Student Success The Road to Understanding Retention

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Student Success The Road to Understanding
Retention

• MASFAA Conference
• November 5th, 2009
• Iris Godes Quinsigamond Community College
• Sue Lanzillo Framingham State College
• Bernie Pekala Boston College

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Enrollment as Strategy

• Boston College Founded 1863
• Irish Catholic Immigrants
• Boston Immigrants
• Emerging Boston Middle Class
• Returning Boston GIs
• Boston Leadership
• Coeducational
• Regional
• National
• National Elite
• Global

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Self-Reported Family Annual Income
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AVERAGE FINANCIAL AID OFFERED BY BOSTON COLLEGE,
BY COMPONENT
Avg Financial Aid Package Avg Need-Based Scholarship /Grant Avg Self-Help Assessment (Work Study/Loans) Avg Need-Based Loan (excluding PLUS)
Boston College 29,349 26,241 5,041 3,412
Each component average is based on all students
who received that form of aid components will
not total 29,349.
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COMPOSITION OF AVERAGE FINANCIAL AID PACKAGE,
BOSTON COLLEGE, 2008-2009
Scholarship/Grant 84
Self-Help 16
Work Study 5
Need-Based Loans 11
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Student Financing Strategies

• 70s
• Post Financial Crisis Strategy
• Repositioning of financial aid
• Adoption of Need-based Awarding
• 80s
• National Emergence
• Higher tuition and higher financial aid
• Targeted preferential packaging of aid
• 90s
• Top 25 Strategy
• Top 50 Universities
• First steps to meeting full need

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Current Strategies

• Improve access to talented students
• Need blind admission
• Guarantee to meet full financial need
• Neutralize cost in college choice
• Commitment to increase on-campus diversity
• Increase Boston Colleges international programs
• Portable aid to students studying abroad in
  Boston College Programs
• Increase four-year international undergraduate
  students

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Managing College Enrollments

• Enrollment as Strategy
• Prospect/Applicant
• Admitted
• Deposited
• Enrolled
• Returning
• Graduating/Alum

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Prospect/Applicant - Research
The National Enrollment Funnel for Private
Universities
Source Census, ACT, College Board, NCES NLS88,
FISAP, EIS
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Admitted, Deposited Enrolled Surveys
Most Appealing Attributes by Region Most Appealing Attributes by Region Most Appealing Attributes by Region Most Appealing Attributes by Region Most Appealing Attributes by Region Most Appealing Attributes by Region Most Appealing Attributes by Region Most Appealing Attributes by Region
NewEngland Mid-Atlantic Midwest South West Southwest Other
Academic reputation 48.4 37.6 30.0 29.0 24.0 22.7 26.7
Financial aid guarantee to meet full need 37.0 26.8 25.0 22.2 22.0 23.3 33.3
Quality of program in your preferred major 25.1 23.7 19.3 16.4 18.1 16.5 26.7
Institution near Boston 37.7 23.2 18.3 12.3 14.5 8.6 46.7
Medium enrollment size (8,500 undergraduates) 26.2 21.6 17.3 14.3 14.7 11.5 13.3
Teaching quality 17.3 16.7 16.3 11.4 13.6 13.0 20.0
Suburban location 16.1 15.7 11.3 8.8 9.2 6.2 13.3
Focus on preparation for graduate/professional school 12.6 14.1 8.0 8.3 10.1 10.9 20.0
Division I athletics 11.0 9.9 9.0 9.0 8.4 5.0 6.7
Undergraduate research opportunities 10.8 5.4 6.3 7.9 8.6 8.0 0.0
Jesuit/Catholic affiliation 5.8 9.4 7.3 4.2 6.0 4.7 6.7
Commitment to service learning 6.5 5.2 4.0 2.9 4.4 3.8 13.3
Name recognition in my home state 12.3 4.9 2.7 3.1 2.0 1.5 0.0
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Deposited Side note

• Summer Melt
• Tools
• Orientation
• Course and/or Roommate Selection
• Follow-up by letter, email and telephone
• Social Networks
• Analytics
• Clearinghouse
• By Admit type
• By Category

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Enrollment Planning (Retention Analytics)

• Student Surveys
• CIRP Cooperative Institutional Research Program
  (Frosh)
• NSSE National Survey of Student Engagement
  (Frosh and Seniors)

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Enrollment Planning (Retention Analytics)

• Reports Projection vs. Actual
• Frosh, Undergraduate and Graduate
• Enrollment
• Financial Aid
• Receivables
• Frequency
• Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Mid-year, Annual,
  4 year and 10 year
• Competitor analysis
• BC Top 25

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Enrollment Planning (Retention Analytics)

• Retention Models
• By Class and Admit Status Frosh and 4 years
• By School (includes transfer frequency)
• By Major (includes transfer frequency)
• By Category Needy, No Need, No App, etc..
• By Income
• By EFC

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Enrollment Planning (Policies and Tools)

• Need Blind
• Meet Need-Loan Policy
• Travel Allowances
• Appeals
• OTE
• Defer Expected Aid
• Registration Hold
• Housing Hold
• Defer One Semester
• O/S Aid Policy

• IM/FM Conundrum
• Book Cash Cards
• Laptop Grants
• uccessful Start
• Deans Credit
• Summer Aid
• BC Loans
• JYA Aid
• Trustee Awards
• Last Policy

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Enrollment Planning (Retention Policies)

• Safety Net
• Financial Aid Team
• Student Services Team
• Admission Team
• Orientation Team
• Student Accounts Team
• Trained in Financial aid (2 Former Aid Officers)
• Deans
• Faculty
• Advisors
• Students
• Staff
• Woods School

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AVERAGE TOTAL INDEBTEDNESS OF 2006 GRADUATING
CLASS, BC AND "TOP 25"
Boston College
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