Affordability. Itâ??s a word advertised in college brochures, catalogs and financial aid packages.
While every college and universityâ??s marketing department seems smitten with the word, affordability doesnâ??t have a concise or even similar meaning depending on whoâ??s doing the talking.
Student guides give potential incoming freshman and their family members a tour of the Viterbo Univesity campus Friday. PETER THOMSON photo
Nate Emerson, vice president for student affairs at Minnesota State College-Southeast Technical in Winona, Minn., calls affordability what students actually have to pay out of their pocket. In other words, the net cost: Gross tuition minus financial aid, not including student loans.