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Many higher education administrators are called to their positions for the same reason: to help students succeed. Lisa Mazure, Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance and Fiscal Services at Alamo Colleges District, joins this episode of FOCUS to share her experiences with supporting students while keeping accounts receivable and revenue flow healthy. Listen to hear her journey of improving account services at different institutions, leading to an increase in student success and financial literacy.
Lansing Community College
The college already used TouchNet for accepting online payments, but learned it could be expanded to also offer payment plans, refunds, and much more all through a single solution. This allowed LCC to reduce the number of systems that staff had to be trained on, improve the student and staff experience by managing everything in one place, and provide streamlined reporting and updated student accounts.
Payment plans
One of the first plans the college implemented was bi-weekly payment plans, which remains popular with students because it spreads payments out in a way that matches up with paychecks rather than one lump sum each month.
Lansing also added specialized payment plans for past-due balances. Each plan is specific to a student’s account balance and the repayment agreement they have with the institution. Students on this plan have the opportunity to have their balances forgiven if they complete a certain number of credit hours and meet other Student Finance Office requirements.
Students on financial aid that didn’t cover their full balance were given a payment plan that started later in the semester, after their financial aid was fully rewarded. This made it easier on students to pay correct balances after the add/drop course period concluded. Veterans, students in the Adult Resource Center, those with childcare scholarships, and other special cases were also given additional payment plan options. Adding plans for these unique situations gave students more financial freedom, helping them be more successful on campus.
Alamo Colleges District
She and her team are actively exploring solutions for reengaging students with past due balances and starting the process of placing holds again. It is important for Mazure and the system to find the balance between financial responsibility and academic achievement.
Like Lansing Community College, the Alamo Colleges District uses TouchNet solutions for student finance needs, but has not used the tools to their full potential. Mazure has been working to incorporate as many TouchNet solutions as possible to create immediate changes to help students.
Balancing accounts receivable
The Alamo Colleges District has now expanded their payment plan options to give students more flexibility to choose a plan that is right for them, leading to increases in payment plan enrollments and healthier accounts receivable balances while helping students meet their goals.
To further address outstanding past-due balances, the district has classified them into different buckets. Depending on how old the balance is, it might be forgiven. In other instances, students may be directly contacted with the option to enroll in a specialized repayment plan like mentioned before. The hope is that fewer students will be affected when the District decides to reimplement holds since they will have had the opportunity to resolve past due balances. These efforts tie back to the district’s goal of eliminating poverty through education and have an overall positive effect on students and their finances.
Maximize change at your institution
As far as communicating with students about upcoming changes, payment plans, overall student financial literacy, and the Business Office’s role in their success, the district has incorporated student financial services into the orientation process. This sets a foundation with students from the moment they step foot on campus that the student finance office is there to help. This coaches students that they have a stake in their education, not just on the academic side, but also when it comes to finances. Keeping all this in mind helps the student finance office move towards the final goal: helping students succeed financially, so they can succeed academically.
Special Guest: Lisa Mazure.
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Many higher education administrators are called to their positions for the same reason: to help students succeed. Lisa Mazure, Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance and Fiscal Services at Alamo Colleges District, joins this episode of FOCUS to share her experiences with supporting students while keeping accounts receivable and revenue flow healthy. Listen to hear her journey of improving account services at different institutions, leading to an increase in student success and financial literacy.
Lansing Community College
The college already used TouchNet for accepting online payments, but learned it could be expanded to also offer payment plans, refunds, and much more all through a single solution. This allowed LCC to reduce the number of systems that staff had to be trained on, improve the student and staff experience by managing everything in one place, and provide streamlined reporting and updated student accounts.
Payment plans
One of the first plans the college implemented was bi-weekly payment plans, which remains popular with students because it spreads payments out in a way that matches up with paychecks rather than one lump sum each month.
Lansing also added specialized payment plans for past-due balances. Each plan is specific to a student’s account balance and the repayment agreement they have with the institution. Students on this plan have the opportunity to have their balances forgiven if they complete a certain number of credit hours and meet other Student Finance Office requirements.
Students on financial aid that didn’t cover their full balance were given a payment plan that started later in the semester, after their financial aid was fully rewarded. This made it easier on students to pay correct balances after the add/drop course period concluded. Veterans, students in the Adult Resource Center, those with childcare scholarships, and other special cases were also given additional payment plan options. Adding plans for these unique situations gave students more financial freedom, helping them be more successful on campus.
Alamo Colleges District
She and her team are actively exploring solutions for reengaging students with past due balances and starting the process of placing holds again. It is important for Mazure and the system to find the balance between financial responsibility and academic achievement.
Like Lansing Community College, the Alamo Colleges District uses TouchNet solutions for student finance needs, but has not used the tools to their full potential. Mazure has been working to incorporate as many TouchNet solutions as possible to create immediate changes to help students.
Balancing accounts receivable
The Alamo Colleges District has now expanded their payment plan options to give students more flexibility to choose a plan that is right for them, leading to increases in payment plan enrollments and healthier accounts receivable balances while helping students meet their goals.
To further address outstanding past-due balances, the district has classified them into different buckets. Depending on how old the balance is, it might be forgiven. In other instances, students may be directly contacted with the option to enroll in a specialized repayment plan like mentioned before. The hope is that fewer students will be affected when the District decides to reimplement holds since they will have had the opportunity to resolve past due balances. These efforts tie back to the district’s goal of eliminating poverty through education and have an overall positive effect on students and their finances.
Maximize change at your institution
As far as communicating with students about upcoming changes, payment plans, overall student financial literacy, and the Business Office’s role in their success, the district has incorporated student financial services into the orientation process. This sets a foundation with students from the moment they step foot on campus that the student finance office is there to help. This coaches students that they have a stake in their education, not just on the academic side, but also when it comes to finances. Keeping all this in mind helps the student finance office move towards the final goal: helping students succeed financially, so they can succeed academically.
Special Guest: Lisa Mazure.