How do you create a student-centered financial aid strategy that supports access and retention?

1 Assess your current situation

Before you can create a new financial aid strategy, you need to understand your current situation and challenges. What are the demographics, needs, and preferences of your current and prospective students? How do they perceive and respond to your financial aid offerings and communications? How does your financial aid budget and distribution align with your enrollment goals and priorities? How do you measure and evaluate the impact of your financial aid policies and practices on student outcomes? Conducting a comprehensive analysis of your data, processes, and feedback will help you identify the strengths and weaknesses of your current financial aid strategy and the areas for improvement.

2 Define your objectives and criteria

Once you have a clear picture of your current situation, you can define your objectives and criteria for your new financial aid strategy. What are the specific enrollment goals that you want to achieve with your financial aid strategy? How do you want to balance access, affordability, diversity, quality, and retention in your student population? What are the key indicators and metrics that you will use to monitor and evaluate your financial aid strategy? How do you align your financial aid strategy with your institutional mission, vision, and values? Establishing clear and realistic objectives and criteria will help you design a financial aid strategy that is focused, coherent, and consistent.

3 Develop your financial aid model and plan

Based on your objectives and criteria, you can develop your financial aid model and plan. How will you allocate your financial aid resources among different types of students, programs, and awards? How will you determine the optimal mix of need-based and merit-based aid, grants and loans, institutional and external funds? How will you communicate and market your financial aid opportunities and requirements to your target audiences? How will you implement and manage your financial aid processes and systems? Developing a financial aid model and plan will help you translate your objectives and criteria into actionable steps and guidelines.

4 Engage your stakeholders and partners

Creating a student-centered financial aid strategy is not a solo endeavor. You need to engage your stakeholders and partners in the process and ensure their buy-in and support. Who are the key internal and external stakeholders and partners that are involved or affected by your financial aid strategy? How will you solicit their input, feedback, and collaboration? How will you address their concerns, expectations, and needs? How will you leverage their expertise, resources, and networks? Engaging your stakeholders and partners will help you create a financial aid strategy that is responsive, inclusive, and sustainable.

5 Test and refine your financial aid strategy

Before you launch your new financial aid strategy, you need to test and refine it to ensure its effectiveness and efficiency. How will you pilot and evaluate your financial aid model and plan on a small scale or a specific segment? How will you collect and analyze data and feedback from your pilot and evaluation? How will you identify and address any issues, gaps, or errors in your financial aid model and plan? How will you incorporate the lessons learned and best practices from your pilot and evaluation into your final financial aid strategy? Testing and refining your financial aid strategy will help you avoid potential pitfalls and optimize your outcomes.

6 Monitor and adjust your financial aid strategy

After you launch your new financial aid strategy, you need to monitor and adjust it to ensure its continuous improvement and relevance. How will you track and measure the performance and impact of your financial aid strategy on your enrollment goals and student outcomes? How will you gather and review data and feedback from your students, staff, and partners on your financial aid strategy? How will you identify and respond to any changes, challenges, or opportunities in your internal and external environment that affect your financial aid strategy? How will you update and revise your financial aid model and plan accordingly? Monitoring and adjusting your financial aid strategy will help you maintain its alignment, quality, and effectiveness.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?