Where should financial aid report? Organizing for enrollments? Think carefully about optimum linkages before you set structure.There's no doubt that the reporting relationship of Financial Aid offices has shifted, but just when did that change begin to take place? We say: Around the same time that the rote rote 1 n. 1. A memorizing process using routine or repetition, often without full attention or comprehension: learn by rote. 2. Mechanical routine. of financial aid began to change from a mechanism used to promote equity, access, and choice, to one that is a significant factor in determining an institution's competitive position and financial well being. It was then that the concept of enrollment management (LM) was just being introduced. At its core, EM created formal connections between administrative units Noun 1. administrative unit - a unit with administrative responsibilities administrative body Inland Revenue, IR - a board of the British government that administers and collects major direct taxes that-up to then--were most often untethered Unattached to any data or power source by wire or fiber; in other words: wireless. Contrast with tethered. . Certainly the Linkage linkage In mechanical engineering, a system of solid, usually metallic, links (bars) connected to two or more other links by pin joints (hinges), sliding joints, or ball-and-socket joints to form a closed chain or a series of closed chains. between Financial Aid and Admissions under an EM umbrella was an obvious connect point. THE DOWNWARD SLIDE Still, this was a moment in the history of financing higher education higher education Study beyond the level of secondary education. Institutions of higher education include not only colleges and universities but also professional schools in such fields as law, theology, medicine, business, music, and art. when lots of other changes were occurring, as well. The traditional partnership of government, institution, and family working together to make college affordable was beginning to break down. The federal government's view was transitioning from one that saw higher education as a societal so·ci·e·tal adj. Of or relating to the structure, organization, or functioning of society. so·ci  e·tal·ly adv.Adj. good to one that pronounced it more of an individual good. Thus came the major shift in federal aid policy from grants to loans. The inability of state governments to generate tax revenues, and the increasing mandatory expenditures in Medicaid, prisons, and K-12, forced the states' role in financing higher education to take a downward slide. HOPE-type scholarship programs at the federal and state Levels, as well as tuition For tuition fees in the United Kingdom, see . Tuition means instruction, teaching or a fee charged for educational instruction especially at a formal institution of learning or by a private tutor usually in the form of one-to-one tuition. tax credits, have created more trenches in the playing field, and moved it away from low income families and toward the middle-income crowd. All of these factors have placed increasing pressure on institutions and families to find workable solutions for financing a college education. Among institutions there has been a rapid increase in the use of merit dollars to attract students who otherwise would not ever apply, never mind enroll. In addition, there has been a great deal of public debate about the pluses and minuses of tuition discounting: Is it fair? Does it even work? CHANGE AND REPORTING So, where does all of this change leave the Financial Aid office? And where should the office reside organizationally, if it is to serve its multiple masters and their interests: students and families (affordability); institutions (net tuition revenue, student quality, diversity); donors (stewardship stewardship the occupation of being a steward or custodian. Referring to animals it implies the caring sort of relationship based on an acceptance of the need to include the rights of animals in overall plans to maintain financial viability. ); and government (regulatory compliance). The answer is, it depends. That is, it depends on: * the institution's vision * the institution's history * the institution's current goals and challenges * the student body the institution is trying to serve * the people and systems employed at the institution, and their strengths and weaknesses In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke" put differently , what is right for a particular moment in the institution's history may not always be right. Staff turnover, changes in external/internal forces, and evolving consumer needs could require a different organizational structure  This article has no lead section.To comply with Wikipedia's lead section guidelines, one should be written. . LEADERSHIP AND LINKAGE Our premise is that there is no one "right" organizational model; no one-size-fits-all solution. There is, however, a given condition: Regardless of where it reports, the Financial Aid office has to have healthy, strong, productive linkages to other key student service offices: Admissions, Registrar See domain name registrar. , Student Accounts, and the Budget office (to name the most important), if it is to be successful This, of course, is in large part a junction of leadership. The Financial Aid office cannot simply "tie" to where it reports. In fact, we've observed successful Financial Aid offices that report to the vice president for Finance, the vice president for Student Life, the academic vice president, and of course the vice president of Enrollment. The success was a function of the leadership and the linkages, not the reporting line. Conversely con·verse 1 intr.v. con·versed, con·vers·ing, con·vers·es 1. To engage in a spoken exchange of thoughts, ideas, or feelings; talk. See Synonyms at speak. 