Client Stories
University of the Ozarks
Best Practice Solutions has assisted University of the Ozarks with several efforts involving enrollment management, financial aid awarding, and financial aid business processes. Collaborating closely with University of the Ozarks team members, Best Practice Solutions developed a comprehensive financial aid awarding plan for new students that enables the integrated use of institutional, state, and federal resources. This new awarding plan makes use of both merit and need-based financial aid and identifies key market segments for awarding strategy design and tracking. Best Practice Solutions also provided documentation of awarding rules, processes, and related definitions and criteria for cross departmental and historical reference.
Best Practice Solutions has also helped the University of the Ozarks develop KPI goals around enrollment management that are tied to institutional priorities, including net tuition revenue, new student headcount, and discount and yield rates. Best Practice Solutions has created Key Performance Indicator reporting for University of the Ozarks that enabled detailed progress tracking and benchmarking throughout the recruitment cycle. Best Practice Solutions has also helped advance the professional development of admissions and financial aid staff members through coaching and mentorship in regular collaboration meetings.
In addition, Best Practice Solutions has reviewed and helped enhance financial aid business processes at the University of the Ozarks. This included assessing financial aid customer service strengths and weaknesses and making related recommendations for reducing student persistence barriers, and for increasing efficiencies in operational practices through use of financial aid systems. Best Practice Solutions also reviewed the use of endowed funds in financial aid awarding and made recommendations for optimization.
Helene Fuld College of Nursing
Our work with Helene Fuld College of Nursing (HFCN) provides a good example of how Best Practice Solutions can serve as an extension of an institution’s team and provide expert enrollment and financial aid services to meet both pressing and longer range needs. HFCN’s initial engagement with Best Practice Solutions was to provide support with the College’s response to a Preliminary Audit Response Determination Letter (PADL) from the Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA). Providing an accurate and thorough PADL response requires deep familiarity with financial aid regulations, policies, and data, and we applaud HFCN for their forward thinking in reaching out to Best Practice Solutions to support the College.
In collaboration with HFCN staff, Best Practice Solutions led the necessary response activities, including compilation of required data elements and review of audit related student files for financial aid recipients across multiple academic years. Best Practice Solutions also provided quality assurance on work completed by HFCN staff, such as Return to Title IV fund calculations, before the related data elements were submitted to FSA.
To help ensure these efforts resulted in sustained improvement of the College’s business practices, Best Practice Solutions has also provided HFCN with the following: training and professional development of financial aid and admissions staff members; and assessment and redesign of the organizational staffing structure of enrollment and financial aid services. Best Practice Solutions is now leading the creation of a multi-year strategic enrollment management plan for HFCN.
Thomas Jefferson University
Best Practice Solutions serves as a partner to Thomas Jefferson University in developing pricing and discounting strategies for the optimization of enrollment management outcomes for first year, transfer, and graduate students. Best Practice Solutions’ assistance has helped Jefferson increase new student headcount, aggregate net tuition revenue, and average net tuition revenue per student, while also lowering the discount rate and helping to rebalance student composition across academic disciplines.
Best Practice Solutions has focused on Jefferson’s dynamic enrollment circumstances and provided, consequently, specialized pricing and discounting strategies that deliver exceptional results in a highly competitive marketplace. Best Practice Solutions has designed and helped implement awarding strategies customized to Jefferson’s institutional profile and key market segments, while monitoring and adapting Jefferson’s strategies across the recruitment cycle. Best Practice Solutions has been able to do this by acting as a close partner to the Jefferson enrollment team, utilizing expertise in enrollment management, financial aid, and data science.