Following the 2017 merger of Thomas Jefferson University and Philadelphia University, the newly unified institution faced a critical operational challenge: consolidating two distinct financial aid functions. The goal was to transform the legacy systems into a singular, highly efficient, and compliant ‘Financial Aid 2.0’ department. The existing structure was characterized by fragmented business processes across different campuses, siloed workflows, lack of cross-training, and significant staff exhaustion, leading to high turnover and poor morale. Furthermore, the future workload was projected to increase due to impending federal regulatory changes (FSA Student Aid Index implementation and the discontinuation of verification waivers).
Following the 2017 merger of Thomas Jefferson University and Philadelphia University, the newly unified institution faced a critical operational challenge: consolidating two distinct financial aid functions. The goal was to transform the legacy systems into a singular, highly efficient, and compliant ‘Financial Aid 2.0’ department. The existing structure was characterized by fragmented business processes across different campuses, siloed workflows, lack of cross-training, and significant staff exhaustion, leading to high turnover and poor morale. Furthermore, the future workload was projected to increase due to impending federal regulatory changes (FSA Student Aid Index implementation and the discontinuation of verification waivers).