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UT System Chancellor Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D., Participates in White House Discussion About Cost Transparency

WASHINGTON, D.C. – University of Texas System Chancellor Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D., participated today (June 5) in a roundtable discussion at The White House about the transparency of college and university costs to students and their families. Cigarroa was one of ten leaders of colleges and universities invited to attend the event, which was hosted by Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Richard Cordray and Domestic Policy Council Director Cecilia Muñoz.

“I am honored to have had the opportunity to participate in a discussion about the importance of cost transparency with Vice President Biden, Education Secretary Duncan, senior White House officials and colleagues at other universities and colleges,” Cigarroa said. “Undergraduate student access and success is an integral part of my Framework for Advancing Excellence Across The University of Texas System, which the Board of Regents unanimously approved last August. Providing students and their families with clear and concise information regarding the cost to earn a college degree is a top priority for all our universities. The UT System already provides students with access to information regarding cost of attendance, financial aid options and net costs after grants and scholarships through a variety of communication mediums,” Cigarroa added.

Earlier this year, the UT System launched a public dashboard, a suite of web-based applications including an information delivery portal and reporting application that allows students, families and the public to view and explore data across all mission areas of UT System and its institutions, including cost of attendance and financial aid. 

For the past several years, the UT System has compiled and published such data through its annual Accountability and Performance report, which may also be accessed online.

About The University of Texas System

Educating students, providing care for patients, conducting groundbreaking research and serving the needs of Texans and the nation for more than 130 years, the University of Texas System is one of the largest public university systems in the United States, with nine academic universities and six health science centers. Preliminary student enrollment exceeded 215,000 in the 2011 academic year. The UT System confers more than one-third of the state's undergraduate degrees and educates nearly three-fourths of the state's health care professionals annually. The UT System has an annual operating budget of $13.1 billion (FY 2012) including $2.3 billion in sponsored programs funded by federal, state, local and private sources. With roughly 87,000 employees, the UT System is one of the largest employers in the state.