Financial SupportInadequate financial resources is one of the foremost reasons that students leave college before completing a degree. This challenge is faced by many of our students, and it often is compounded by a lack of financial literacy about the types of funding available to them and the strategic management of financial resources. By recognizing these potential barriers to completion, we can enhance student success by taking steps to ensure that students understand the funding support available to them, have access to adequate funding, and know who to contact when they have financial difficulties.
1. Offer need-based aid that covers an optimal amount of the cost of attendance in relation to EFC.
2. Provide merit-based aid that attracts high-achieving students and promotes degree completion.
3. Emphasize applying for financial aid early in the admissions process, emphasize requirements for maintaining eligibility at orientation, and promote additional opportunities for assistance, such as scholarships, internships, and grant-funded awards, as they become available.
4. Communicate regularly to ensure that students are aware of the financial support and can take advantage of it. Incentivize engagement with financial aid counselors.
5. Offer regular and accessible financial awareness training at various levels of the student journey, including in-class training, seminars, and web resources such as ECMC.
6. Offer on-demand support to assist students with FA questions/challenges (e.g., chat support; direct 1-on-1 counseling).
7. Extend our financial aid outreach to students in their Senior year of high school, encouraging students to complete their FAFSA by November of the year prior to the year they begin college.
8. Provide emergency or just-in-time grants that provide students with timely support when faced with a modest financial challenge (e.g., car repairs, one-time rent payment). Provide completion grants that support students who are close to graduation but need one-time support.
