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COUNSELING
The Need for Education: Providing Objective
Financial Counseling to Students and Parents
The potential
impact of the legislative proposals to change Federal grants and loans makes it more
imperative than ever to provide objective
education and counseling to your parents and
students on the many ways of financing a college
education. The Institute of Higher Education
Policy stated this fact bluntly in its December
2006 research report on private lending: “The
need for targeted outreach to students to ensure
they are receiving comprehensive information
about the pros and cons of private loan
borrowing is critical.”1.
 This month at the NACUBO Student Financial
Services Conference, Ruth Johnston, Senior
Associate Treasurer of Student Financial
Services at the University of Washington and her
Assistant Director, Sandie Rosko, conducted a
session on how the University is successfully
providing education and financial counseling to
its students. Says Dr. Johnston, “We have an
educational mission as well as a financial
mission. The students coming to the University
don’t necessarily know how to manage money –
they haven’t been trained or taught. This is an
essential skill, just as learning how to write a
paper critically.”
Ruth Johnston and her staff have transformed the
student interaction with the billing office from
transaction-based to an efficient, value-added
experience for staff and students alike.
Implementing electronic billing and payment
services in 2000, the office leveraged the time
staff gained from technology, turning staff
roles into professional-quality advisor
positions and establishing a counseling center.
Now, when students visit the cashier window, if
a complex financial question comes up, the
cashier walks him/her to an advisor and they
have a private, one-on-one meeting on the spot.
“Technology makes all the difference. We
couldn’t be doing what we are doing without the
advancements in e-services,” Dr. Johnston
states.
The University also conducts proactive outreach
to other student advisors (i.e., Division of
Arts and Sciences) to
ensure they know exactly what the SFS office
does. Personal financial management courses are
also offered. This way, financial knowledge is
gained from the moment students are introduced
to the school, and they understand the
“mechanics” of what is expected of them,
financially.
 Note what is happening here. Technology is being
leveraged to handle the routine transactions so
that precious human resources are freed up to handle
those with a true, complex need. E-services
don’t reduce or eliminate the need for quality
customer interaction; rather, they enable your
ability to deliver them. In fact, with the
introduction of e-services, the need to
reallocate resources to face-to-face or call
center based counseling services becomes even
more critical. This phenomenon was recognized by
Dr. David Butler, Director of the Call Center
Research Laboratory at the University of
Southern Mississippi, in his presentation
“Customer Relationship Management in Higher
Education” at the NACUBO Student Financial
Services Conference. Dr. Butler’s research
indicates that opening multiple channels of
communication to parents and students (i.e.
online, in person, phone) increases the total
level of communications interaction, overall.
Tuition Management Systems, the leading payment
plan, e-services and planning/counseling
provider, is passionate about the need to
provide objective financial counseling to
parents and students in today’s increasingly
complex environment. “Now is not the time to
walk away from the conversation with parents and
students about lending programs,” remarks Dave
Pelkey, Chief Operating Officer.
“Students and families need help putting
together the right combination of payment plans,
federal loans and alternative loans now more
than ever. Help needs to be offered over
multiple communications channels that include
e-services, traditional direct mail, inbound and
outbound calling, as well as face-to-face
sessions on campus. It needs to leverage key
moments like the receipt of the acceptance
letter, the financial aid award, and the bill.
And the delivery of objective, unbiased payment
counseling, by definition, means there cannot
be an economic incentive to maximize borrowing.”
The result of the financial counseling and
education that Ruth Johnston and Sandie Rosko
provide is tangible: Student lending is
declining, default rates continue to be
excellent, and advisors receive lots of personal
appreciation from the students. Sandie Rosko
recounts, “It’s amazing to see how many ways
students are torn while trying to complete an
education these days. They come back and give
somebody a hug in the office, or they send you a
hand-written note that says, ‘It is nice to know
there are people who care! Now I am able to come
back to school starting in January because of
your help.’” There is no greater reward for you,
your students, your parents, and your
institution than this.
1. The Institute for Higher Education Policy,
“The Future of Private Loans: Who is Borrowing
and Why?” December 2006 |
