Decoding College Costs: UT Permian Basin’s Streamlined Tuition Estimator Tool  

For many institutions, tuition pricing is not a simple answer, especially for public universities. Several variables impact the final tuition price, creating multiple tuition structures. 

That was the case for the University of Texas Permian Basin (UTPB). Their students’ top complaint was unclear pricing. Understanding this frustration, UTPB declared tuition pricing an institutional priority; they need to find a way to better help students succeed.  

UTPB partnered with Stamats to create a simpler way for students to estimate their tuition. The result was a total revamp of the page design and content strategy, with new interactivity to engage site visitors in personalized tuition pathways. 

Why Was It So Hard to Know the Cost Before?

Like many colleges, UTPB has different tuition costs depending on a few things: 

• Where students are from: Texas or another state?
• How students learn: Will they take classes online or in person? 
• What they’re studying: Going for a bachelor’s or a master’s degree?
• The family’s income: Does the family qualify for the Falcon Free program, which can cover tuition?
• Where they will live: In a dorm or off-campus?

With all these options, it can be tough for students to get a quick, clear answer about how much college would cost.  

The simpler, more streamlined tuition estimator helps students and families get a better feel for their anticipated college costs.

UTPB’s Solution: The Tuition Estimator

While UTPB and Stamats have created a detailed tuition calculator, it requires students to know detailed information that they might not be prepared or ready to provide. As a first step to answering students’ questions, we created the Tuition Estimator to simplify the process and explore different tuition options.

Now, prospective students just have to answer a few simple questions:

• Where do you live? 
• What kind of classes will you take?
• Will you be a full-time or part-time student?
• Will you live on or off campus?

Based on the answers, the tool gives students a good idea of what their tuition might be.

Why This Tool Is Awesome:

• It’s fast: Students can test it out without researching financial family information.
• It’s easy: The questions are straightforward, and the results are clear.
• It’s helpful: Students get a realistic idea of their costs so they can plan to attend.

Since the tool was launched, data shows visitors are highly engaged. Most interactions are from new visitors to the site. The tool tracks the user behavior, providing UTPB data on the types of calculations that are most common, helping them understand what students are most concerned about when it comes to tuition.

A key feature is that the tool is very easy to update in the backend. No coding required! The UTPB marketing team can easily adjust the question wording, add new questions, and change the tuition. This was a key part of the strategy because we know pricing requirements change, and we need to eliminate future programming costs. On the pricing page, bricks help make updating content even easier.

The Tuition Estimator tool is designed to make students’ lives easier. Instead of being stressed about college costs, they can get a quick estimate and focus on what matters: their education. Explore the Tuition Estimator tool on UTPB’s website.

Bonus: Persona-Based Profiles

To support the Tuition Estimator, Stamats created persona cards to support the story that tuition is not a simple calculation. UTPB can easily add and edit cards all within an easy-to-use Cascade interface, again with no coding required.