The rising costs of higher education and questions about institutional value have changed the expectations of what admissions and financial aid counseling prospective students and families should receive. This often leaves leaders in admissions asking questions such as:
- What financial aid information should admissions officers be responsible for?
- Where and when should the “handoff” between admissions and financial aid occur?
- How can I better collaborate with my financial aid office to create a more cohesive partnership?
- To what extent should admissions officers be involved in aid counseling, scholarship awarding, and verification?
Join us to learn about two practical and proven partnership models between admissions and financial aid. We will take an in-depth look at each model and discuss next steps for implementation on your campus.
Real Life Examples
There is no one-size-fits-all solution for partnering between admissions and financial aid. In this webcast, we will explore how two institutions have structured their admissions/financial aid partnerships to better meet prospective student and family needs:
Model A: Partial Integration
In this model, Admissions counselors have only a “visa,” so to speak, into the Financial Aid realm: they are entrusted with some of the responsibilities and tasks that have historically been Financial Aid functions, but the extent to which they can go within certain processes—such as Verifications, aid counseling, and packaging—is limited. These admissions counselors are focused on the financial aid process and outreach as it impacts recruitment and prospective students.
Model B: Full Integration
By contrast, in this fully integrated model, blended Admissions/Fin Aid counselors are empowered to perform many more of the functions that have traditionally been functions of Financial Aid and recruit new students, which virtually eliminates the boundary between the two offices for key selected staff. For instance: Admissions/Fin Aid counselors are able to conduct Verifications and Professional Judgments, as well as provide Aid counseling to both prospective AND current students. In this model they are true “dual citizens” of both financial aid and admissions.
Who Should Attend
This webcast will be of benefit to enrollment management and admissions professionals who would like to better understand how to partner more strategically with their financial aid offices.
Learning Outcome
After participating in this online training, you will be able to take a more strategic approach to partnering your admissions and financial aid offices to better serve prospective students and families.
Agenda
- Determining Your Model
- Trends and policy changes that necessitate stronger admissions/financial aid partnerships
- Organizational structures
- Determining the extent of financial aid responsibilities for your admissions team: questions to ask
- Institutional examples
- Implementing the Model
- How to approach your financial aid office
- Implementation of the model
- Training and resources
- Maintaining a positive ongoing partnership
- Institutional examples
Instructor
Ben Hagan, Assistant Director for Recruitment Services, Oklahoma State University
A member of the admissions senior leadership team, Ben has been responsible for teams enrolling four of the top five largest freshman classes at OSU, including the largest freshman class of any institution in Oklahoma higher education history. OSU is currently celebrating the highest undergraduate enrollment in its history as well as the largest Honors College freshmen class. Ben divides his leadership responsibilities between prospective student financial aid, scholar recruitment, and Stillwater High School. In his time with OSU, Ben has been responsible for the campus tour and events program, in-state and out-of-state freshman recruitment, and transfer recruitment as well as a year working remotely while recruiting in Houston, TX.
Prior to joining OSU, Ben was a Senior Photography Producer for Williams-Sonoma, Inc. in San Francisco, CA, where he worked for the flagship brands Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn, among others. He gained early professional experience while coordinating guest services at a large boutique hotel in New York City.
Ben has a Bachelor’s of Art degree from the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University where he graduated at the top of his class as a Founder’s Day Scholar.