Statement from SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher on Financial Aid Shopping Sheet

“President Obama and his administration have got it right, and we look forward to continuing to work with them in championing financial aid transparency for students across the country. As college and university administrators, we owe it to our prospective students and their families to provide a standardized, easy-to-use method of comparing the costs of one college to another, and the Financial Aid Shopping Sheet will do just that.

“As the largest, most comprehensive system of higher education in the country, the State University of New York is committed to being an early adopter of the shopping sheet.

“However, no one entity alone can change the face of American higher education, and this tool will only be as useful as the number of institutions willing to employ it. We must all make the commitment. Together, college and university leaders in America can make 100 percent buy-in a reality, meaning 100 percent transparency, and an immeasurable win for our students.

“A college education is not cheap. It is expensive to get a meaningful degree, and students deserve to know what that entails before they enroll. Outlining these costs -- making them easy to find and to understand -- is the right thing to do.”

About the State University of New York

The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive university system in the United States, educating nearly 468,000 students in more than 7,500 degree and certificate programs on 64 campuses with nearly 3 million alumni around the globe. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit www.suny.edu.