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 Baker College Policy
Policy # FINAID 100-020 2026-2027 Cost of Attendance Policy
Responsible Oversight: VP of Financial Aid
Date of Current Revision / Creation: January 8, 2026
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1.0 Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to establish the principles and standards for calculating the Cost of Attendance (COA) for the 2026-2027 academic year at Baker College. This policy outlines the various types of COA budgets, tuition rates, fees, and living expenses to ensure transparency and consistency in financial aid administration.
2.0 Definitions
Cost of Attendance (COA) - The total estimated cost for a student to attend Baker College. Components of the COA include tuition, fees, books, supplies, housing, food, transportation, and personal expenses. The COA is also referred to as a student budget.
Direct costs - Includes tuition, fees, housing and books purchased through Barnes & Noble.
Full-Time (FT) - Enrollment status where a student is registered for a full course load as defined by the institution.
- Undergraduate: 12 or more credit hours
- Graduate: 9 or more credit hours
- JD Law: 10 or more credit hours
Half-Time (HT) - Enrollment status where a student is registered for half of a full course load.
- Undergraduate: 6 to 8 credit hours
- Graduate: 5 to 6 credit hours
- JD Law: 6-7 credit hours
Indirect costs - Includes books and supplies not purchased through Barnes & Noble, meals, transportation and personal expenses.
ISIR - An Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) is an electronic document that contains information about a student's Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The ISIR is sent to the schools that the student designated on the FAFSA. The ISIR is used to determine a student's eligibility for federal financial aid and to package, award, and originate that aid.
Less-Than-Half-Time (LTHT) - Enrollment status where a student is registered for less than half of a full course load.
- Undergraduate: less than 6 credit hours
- Graduate: less than 5 credit hours
- JD Law: less than 6 credit hours
Three-Quarter Time (QT) - Enrollment status where a student is registered for three-quarters of a full course load.
- Undergraduate: 9 to 11 credit hours
- Graduate: 7 to 8 credit hours
- JD Law: 8-9 credit hours
3.0 Scope
This policy applies to all students enrolled at Baker College for the 2026-2027 academic year, as well as to the staff responsible for administering financial aid. It covers the processes for calculating and applying the COA for various programs and enrollment statuses.
4.0 Policy Statement
This policy is designed to ensure that Baker College adheres to federal regulations and maintains the integrity of the financial aid process, ultimately supporting student success through accurate and timely financial aid administration. The Cost of Attendance is used to determine student financial aid eligibility as well as for reporting purposes.
Types of COA Calculations
For the 2026-2027 award year, the following COAs are established to ensure accurate reporting and calculation of eligibility.
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General Undergraduate
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Undergraduate CIM (Culinary Institute of Michigan)
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Undergraduate Auto Services
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Undergraduate Diesel Services
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Undergraduate Nursing
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Undergraduate Nursing (RN to BSN)
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Graduate Master
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Graduate RN to MSN
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Graduate MSIS
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Graduate Doctoral
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Graduate JD Law
Cost of Attendance Calculated Figures
The published Financial Aid Cost of Attendance estimates the total educational costs for a student. The cost factors include both direct and indirect costs.
Tuition: amount varies by academic program
Fees:
Books & Supplies: amount varies based on enrollment status
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Undergraduate:
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Graduate:
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St. Francis Law
Housing and Food: amount varies based on living arrangements
Transportation
Personal Expenses
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Undergraduate: $950
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Graduate: $950
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St.. Francis Law: $715
The 2026-2027 Undergraduate and Graduate Cost of Attendance calculations are published and available to students.
Adjustments to Cost of Attendance Calculations
Students with additional expenses may request an adjustment to their cost of attendance calculation through the professional judgment/re-evaluation process. Adjustments may be made for increased expenses related to:
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Food and housing allowance
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Increased dependent care costs
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Disability related expenses
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Increased book or supply expenses
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Increased medical costs
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Other adjustments as determined appropriate through the professional judgment review
Adjustments may be made to the cost of attendance by the financial aid department for additional program expenses such as: course fees, study abroad expenses, etc. Any adjustments will be documented in the student’s record.
5.0 Procedures
Determination of the annual cost of attendance policy includes a review of the institutional charges as well an analysis of additional sources to determine cost of living expenses. Each component of the COA policy uses various methods to determine the appropriate costs. The calculation is designed to ensure that the student's COA accurately reflects both their program and living arrangements, allowing for proper financial aid allocations.
Tuition
Tuition charges are set based on the student's program. The student's active program is used to establish the tuition rate per credit hour (undergraduate, master's, and doctoral). St. Francis Law tuition is a flat-rate tuition.
