1. STUDENTS AT RISK: The Financial Aid and Billing Perspective

2. Ithaca College – Ithaca, NY Cost of Attendance = $58,865/year Undergraduate enrollment – 6,323 Students = 59% female, 41% male Faculty of 730 – 226 part-time, 504 full-time Administration/Staff = 1,074 – 268 part-time, 806 full-time

3. Office Structure Student Financial Services Combined Bursar’s and Financial Aid Offices in 2008 One fully integrated service center Staff fully trained on both aid and billing Separation of duties, but consistent messaging 20 staff members, 3 student workers 8 staff dedicated to front line service 2 staff dedicated to counseling and verification 6 staff dedicated to packaging, counseling and program responsibilities 4 others dedicated to communication, billing, and technology

4. Office of Institutional Research, Ithaca College, Fall 2015

6. Office of Institutional Research, Ithaca College, 2015

7. What does at risk mean? An at-risk student is generally defined as a student who is likely to fail at their educational goals (Hernandez, 2015) Students can be considered at-risk for achieving academic success for a variety of reasons (Hackett, 2013) Poor choices/decisions Adult student returning to school after an extended absence Students with academic or physical limitations Financial challenges

8. What does at risk mean? A student group considered to be at risk at one institution may not be considered at-risk at another Many at risk students feel that “someone like them” are not college material First generation students make up a larger percentage of our student body and the number increases annually A strong commitment to diversity via the College mission statement and enrollment goals

9. The SFS Approach SFS has worked hard to develop a plan to work with all students and their families Staff awareness is key to success Understanding office bias and personal bias Commitment to campus engagement Strong, unified approach to training with continuous updates Commitment by internal and division leadership allowing staff to develop campus connections

10. Develop a Strong Campus Network Identify campus partners who have a student first orientation HEOP/CSTEP Office Office of Student Engagement and Multicultural Affairs Center for Counseling, Health and Wellness (Includes Health Center, Counseling, Health Promotion, LGBTQ Center) Student Accessibility Services Academic Advising Center International Programs Career Services Athletics The Chapel Dean’s Offices

11. Develop a Strong Campus Network Create a discussion group of campus partners 3SN (Student Support Network) meets monthly during the academic year Provides an ability to support those who are practitioners and who work directly with students Creates a strong outlet to discuss the issues our students are facing on a daily basis Provides updates and an ability to work across divisions Allows us to network and create strong professional bonds that can be called upon when we need to confront a complicated student issue

12. Develop A Strong Campus Presence Office Visibility is a must Invite campus partners to staff meetings to provide background on their areas and meet SFS staff Attend campus partners’ events Staff participation in on campus events including campus groups Find where your students are and what they are attending and be sure to have a presence

13. Resources Flexibility—how flexible can you be? Billing and aid in the same office provides substantial flexibility Students don’t need to navigate between two offices Issues can be resolved quickly in most cases Staff are able to assess a student’s needs and provide resolution. Emphasis on staff training Cohesive training to provide a seamless approach to aid and billing Flexibility in custom payment options Currently have Higher One payment options Create custom payment arrangements on a limited basis

14. Resources Emergency scholarships Fortunate to have a number of endowed resources that are specific for dealing with students who have emergencies or unexpected financial challenges Scholarships are not renewable and are expected to help a student through a short term situation College Chapel Emergency resources available Will help students with meal passes, Wegmans gift cards, bus passes Food resources Created a detailed listing of food offerings in the community including food distribution centers

15. What is your office reputation? Are you accessible to your students? What is the student perception of your office? Are you viewed as the office that exists only to take opportunity away from the students? Do you have a welcoming environment? Do you answer the phone or have an automated answer? How do you greet students when they come to your office? Does your office resemble your student body? How diverse are you? For parents whose first language is not english, do you have staff that speak other languages? Are you ADA accessible?

16. Resources Implementation of ICare by the College Focus on identification and supportive outreach to students in distress Staff, faculty and students are able to submit concerns through a dedicated website Allows us in SFS the ability to work with campus partners when we identify a student who may be distressed due to financial, academic or social issues.

17. Focus on Service Phones are answered by full time staff July phone volume of incoming calls was 3700 August phone volume (peak) 4100 Timely and accurate communication Website includes all pertinent information but limits the number of words on the site Communication plan and all publications and documents reviewed each year for accuracy and whether they still meet office requirements and student needs

18. Focus on Service Email responses All attempts are made to answer emails within 48 hours except during peak processing. However during peak, we do allow for overtime to manage email responses. Our peak volume occurs in July with over 1800 messages answered by staff with more than 3400 email messages received Phone messages Expectation that staff will respond to phone messages within 24 hours Service both walk in traffic and scheduled appointments Staff available at all Admission events and other student events on campus

19. Our Challenges Accessibility Location of SFS Office hinders student access Office located in administrative building that houses our president Appearance of the reception area is not welcoming Students have compared our reception area to a courthouse Received negative student feedback which impacted our perception of ourselves Complaints about service and friendliness of staff How seriously do you take complaints

21. What doesn’t work well While we work to keep all students, we do have many students who simply cannot afford the educational choice they have made Work to educate students through the college decision process, but many times they are unable to see the true cost of education Access is limited, though we have a large Pell Grant eligible student body, we still have strict funding limitations 20% of the student population is Pell Grant eligible Demand for resources exceeds the supply

22. What doesn’t work well Lack of understanding Many faculty and staff outside of the enrollment division do not understand what it costs to attend IC Campus community does not understand the limits of aid distribution Working to share the message from higher administration, but a challenging message to convey Limited focus on retention Many first generation students and other at risk groups do not feel connected to campus Evaluation of the treatment of various groups on campus due to recent press attention

23. Questions to ask at your institution What characteristics do students who succeed have in common with those that do not reach their goals? Do first-generation students succeed at the same pace as students whose parents had attended college? Do students from minority ethnic and racial groups succeed on campus? Are students in certain groups at risk of failure in particular courses? In which courses did entering students have the most trouble? What academic support services exist to help students succeed?

24. Questions to ask at your institution Your student population—what are considered to be your most vulnerable student populations Review your student demographics Look for patterns What are your ultimate goals; and do you have buy in from your staff and your leadership How strong is your campus network How flexible are you What are your resources

25. Contact Information Julie Hickman-Godoy, Associate Director jhickman@ithaca.edu 607.274.3131 Barbie Bargher, Assistant Director bbargher@ithaca.edu 607.274.3131 Office of Student Financial Services Ithaca College www.ithaca.edu/finaid

26. Questions and Discussion How do you define at risk on your campus? Is it more an approach of at success?