College Cost Transparency

Lamar State College Orange (LSCO) joins a growing list of higher education institutions on partnering in the College Cost Transparency (CCT) Initiative. In the fall of 2022, the leaders of 10 higher education associations representing college presidents, financial aid offices, and admissions and school counselors announced the formation of a task force — the College Cost Transparency Initiative (CCT) — to improve the clarity, accuracy, and understanding of student financial aid offers by producing the following set of guiding principles and minimal standards to be used when communicating aid offers.

Principles and Standards

The principles and standards provide 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.
• Describe and explain all types of aid offered using standardized, plain language.
• Prominently display critical components, such as an estimate of the student’s total cost of attendance, broken down by costs to be paid to the institution and costs paid to others; types and sources of financial aid being offered, separated into grants and scholarships, student loans, and student employment or work; an estimated net price; and more.
• Follow U.S. Department of Education guidance with regard to referencing Parent PLUS Loans.
• Provide information about employment requirements and information on job placement, if student employment is offered.
• Explain the terms and conditions and information on how much student loan debt may cost over time, if federal student loans are included.

LSCO is committed to providing students transparent and easy to understand information about the costs associated with their college experience. Therefore, effective with the 2024-2025 award year, LSCO will use the Department of Education's College Financing Plan Template as the official financial aid offer letter. View an example of the Financing Plan Template.

To read more on the College Cost Transparency Initiative (CCT), visit collegeprice.org. To contact LSCO’s Financial Aid Office, email financialaid@lsco.edu or call 409-882-3317.