University Business - May 2011 - (Page 18)

viewpoint included, among its four priorities: “Financial aid that meets the demonstrated need of every student, and a long-term goal of being need-blind in admission.” That long-term goal proved to be a lot closer than we thought. While the campus was considering the strategic plan, the admission staff was quietly experimenting with need-blind admission to answer an essential question: How much more financial aid would be needed for Hamilton to become need-blind? The answer: at least $2 million, on top of a financial aid budget of $24.5 million at the time. A lot of money, to be certain, but less than we anticipated. When presented with this information at the end of a six-hour planning session in December 2009, members of Hamilton’s Board of Trustees spontaneously pledged $3 million in bridge money so that we could start immediately admitting our first-year classes on a need-blind basis. Like at the majority of need-blind colleges, the policy applies to domestic students admitted for the fall semester; it does not apply to international students nor, at this point, can we promise to extend it to those admitted from the wait-list when space remains in the class after the May 1 deadline. The December 2009 session at which the trustees pledged moral and financial support for this initiative was the most stirring board meeting I have ever attended, a sentiment echoed by many long-time trustees, because it signaled unambiguously the college’s commitment to access and opportunity. Adopting such a policy during extremely diffi- cult economic times added to the excitement. One young alumna, upon learning of the decision, wrote, “This could be my proudest day as a Hamiltonian.” SuStaining the PromiSe But we realized, of course, that we had to find the resources to permanently sustain our need-blind promise. We had the $3 million in trustee bridge funds, but when phased in fully over four years, the needblind protocol would cost Hamilton at least an additional $2 million annually—and perhaps more. The bridge funds would not last long. Our colleagues in the business and development offices had to make the numbers work. Need-blind is not the goal; access is the goal. That meant balancing the budget in the short term and raising the money in the long term—and doing both, as it has turned out, in the midst of a prolonged economic slowdown during which we limited our last three fee increases to 3.0, 3.8 and 3.3 percent, respectively. At the same time, more families are qualifying for even more financial aid since we made the decision. The pride felt by employees was shared by alumni, so we decided to tap into our graduates’ affection for their alma mater and enthusiasm for the decision. Hamilton launched a new capital campaign in December 2010. It has a smaller overall goal and is shorter in duration—and its priorities are more focused than our pre- vious fundraising efforts. The primary objective is $40 million in new endowment, the income from which will provide the additional approximately $2 million more needed to fund the need-blind promise. And despite the recession, we intend to increase the goal of the Annual Fund by $200,000 (3 percent in 20102011) every year until the new endowed funds begin providing income: The short-term plan is to supplement the incremental dollars from the Annual Fund with the bridge money from the trustees, all while controlling expenditures. Being need-blind decisively aligns our admission practices with our mission as a college of opportunity and access. As Hamilton’s Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Monica Inzer often reminds us, need-blind is not the goal; access is the goal. Operating need-blind is one way of ensuring access at Hamilton, just as other colleges are pursuing the same goal by reducing tuition, eliminating loans, or adding to financial aid. As the youngest child of a Brooklyn ship-fitter with only two years of high school, as someone whose mother and three older siblings all attended either commercial or vocational high schools, and whose formal education stopped there, I could never have gone to college without the generosity of others. Access to a college education changed the trajectory of my life and with the commitment to such opportunity being demonstrated by colleges across the country, it promises to do the same for countless students in the future. A ACOUSTICAL, TECHNOLOGY, �� LIGHTING DESIGN SAN FRANCISCO LOS ANGELES ORLANDO RALEIGH-DURHAM HORBURN A SSOCIATES HELPING DESIGNERS AND PLANNERS IMPLEMENT TODAY’S TECHNOLOGY www.TA-Inc.com/planning 18 | May 2011 universitybusiness.com http://www.TA-Inc.com/planning http://www.TA-Inc.com/planning http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - May 2011

University Business - May 2011
Contents
Editor's Note
College Index
Ad Index
Behind the News
Viewpoint
Money Matters
Human Resources
Community Colleges
Networks Freshen Up
Collaboration Station
Someone to Watch Over You
What's New
End Note

University Business - May 2011