To calculate the tuition component, average credit hours are calculated for each enrollment status based on the registered hours for fall 2025. The table below provides the tuition rate, credit hours used for each enrollment status for each COA calculation.
Tuition rate and average credits by program
| Program |
Tuition Rate |
FT Credits |
FT Tuition |
QT Credits |
QT Tuition |
HT Credits |
HT Tuition |
LTHT Credits |
LTHT Tuition |
| Undergrad |
$465 |
14 |
$6,510 |
10 |
$4,650 |
6 |
$2,790 |
3 |
$1,395 |
| CIM |
$600 |
14 |
$8,400 |
10 |
$6,000 |
6 |
$3,600 |
3 |
$1,800 |
| Auto |
$470 |
14 |
$6,580 |
10 |
$4,700 |
6 |
$2,820 |
3 |
$1,410 |
| Diesel |
$530 |
14 |
$7,420 |
10 |
$5,300 |
6 |
$3,180 |
3 |
$1,590 |
| Nursing |
$500 |
14 |
$7,000 |
10 |
$5,000 |
6 |
$3,000 |
3 |
$1,500 |
| RN to BSN |
$320 |
14 |
$4,480 |
10 |
$3,200 |
6 |
$1,920 |
3 |
$960 |
| Masters |
$600 |
9 |
$5,400 |
8 |
$4,800 |
6 |
$3,600 |
3 |
$1,800 |
| Doctoral |
$750 |
9 |
$6,750 |
8 |
$6,000 |
6 |
$4,500 |
3 |
$2,250 |
| JD Law |
$3,250 |
10 |
$3,250 |
8 |
$3,250 |
6 |
$3,250 |
4 |
$3,250 |
| Grad RN to MSN |
$500 |
9 |
$4,500 |
8 |
$4,000 |
6 |
$3,000 |
3 |
$1,500 |
| MSIS |
$350 |
9 |
$3,150 |
8 |
$2,800 |
6 |
$2,100 |
3 |
$1,050 |
Fees
The COA calculation includes fees which are charged to all students.
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Technology Fee: All students are charged a Technology fee each semester which is added to all COAs.
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Loan Fees: regulations require schools to include loan fees to the COA for all students who receive student loans. Baker College calculates the loan fee based on the average loan amounts received by students during the prior year. The annual loan fee is calculated for undergraduate and graduate loan borrowers.
Average Book Expenses
To calculate the average book expenses, Baker College reviewed two sources of data:
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Review of fall 2025 Barnes & Noble book charges. Full-time students charged an average amount of $495. Dividing this by the average credit load of 14 credits, the average amount per credit was $35.
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The book allowance will be based on $35 per credit hour for undergraduate and $27 per credit hour for graduate. These rates are multiplied by the average credit hours per enrollment status to set the book amount. The amounts will be rounded to the nearest $50.
Living Expenses
Several sources were reviewed to establish the living expense portion of our COA. Below are the details for the analysis that was conducted for each COA component.
Food Allowance:
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- Moderate food cost is $350 per month
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Google AI search
Off-campus housing allowance:
Transportation Allowance:
Analysis conducted:
Personal Expense Allowance:
Additional COA Considerations
Professional licensure is an essential component of the COA calculation. Each program was reviewed to assess whether students are required to pay licensure fees while enrolled. For the 2026-2027 academic year, it has been determined that no programs require students to cover licensure costs while they are enrolled.
Assigning the COA to Students
COA’s are assigned based on the student’s current active program/major. The housing status is initially applied based on ISIR dependency status. For dependent students the ‘Off Campus with Parent’ housing type will be applied. For independent students the ‘Off Campus’ housing type will be applied. When the financial aid office receives notification of students who are actually staying in on campus housing, the students COA housing status will be updated to ‘On Campus.’
A student's COA will be revised if it doesn't reflect the student's current program/major, enrollment status, or following professional judgment decisions (e.g., after a re-evaluation or adjustments based on specific circumstances).
6.0 Responsibilities
Vice President of Financial Aid
- Approval of the annual policy
- Maintain regulatory compliance of the policy
Director of Financial Aid Advising/Director of Financial Aid Operations
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Develop and review policies and procedures annually
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Train staff annually on the policy
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Comply with policies and procedures when completing file reviews, awarding and reporting
Financial Aid Advisors/Specialists
- Follow policies and procedures when completing file reviews and awarding
7.0 Citations & Related Information
Federal Student Aid Handbook
Document A: Cost of Attendance (Budget)
Resources for Students
Document B: Undergraduate and Graduate Published Cost of Attendance
Document C: Baker College Tuition Page
Document D: Cost of Attendance Budget Knowledge base Article
Document E: Student Handbook: Financial Information
Resources for Financial Aid Staff
Document F: 2026-2027 F/A Reference Sheet