Estimate Your I-DEA Costs
How much will setting up an I-DEA program cost?
This table will help you estimate your costs and anticipate major factors as you look at setting up your own I-DEA program.
I-DEA costs will vary based on program size, type, and location. Already having technology on hand and available to use versus purchasing technology will impact your start-up costs.
To assist programs considering adopting I-DEA, this chart will help you estimate I-DEA instruction costs by quarter, semester, term, or for the whole year.
| Cost Category | Description | Your Estimated Costs |
|---|---|---|
| Instructional Hours | Enter the total number of instructional hours by quarter, semester, term, or for the whole year. | |
| Instructor Salary and Benefits |
Enter the projected instructional salary and benefits by quarter, semester, term, or for the whole year. Note: If using the flipped model, include online and face to face instructional hours in this calculation. |
|
| Tech Coach Salary and Benefits | If you plan to have an acting technology coach who will be paid, enter the projected salary and benefits by quarter, semester, term, or for the whole year. | |
| Administrative | Enter any other projected administrative costs to support I-DEA by quarter, semester, term, or for the whole year. | |
| Copying | Enter an estimate for photocopying/printing I-DEA support materials by quarter, semester, term, or for the whole year. | |
| Technology |
Enter the costs of procuring technology (laptops, tablets or desktops) to support I-DEA instruction. Note: This will be a onetime start-up cost; however, you will want to have a plan in place for replacements as time goes on. |
|
| Peripheral Technology |
Enter the costs of procuring peripherals (mice, head sets, laptop bags, or computer on wheels carts) to support I-DEA instruction. Note: This will be a onetime start-up cost; however, you will want to have a plan in place for replacements as time goes on. |
|
| Internet |
If you are planning to provide students with Wi-Fi hotspots, enter the costs here. |
|
| Technology Support |
Enter any technology support costs that may arise. |
|
| Total Estimated Costs |
Total the costs listed in the right hand column. This will provide you with an estimate of costs by quarter, semester, term, or year depending on the way numbers were entered. |
|
| Headcount | Enter the number of students you plan to serve by quarter, semester, term, or for the whole year. | |
| Total Estimated Cost Per Student | Divide the total estimated costs by the total number of students to determine the estimated cost per student by quarter, semester, term, or year. |
Other Cost Considerations
In addition to estimating costs of starting an I-DEA program, programs and states may want to consider student learning gains and calculate cost per gain. This could help providers offset the cost of programming.
States using a performance-based funding (PBF) model could also choose track gains in I-DEA versus traditional English Language Arts (ELA) programming in order to demonstrate and justify I-DEA costs.
