Albany -- Today, SUNY announced all their 64 campuses will use a standard Financial Aid Letter for the 2013-14 academic year, as a part of their Smart Track™ Campaign, aiming to reduce student costs and make them more transparent.

The new award letter will allow students and their families to clearly see costs, financial aid offers, and other campus specifics such as graduation rate, median borrowing, and loan default rate. Development of the new standard letter was announced with the Smart TrackCampaign launch in September. In a statement, Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher said:

While college students are taking on more loan debt than ever before, SUNY Smart Trackgives our prospective students the most comprehensive and transparent financial aid information available...to easily compare colleges within SUNY and view a full outline of the financial commitment associated with their education.

Zimpher also announced the campaign would contribute to decrease SUNY students' default rate by at least 5% over the next 5 years.

The average SUNY student debt is $22,575 while the national average is $26,600. The majority of SUNY loans are paid off successfully. 

 

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