A recent heavy rainstorm flooded an apartment complex near Central Michigan University, displacing a number of students. Several had nowhere else to stay. To the rescue: Central Michigan’s Student Emergency Fund, a financial reserve provided by private donors to help students manage unexpected emergencies such as illness, death of relatives, eviction or medical bills. “The […]
While most institutions use financial aid systems to award and distribute regular financial aid, that isn’t always the case with emergency aid. Usually, each student’s situation must be evaluated to determine whether emergency financial help is warranted and if so, at what level. That process isn’t always built into the standard financial aid system—so institutions […]
Higher education is in the midst of significant changes, including in the areas of technology infrastructure and strategy. Moving to the cloud, updating or automating business processes and incorporating data-driven decision making can dramatically benefit the institution, but campus leaders can run the risk of overlooking a crucial component to ensuring any technology strategy is […]
Colleges and universities should be texting students—but not everyone, not all the time, and not about everything that's happening on campus. Highly targeted messages, particularly those sent to incoming or prospective students, can reduce summer melt by providing timely reminders of financial aid filing dates and other important deadlines. "Texting becomes most impactful when it […]
While students have a variety of options when it comes to paying for college, making unwise financial decisions can lead to negative consequences for the student as well as the institution. Overborrowing, poor planning and budgeting, and misunderstanding financial aid can create seemingly insurmountable debt that can affect academic performance, push students to leave school […]
While the concept may seem unnecessary, a formal document—signed by each student—that states tuition payments are, in fact, expected is now required by a majority of colleges. In December 2016, Idaho State University began folding a financial responsibility agreement into the course registration process. Student financial obligations have not changed. Rather, the move is an […]
Donna Salak knew the financial aid office at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, was not using its Banner student information system to full capacity. Salak, who is Xavier’s director of financial aid, had staff with a user-level understanding of Banner, but there had been knowledge loss on the technical side due to staff turnover. Salak […]
Criminals who receive financial aid fraudulently basically steal money from bona fide students and institutions. Beyond the loss of education funds, efforts to squeeze out fraud can also make financial aid more elusive for those who need it. “To crack down on fraud, we may have to put more hoops to jump through in order […]
A vigilant employee at Rio Salado College in Tempe, Arizona, noticed similar handwriting on several financial aid applications. She alerted her supervisors, who found other irregularities—such as the same mailing addresses—on a number of applications. The college notified authorities, and when the federal investigators completed their work, participants in a financial aid scheme faced 130 […]
There’s no doubt that higher ed institutions have access to tons of student data these days, but what separates actionable insights from analytics overload? Colleges and universities that crack the code can embark upon data-based decision-making as it relates to student success initiatives. Others, struggling, get lost in the numbers. “Most institutions are data rich […]
