“These lists are a helpful tool for students and families as they determine what college or university is the best fit for them,” said Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “We hope this information will encourage schools to continue their efforts to make the costs of college more transparent so students make informed decisions and aren’t saddled with unmanageable debt.”

Under the requirements, six lists will be created. Three lists focus on tuition and fees, and three others look at the institution’s “average net price,” which is the average price of attendance that is paid by fulltime students after grants and scholarships are taken into account. Each list will be broken out into nine different sectors to allow students to compare costs at similar types of institutions, providing the following information in simple and understandable terms:

The lists highlight the institutions that have the highest prices as well as those schools where prices are rising at a fast rate. Those institutions where prices are rising the fastest will report why costs have gone up and how the institution will address rising prices. The Department will summarize these reports into a document that it will post online. In addition to the tuition and net price data, users can look up information on the prices of individual career and technical programs, such as cosmetology, medical assistance or vehicle maintenance programs.

The Department created the College Affordability and Transparency Center on College Navigator to host the lists. The site also includes a variety of other data about individual schools, including information on admissions, retention and graduation rates, and financial aid.