2. , we've seen unsuccessful and even dysfunctional dys·func·tion also dis·func·tion n. Abnormal or impaired functioning, especially of a bodily system or social group. dys·func Financial Aid offices in all the above reporting scenarios where the leadership and linkages were poor or non-existent. To illustrate, let's take a look at various institutions with differing Financial Aid office reporting lines--all appropriate for what the institution is trying to accomplish, and all unanimous in their need for strong linkages. WHERE DOES FINANCIAL AID REPORT? At the University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut is the State of Connecticut's land-grant university. It was founded in 1881 and serves more than 27,000 students on its six campuses, including more than 9,000 graduate students in multiple programs. UConn's main campus is in Storrs, Connecticut. , Financial Aid--along with Admissions, Registrar, and Orientation--reports to Dolan Evanovich, vice provost for Enrollment Management. Before the creation of the Enrollment Management division, Financial Aid reported to the finance side of the house. White Dolan acknowledges the need for basic organizational structures to maintain workflow The automatic routing of documents to the users responsible for working on them. Workflow is concerned with providing the information required to support each step of the business cycle. , he notes, "At a higher level, we need to devote ourselves to breaking down the silos of reporting structures. We need to begin to think holistically, focusing on institutional rather than unit-based goat setting and problem-solving, and the development of strategic partnerships to achieve shared objectives." At Mercy College Mercy College can refer to:
Dave Dickson, VP for Financial Affairs at St. Edward's University
The school was founded by the Rev. Edward Sorin, CSC , Superior General of the Congregation of Holy Cross, who also founded the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. (TX), oversees a combined student financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. operation that was created explicitly to better serve St. Edward's students. Each entering student is assigned a financial counselor to assist with the student's educational financing needs. Dickson stresses, "We use a team approach to new student recruitment, and the financial services director is a member on the enrollment management team." At Abilene Christian University (TX), Financial Aid reports to VP for Finance Phil Schubert. He notes, "Because of the inherent complexity and potential impact that the awarding of financial aid can have on an organization, it makes sense for the reporting structure to follow the knowledge and understanding that might be held by certain members of the executive team." Student financial aid is not a business one learns in a few weeks, he says. "The behind-the-scenes management of financial aid in our organization centers around a focus on net tuition revenue and involves a significant amount of spreadsheet data analysis, 'what if" scenarios, and financial projections. These tasks fit more closely with the skills of financial professionals than other campus offices." There must be a commitment for coordination and collaboration, he says, especially with admissions/recruiting, for any reporting structure to be successful At Princeton University Princeton University, at Princeton, N.J.; coeducational; chartered 1746, opened 1747, rechartered 1748, called the College of New Jersey until 1896. Schools and Research Facilities (NJ), the office led by Director of Student Aid & Services Don Betterton reports to the dean of the college, who is the chief academic officer. Betterton sees the Financial Aid office as part of a student service model where Financial Aid is counseling students and families about financing their Princeton education--much as academic advisers would counsel students on course selection, or career service staff would counsel them on career options. He indicated that Princeton's structure might more closely resemble a small liberal arts college Liberal arts colleges are primarily colleges with an emphasis upon undergraduate study in the liberal arts. The Encyclopædia Britannica Concise offers the following definition of the liberal arts as a, "college or university curriculum aimed at imparting general knowledge where Financial Aid might be part of a dean of students' organization. Jim Belvin, director of Financial Aid at Duke (NC), also reports to that institution's chief academic officer, the provost. At Duke, Financial Aid is viewed as part of the academic enterprise. It is the Office responsible for creating access for students whose academic and personal profile qualify/them as the types of candidates who support Duke's academic mission, but whose financial resources place Duke out of reach without financial assistance. IN THE END ... Organizational structure is less important; communication and shared goats more important. It's as straightforward as that. As an institutional resource, Financial Aid must be aligned to advance the mission of the institution. Based on that mission and the students served, some reporting structures may emerge as more appropriate, but no organization will be successful without collaboration, cooperation, and coordination. Kathy Kurz and Jim Scannell are partners in the enrollment management consulting Noun 1. management consulting - a service industry that provides advice to those in charge of running a business service industry - an industry that provides services rather than tangible objects firm, Scannell & Kurz, Inc. (www.scannellkurz.com). |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion