Core Theme Four: Affordability | Executive Strategy & Planning | BYU-Idaho

# Core Theme Four: Affordability

BYU-Idaho's fourth core theme is "Delivering education that is affordable for students and the Church."

Objective 1 - Affordability

Maintain an annual cost below the median of national and regional peers. 
 
Key indicator for Objective 1: 
- Average annual cost of attendance.

Objective 2 - Default Rates

Maintain a student loan default rate below the national average with an aspirational goal of less than 3 percent. 
 
Key indicators for Objective 2: 
- Loan default rate.

Rationale for Selection of Indicators: Most of the Core Theme indicators were selected after a robust discussion in University Council on February 28, 2017. Although there have been some minor changes and modifications to those indicators following regular and ongoing discussions in the President's Council and University Council meetings, the overall set of indicators has served us well. All of the key indicators were selected from a larger list of metrics included on the Institutional Dashboard.

## Key Indicators for Objective 1 - Affordability

****Source:****U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard 
****Expectation:**** Below the national and regional peers' median. 
****Status:**** Meeting expectation. 
****Notes:**** The average annual cost includes the average annual net price for federal financial aid recipients, after aid from the school, state, or federal government. For public schools, this is only the average cost for in-state students. The national median cost excludes for-profit universities and two-year colleges. The regional median includes Boise State University, Brigham Young University, Idaho State University, Southern Utah University, University of Idaho, University of Utah, Utah State University, Utah Valley University, Weber State University, and Westminster College. The cost of attendance for each regional peer institution can be viewed on the Regional Peer Costs page.

## Key Indicators for Objective 2 - Default Rates

****Source:****U.S. Department of Education Federal Student Aid 
****Expectation:**** Below the national rate - an aspirational goal of less than 3 percent. 
****Status:**** Meeting expectation. 
****Notes:**** The three-year student loan default rate gives the percentage of students with a loan that goes into default within three years of graduation. The national default rate excludes for-profit universities and two-year colleges. The regional default rate includes Boise State University, Brigham Young University, Idaho State University, Southern Utah University, University of Idaho, University of Utah, Utah State University, Utah Valley University, Weber State University, and Westminster College. The national and regional default rates are calculated as the total number of borrowers defaulted from all included institutions divided by the total number of borrowers who entered repayment from all included institutions. 
Note that loan default rates have dropped due to the pause in student loan payments as a part of COVID-19 Emergency Relief. Student loan payments were paused in March 2020 and are scheduled to resume after December 31, 2022.

## Summary

The indicators suggest that BYU-Idaho is successfully meeting expectations for core theme four and its objectives.