1. Are You Buying Your Students?
Facilitated by:
Dr. Keith Mock
Vice President, Enrollment Management
Faulkner University
NSCEC 2018

2. A Little About Faulkner…
Located in Montgomery, AL
A private, Christian University founded in 1942.
Campuses in Mobile, Huntsville, Birmingham, and the main campus in Montgomery
Total enrollment of about 3500
Traditional enrollment of about 1200

3. Are You Buying Your Students?
YES
To a degree, we all are buying our students. Some just pay more than others.

4. Communication barrier between college professionals about the TDR
Communication barrier between college professionals about the TDR. If we can’t even be consistent among ourselves, think of how confusing we must sound to our students sometimes.
CFO, VPEM, Prez, BOT members all have a different idea of TDR

5. This is what your CFO will cite
Source:

6. Inside Higher Education article
Undercut their bottom line and slowed the growth of NTR

7. Notice that RNL gives only the unfunded aid and the gross revenue including R&B
Not including funded aid. How is this handled at your school? Who handles it? What access do admissions decision-makers have to it? Is it earmarked? Hard to administer?
Ruffalo Noel Levitz (2018) discounting report for four-year private colleges and universities. Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Ruffalo Noel Levitz. Retrieved from RuffaloNL.com/DiscountReport.

8. Ruffalo Noel Levitz (2018) discounting report for four-year private colleges and universities. Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Ruffalo Noel Levitz. Retrieved from RuffaloNL.com/DiscountReport.

9. Discounting is a tool! Use it to get what we need…… NTR!
Discounting is just one of the levers that we have to pull in EM. TDR, Price, and number of students are all levers that are interrelated
It’s like good, fast, and cheap

10. Pick two and it won’t be the other!
This is a difficult balance, and a lot of people don’t understand it!!

11. How do your BOT, VPEM, CFO, prez view this?

12. Let Goldilocks be your guide
Easier said than done – TDR has to be just right to get the balance of number and NTR that we need. What happens if we award too much? Too little?
LRAP – Credo study that showed students needed $4k more in FA to convert
Let Goldilocks be your guide

13. So how much revenue do you need?
What percentage of your budget is tuition revenue?
Ruffalo Noel Levitz (2018) discounting report for four-year private colleges and universities. Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Ruffalo Noel Levitz. Retrieved from RuffaloNL.com/DiscountReport.

14. What happens if we get it wrong. How can we adjust in midstream
What happens if we get it wrong? How can we adjust in midstream? Anyone have any stories of how they ‘saved the year’?
LRAP
More aid to non-responders
Categorical increases by ACT score
Ruffalo Noel Levitz (2018) discounting report for four-year private colleges and universities. Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Ruffalo Noel Levitz. Retrieved from RuffaloNL.com/DiscountReport.

15. Merit v. Need Academics Athletics Performance Categorical need
Financial need – EFC v Net Worth
Everybody doing both?
What are other areas of merit?
Other areas of need or ways to calculate?
Everyone using some type of leveraging? Home grown v. consultant/company?
How is your awarding tool structured?

16. How are merit/performance awards advertised?
ACT/SAT Ranges
GPA
Scholarship days
Auditions
Athletic open tryouts
What about need-based awards?
When do you do performance/athletic auditions?
How do you work with coaches on their awards?
Do students have a clear understanding of their opportunities?
Do we run the risk of misperception of lower class if we advertise lower merit aid? Opportunity scholarship at 18

17. Uses for Discounting New enrollments Retention Performance
Fine Arts
Athletics
Shape the class
Decrease TDR
Increase NTR
What other things have you accomplished by discounting?

18. Who Owns the Discounting Model
Financial Aid
Enrollment Management
Admissions
Business office
Shared
How collaborative was the process?

19. How and When to Notify Students about their Award?
Prior-prior
Electronic
Passive acceptance
What about the NPC
Did prior-prior affect the timing of your awards?
Electronic or land mail?
Who owns the process of notifying the students?
Who does passive acceptance of the award? Other procedures to help facilitate acceptance of award?

20. Are Awards adjusted late in the year?
Is other aid (Federal or State) used to decrease TDR?
What about appeals?

21. Other ideas about managing aid?

22. Keith Mock
Faulkner University