Marketing, Financial Aid, and the OBBB
Spring always brings conversations about financial aid as families across the country compare the aid packages they have received from various universities in order to confirm their enrollment before May 1. This year, however, universities are even more focused on financial aid planning as they plan for the changes proposed in the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB).
From a marketing perspective, what can we do to help our institutions position themselves for success in the face of these changes? How can we help our students navigate the new landscape in ways that will help them continue to find solutions that help them to enroll?
The OBBB’s Anticipated Impact
While the bill is still being finalized, campus financial aid offices are already gearing up for the impacts it will have on their students. The bill includes major changes to federal financial aid programs, including annual and lifetime caps on Parent Plus loans and the elimination of Graduate Plus loans. These changes have the potential to significantly limit the borrowing power of students and families, which could, in turn, put downward pressure on institutional revenue.
In most cases, institutional budgets are not ready to simply absorb the changes by providing additional aid, which means that universities will have to make an even stronger case for their value, while also being more creative in helping students find ways to fund their education. Many graduate students, in particular, are heavy loan borrowers, which is creating particular anxiety in graduate enrollment offices across the country.
Communicate with Your Internal Audiences
Most students are oblivious to changes in regulations, and faculty and program directors may also not be informed. Marketing and communications teams should partner with the financial aid office on internal communication to both of these audiences.
Your help in communicating the issues to campus leaders and current students will help elevate the changes to a level of importance where your institution can develop a proactive strategy instead of reacting – potentially too late.
Focus Your Efforts
Request data about how many of your current and incoming students are likely to be impacted and the potential impact that could have on revenue. Identify which populations and academic programs are the most vulnerable to losing enrollment based on their number of borrowers and the amount of borrowing per student. Make these student populations your primary targets for internal communication.
The Grandfather Clause
The way the bill is written, students can still be grandfathered into the old program regulations if they do so before July. In most cases, this is too early for parents of undergraduate students to benefit, as their loans typically disperse after the start of classes in August, but many graduate programs start in the summer. If your campus has graduate programs with the option of spring or summer starts, you should prepare an outreach campaign to get students registered.
Communicate to potential fall enrollees that the time to start is now so that they can take advantage of the older, more generous scholarship provisions. Once students are in by this date, they will continue to have access to Graduate Plus loans as long as they continue to borrow. This means that it is in a student’s best interest to borrow something, even if it is a nominal amount, in order to maintain Graduate Plus loans as an option.
This strategy may not be self-evident to students, so communicating the grandfather clause early and often with your current and potential graduate students is critical.
Alternative Funding Sources
Demonstrate that your campus cares about affordability by providing information on outside scholarship opportunities offered by civic organizations, employers, and foundations. Create lists of resources for students to utilize to identify other funding options.
Your university may even have financial partners who could offer options to your students for alternative loan sources. If you can create and package these sources, you can market them as part of the solutions you are proactively providing for families.
By providing the information that students need and creatively guiding them to other resources, you can mobilize students to act in their own best interests.
Position Your Institution as an Expert
As the details of the bill become clearer, prospective students and their families will want answers and strategies for how to navigate the new regulations. Position your university as a source of the latest information – and solutions – that families need.
Create a page on your website dedicated to explaining the changes in loan programs and offering solutions. Host regular webinars for families to hear from your financial aid staff on how the loan programs work and how they can maximize their eligibility for alternative loans.
An Opportunity to Step Up
As the saying goes, don’t waste a good crisis. Yes, the new loan changes have the potential for negative impact on student borrowing and, ultimately, on institutional revenue. However, we can lessen that impact by proactively communicating, providing the caring and expert guidance students and families need in times of uncertainty, and making a strong case for the value of what you have to offer.
Check back for our next blog, which will dive in on emphasizing the value of a college degree. While these strategies are particularly important in anticipation of the OBBB, student concern around cost is a perennial challenge our teams must be prepared to tackle.
Could you use a fresh perspective on your enrollment marketing efforts—or some extra man hours to supplement your team? Let’s talk about how 5° Branding can help.
