Happy Financial Aid Awareness Month! Every February we recognize the crucial role that financial aid offices play in higher education and reaffirm our commitment to improving college accessibility. While student outreach can be difficult at times, part of our responsibility is finding ways to connect them with the information that they need to navigate the application process each year. Below are three tips that financial aid offices can use effectively to reach out to families:
- Collaborate with Campus Partners: Financial Aid offices often find themselves working in a silo and try their best to communicate with students with their internal resources. We encourage professionals to maintain their relationships with other front-facing departments that can encourage students to seek out guidance throughout the academic year. Your institution’s Registrar, Study Abroad, and Bursar offices are just three examples of campus partners that could be pivotal in communicating the importance of financial aid to the community.
- Create How-to Webinars: One of the biggest hurdles in financial aid is connecting families with counselors during office hours without neglecting their other responsibilities. Recording webinars that narrate aspects of the application process can be a great tool to provide an overview of what to expect or answer general questions until the office is open again. It is important to make these videos accessible, so we recommend that you post them on a dedicated page of your institution’s website.
- Diversify Communication Style: Social media continues to alter how we communicate, and the reality is that younger generations are using apps like YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok more than a traditional platform like email. Although it may be unorthodox, financial aid offices could take advantage of these applications to communicate important information to their respective communities. This venture is a good opportunity to possible hire a student worker who can help manage the account and provide insight on how to continuously improve engagement with their peers.
Financial aid awareness is more important than ever with the introduction of the new FAFSA and the many questions that families will have about changes to the application. Let’s use this month to reflect on what approaches have succeed in the past and incorporate new strategies that can demystify the process for students by encouraging them to learn about the resources available to them.