Understanding the cost of enrollment: A comprehensive review of baccalaureate and graduate nursing program websites

BACKGROUND: Nursing school websites are often prospective students' first source of information regarding program expectations, tuition, and cost of attendance. PURPOSE: Given evidence of the growing complexity of nursing programs and changes to institutional tuition policies and cost-setting practices, this study examined the breadth and depth of baccalaureate and graduate nursing program-specific cost information on institutions' public-facing websites. METHODS: Through content analysis of website and attachment data from 1,069 colleges and universities representing 1,579 baccalaureate and 1,485 graduate nursing programs, we sought to characterize patterns in the nature and quality of tuition information on nursing programs' websites to better understand the user experience related to nursing program choice and enrollment. DISCUSSION: Across the 3,064 programs analyzed, we found that cost information was present for 94.5% of all programs, was comprehensive for 20.2% of all programs, and was up to date for 92.2% of all institutions. Our findings point to intense variation in informational quality across institutions and programs, ranging from language inconsistency, visual coherence, and navigational ease, each challenge stemming from information fragmentation, discontinuity, or absence across pages. CONCLUSION: Implications for research and improved institutional practice are discussed.