Transcript Slide 1

The Role of the
Financial Aid Office
in Campus
Retention
CASFAA Conference, 2008 Anaheim CA
Anita Hann – Director of Retention and Student Success
Vanguard University of Southern California
Carole Ann Simpson, Debt Management Consultant, USA
Funds
Vanguard University
 Christian Liberal Arts
College
 Founded in 1920
 Located in Orange County
California
 City of Costa Mesa
 2007-2008 Enrollment:
2171
 Traditional: 1485
VANGUARD UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
ANITA HANN
 1999 - UNDERGRADUATE
ADMISSIONS COUNSELOR
2001- ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
OF UNDERGRADUATE
ADMISSIONS
 2003 – DIRECTOR OF
YOUTH MINISTRY RELATIONS
2007 – DIRECTOR OF
RETENTION AND STUDENT
SUCCESS
Agenda for Today’s Session:
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Some common definitions
Who, exactly, is at risk of dropping out?
The role of data in retention efforts.
What data can Financial Aid add to the
discussion?
What does data really tell us?
What do institutions do that puts students at
risk?
What impact does quality service have?
How do we communicate our successes?
Anita’s Top 10
Retention words
 P,P,R,C
 Persistence
 Term to term
 Progression
 Course success
 Retention
 Return rate from Fall to Fall
 Completion
 Is it the same as
graduation?
Defining Success on your
campus
 What are some of the additional measures of success
used on your campus?
IPEDS GRS
SAP
Transfer Rates
Satisfaction Surveys
Which Students are at risk?
If your Dean asked you this
question:
“What students
do you feel are
most likely to
be unsuccessful
on our
campus?”
What would you say?
What risk factors would you list?
Academic
Under-prepared
Limited academic skills
Poor study habits
Doesn’t see value in course
Poor academic performance
Part-time course load
Lack of career and educational
goals
Feedback that is too little too
late
Life Issues
Financial difficulty
Job conflicts
Home-family difficulties
Personal problems
Health problems
College not necessary for
career goals
Personal
Social
Lost
Alienation and social isolation
Stressed
Subject to negative peer pressure
Closed to new ideas/experiences
Uninvolved in college activities
Low self-esteem
Little involvement with faculty
Undisciplined
Unmotivated
Insecure
Uninformed
Unrealistic expectations
Student-institution mismatch
Why data mining?
• When you have data, you take
assumptions off the table.
• You can find out what students think
about you if you ask them—while they’re
still enrolled.
• Data can help you prioritize your
interventions.
• Creating a sense of urgency to act without
data is a challenge unto itself.
• It’s impossible to sustain momentum
without data to support your successes.
What does data tell you?
• The cycle of retention planning
Curiosity
Data
Information
Expectations
Outcomes
Resources
Partnerships
What Data does Financial Aid
Offer?
An example of correlating two
entering student variables:
Academic Preparation
• Need Level
1
•
•
•
•
•
•
89%
98%
96%
93%
95%
100%
V. High Need
High Need
Med.Need
Low Need
Merit Aid
Full-Pay
2
3
4
5
86%
85%
85%
79%
88%
93%
73%
82%
82%
88%
89%
80%
74%
78%
78%
79%
81%
80%
63%
67%
69%
72%
74%
77%
Institutional risk factor
What do we do that puts
students at risk?
• Experience scheduling
problems
• Experience
administrative/billing
problems
• Experience negative
attitude in
classroom/advising
• Experience poor teaching
• Academic program not
available
• Get the “campus run
around”
• Get no assistance during
probation
Delivering Quality Service in
Financial Aid
What are some of
the most
frequently heard
student complaints
about the Financial
Aid Office?
Two questions:
How could we
measure whether
we are doing better
in these areas?
Some Reasons For The Knowledge/Performance Gap
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Busy/rushed/overworked.
Poor Listening skills.
The “Law of Familiarity.”
Reaction to student.
Service system problems (e.g.,
policies.)
Failure to identify individual
needs/situation.
Lack empowerment.
Personal distractions
Physical condition.
How can we communicate our
success?
 What measures of
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Processing
Dollars
Students served
Quality service
Could we provide to
our retention
committee?
What can Financial Aid offer?
 We have lots of data that could inform the retention effort.
 Share it!
 We have great successes to highlight in managing complex
systems delivered to large populations.
 Count it, measure it, and publish it!
 We have budgeting expertise.
 Deliver it to campus programs and to students!
 We have quality service delivery and information that can
contribute to student satisfaction.
 Commit to it, model it, and bring it to the retention table!
Top 10 things Financial Aid
can do to impact retention:
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Help teach financial literacy
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Help to solve the knowledge gap between the Bursar and Financial Aid
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Help to reduce campus run around by giving students a road-map.
 “You know who you should talk to…”
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Remember how hard it is for some people to talk about money.
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Partner with other offices to meet the challenge of affordability
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Help inform registration policies so that students are clear about how the process
works i.e. Registration Revision Committee
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Look for students that might be at risk and identify them to your retention
personnel
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Educate students about the process of financial aid, not just about their financial aid
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Remember that students are students first, and then customers, they are here to
learn
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Treat each student as an individual and try to meet their needs specifically
Thank You!
Anita Hann, Director of Retention and
Student Success, Vanguard University
[email protected]
Carole Ann Simpson, Debt
Management Consultant, USA Funds
Caroleann.simpson@usafunds.
org