatest impact, with a 7% higher rate of persistence to their second semester.

Students agreed that IC Advantage was helpful. “The best part is all the people I met from outside my major, and now I have a professor I know I can talk to if I need it,” one student wrote in a survey about IC Advantage courses.

With the Ithaca Commitment, all students will be able to move through their years at IC with confidence, knowing they have a four-year financial support plan that won’t change. In its inaugural year of implementation, 80% of matriculating students said that the four-year forecast and direct cost increase cap were influential in their decisions to enroll. In fact, in that same year, Ithaca College experienced a three percentage point increase in students who accepted their offers of admission, even as nationally that rate had been declining a point a year on average.

“This suggests that we are moving in the right direction by providing this level of transparency up front to students and their families,” said Koehler.

As Ithaca College is committed to a holistic approach to affordability and value for students in all four years of their time at the college, IC has also introduced the Senior and Graduate Housing Community. which offers seniors and graduate students a new housing and meal plan option for on-campus living at a significantly reduced rate for the academic year.

“By ensuring that students have clarity from the start about the cost of their education, we’ll enable them to make the most informed decisions about where to enroll and then to focus their energy on getting the most value out of their time here at Ithaca College,” said Koehler.