University Business - December 2012 - (Page 31)

sponsored web seminar digest schedule withdrawals from a bank or credit card account for ease of use. Monthly payments are automatically adjusted based on reductions or increases in student accounts. We offer long and short-term plans, as well as the Pending Aid plan, which Kellogg utilizes. Ideally, you want your students to recognize their obligation to pay the college. However, those who apply for financial aid often find themselves in a situation where they don’t have the cash to pay up front. The Pending Aid option includes three different groups of students: • Group One pays their balance in full. • Group Two signs up for the payment plan immediately and begins making payment on their account right away. • Group Three students with awarded aid are offered the Pending Aid Option with no money down, no enrollment fee and no monthly payments until after aid is disbursed. If there is a shortfall and their account balance is greater than zero, students can pay in full within 10 days or a payment plan will be automatically activated. The Pending Aid plan allows the college to be proactive by forcing students to select how they will pay before classes begin. Tracy Beatty Director of Finance Kellogg Community College, Battle Creek, Michigan Rick Scott Chief Financial Officer Kellogg Community College, Battle Creek, Michigan When I came on board in 2004, student receivables were on the rise at 5 percent of gross tuition dollars. In Michigan, 1 percent is considered stable. We knew we had to get this under control. Michigan was also disinvesting in higher education costs, with cuts close to 10 percent. At the time, we had a lenient, constantly changing payment plan that did not require anything down and payments that began after the semester started. We became aware of the financial aid abuse that John spoke of and decided to tighten up our policies. In 2005, our clerk who managed in-house payments left the college. This provided us with the opportunity to look at third-party vendors for payment management. We decided to go with Nelnet because it was a highquality, low-cost program. We implemented their Pending Aid program for students with balances on their account, as well as an attendance policy with faculty. Students not attending classes would be reported to the Financial Aid department so aid could be pulled before refunds were disbursed. In the fall of 2006, the college discussed what constitutes financial aid and what makes a student eligible to enroll. With that in mind, all students are directed to a regular payment plan application or the Pending Aid option depending on the information on their account. Nelnet is set up to look for specific financial aid destination codes coupled with action codes that indicate “accepted” or “pending” and a balance greater than zero. If these codes are found, the student is automatically referred to the Pending Aid application. If not, the student is directed to the regular payment plan. We discovered that students are not interested in budgeting their money and would rather not pay the college. They will wait until the last minute before making any payment decisions. To combat that, we now drop students within 24 hours if they do not pay in full or enroll in a Nelnet payment plan after registering for classes. Since Nelnet, we have achieved consistency in outstanding student receivables amidst years of recordhigh enrollment and rising tuition costs. It is evident the plan has worked for us because enrollment and retention is now solid. Students are invested in their course schedule because they have to pay for their choices. We have established better communication and a consistent message to our students. They now know exactly what to expect with the plan. There is also a greater understanding of the constraints our Financial Aid office is under to get the following year’s packages out in a timely fashion while still working on current projects. We have addressed this by giving our students and staff more time with an extended enrollment period. This relieves pressure on the office from students who wait to file until right before the beginning of the semester. One of the lessons we have learned is how important it is to keep the lines of communication open between administrators, Financial Aid, and customer service regarding campuswide policies. We openly talk through changes before implementation. We also learned that students are semester focused and do not want to pay in June for a class that starts in September. We keep this in mind when considering registration open dates, financial aid processing dates, and semester start and end dates. To watch this web seminar in its entirety, please go to http://www.universitybusiness.com/ws101612. http://www.universitybusiness.com/ws101612

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - December 2012

University Business - December 2012
Contents
Editor’s Note
College Index
Ad Index
Behind the News
Money Matters
Independent Outlook
5 Reasons Flipped Classrooms Work
Test Driving Mobile
Open Source Myth Busters
Models of Efficiency
1st Annual Readers’ Choice Awards
Education Innovators
Viewpoint
Endowments: New Questions
End Note

University Business - December 2012