Payment Plans
is it ok for the Admissions Department to talk to students about diffenent payment plans?
The admissions department can help with the student loan information process by being will to share something like a personal experience, if student loans were vital to his/her education. Any example of how the system can work positively helps to elevate the potential student's "buy-in" to the process. The details and numbers are provided by the FA representative, but a vision of how education can provide an elevated quality of life can be shared by any school employee.
JoAnne,
I am again impressed at how other departments have embraced the Financial Aid office at your institution! Bringing in a FA professional to answer questions is the best way to ensure that accurate and thorough information is provided to the new student.
In situations where Admissions cannot or should not provide information, we hope they will facilitate a meeting with FA; what unfortunately can happen instead is a “brush off†where the student is referred to FA and expected to seek out help on their own. Often, that student will not make the effort to locate and meet with us.
Kellee Gunderson
I would say a resounding NO! I feel Admissions should stick to what they do best, and that would be to enroll students...the vast information surrounding Payment Plans should be conveyed from a trained FA professional, thus avoiding any confusion or misinformation given. We are often called to Admissions to address any FA concerns/queries during the applicant's Interview process.
Ashley,
Excellent cooperation between FA and admissions! I am sure this partnership benefits you and the students.
I strongly believe that clear and thorough information is critical for new students, and I love your idea of a “Financial Aid Overviewâ€. It is too easy for students to be rushed through the enrollment process, and often worrying about loan obligations is far from a priority during the excitement and stress of starting school. This leads to over-borrowing and the sort of bad money management habits that make repayment difficult.
Kellee Gunderson
When our new students start asking about payment options and loan obligation, our admissions team uses this as a great time to segue into asking us in FA to come down to provide the student with, what we call, a Financial Aid Overview. It gives us the opportunity to explain options that they have available to them, speak to prior loan obligations should they already have them and allows us to get to know the student better as well.
Ashley,
Thank you for this comment. Our goal is to encourage communication between departments and to ensure that personnel outside of FA understand how high default rates affect the entire school. Perhaps we have overstated how involved admissions should be, or at least we have not been as clear as we could be regarding this suggestion.
A recent participant suggested a checklist that is given to students which lists all of the people/offices they must visit before receiving grades. This is the sort of sharing we envision; instead of the FA office battling alone, all departments participate equally in getting students to the FA office, and everyone takes FA concerns seriously. For example, in the old model Admissions may have been solely interested in retention and enrollment numbers, but now all departments consider high repayment rates, high graduation rates, and a low cohort default rate as important goals shared by everyone.
Also, while this is not easy, we also want to involve admissions so that they think critically and compassionately about students’ best interest. It does not serve the goals of our institutions if students are rushed through the admissions process, select the wrong program of study, or commit to loan and tuition obligations that they cannot meet. If everyone respects the challenges and importance of loan repayment, all departments benefit.
Kellee Gunderson
While I think it's a good idea for Admissions to very briefly mention the idea of a cash payment plan, they really should not be handling the details of what that would entail in further explaining it. Just like I know my Admissions team wouldn't want me handling the retention side of their job, I don't want to have them handling the explanation of certain repayment/payment options with a student.
the admissions reps are a great tool to get the students talking to the FA department as they already have a great working relationship.
Ricardo,
We agree with you completely! We suggest involving other departments so that students never feel like they are lost or cannot find assistance. Once a student reaches out to Admissions or faculty with loan and aid questions, he or she should of course be brought to FA. This means walking the student to the FA office, or connecting them with an FA officer via direct phone extension or email. This never means offering a flippant, unclear, or unfriendly referral which will likely result in the student giving up.
You are correct that other departments in your institution should never be expected to provide information outside of their expertise and responsibility.
Kellee Gunderson
I think Admission can talk about the different options the school offers but regarding to Financial aid I think it is better to address this type detail with right department in the case would be FA or Default prevention from the school.
Kimberly,
Yes, every department should be up to date on how each department works so they can work together and refer students to the person they need to speak with to get the correct answers. No one should be providing answers on subjects outside of their departments scope of knowledge.
Cheryl Kesson
I believe everyone has their area of expertise although we work as team, we never want admissions to speak for the default prevention team/financial aid. Students may go into default or become delinquent because of incorrect information given. We always want to ensure students receive the correct information and that would usually come from the department that was trained to speak about such subject matters.
Laura,
Both you and Doug make excellent points. Financial Aid is the authority on providing the students informtaion on their loans and all staff should be prepared to refer students to the FA Office for qustions on their loans.
Cheryl Kesson
I agree with you Doug. I also think that instructors also should tell the students to see FA and not answer any FA questions. When dealing with a student who may be withdrawing, telling them to talk to FA is a good idea, since no one knows their balance, but FA.
Ceola,
The Financial Aid Office can definately put the student on the path to succcessful repayment. People do have very different financial situations and helping each one understand what their obligations and options are will help keep them on track with their student loans and other expenses.
Cheryl Kesson
I agree. Every student's financial issue will be different when it comes to the repayment piece.
They can use someone with special insight to their problem by giving them the guidance needed to view the complete picture. The Fiancial aid Office will be the student's best guide in this
area. A payment plan will be a foundation they can use toward repayment of their loans.
Specific examples might be a good idea; FA can take an average loan balance that would be typical for your institution and calculate approximate monthly payments under each plan. If time and resources allow, it would be even better to walk a borrower through one of the many online loan calculators to show them what they can expect. Students tend to assume repayment will be easy or unimportant; showing them real examples will encourage them to make better decisions.
Kellee Gunderson
They can mention the payment responsibilty the student will have upon graduation. I think financial aid will go more into detail regarding any information on student payment plans.
Samantha,
I share your concern for accuracy. The important point is not that different departments should be handling questions or functions that belong elsewhere; the crucial point is to keep open communication between departments, and assist students so they feel valued and confident in their choices.
I think the best thing that could happen if a student asks a question or expresses concern about loans, budget or delinquency, is that he/she is referred to the financial aid office in the most friendly and helpful way possible (perhaps with a campus map and list of email addresses and phone numbers of staff that want to help them). What we would hate to see are doors shut to students who do not know where to go and give up after asking a question of the wrong department.
Cheryl Kesson
