Reducing Barriers Linked to Financial Holds at California State University, San Bernardino
Impact at a Glance
The Problem
CSUSB started its efforts by assembling a team of subject matter experts representing divisions that support students. Participants in this initiative were willing to explore more deeply the implications of financial processes on student outcomes. The initial charge to the group was focused on the identification of strategies to improve enrollment and specifically on efforts to improve retention or re-engage students who had unpaid account balances that resulted in a hold. These financial holds blocked students from registering for classes. Through the development of a standard student account balance report and the revision of guidelines for debt forgiveness linked to a commitment to reenroll, register, and attend classes, CSUSB forgave close to $2M in support of the reenrollment campaign. The initiative decreased the university's accounts receivable (AR) balances.
The Results
Results
- A cross-functional team of leaders, committed to reducing barriers to student retention, used the Guiding Questions for Student-Centered Decision-Making tool to support their efforts to implement more effective policies and communications for students who had high account balances that prevented them from registering for classes.
- New policies resulted in the development of a sustainable debt forgiveness program linked to re-enrollment and registration support practices.
“This resource and our improvement project helped us realize what is possible when we work across departments toward the same goal. We plan to use this tool to determine new initiatives and evaluate the performance of existing ones.”
Maria BadulisUniversity Controller, Finance and Administrative Services
Related Use Cases
Aligning Budgetary Decision-Making with Institutional Goals to Prioritize Student Success
Ensuring Informed, Transparent, and Strategic Allocation of Resources Aligned With Institutional Goals
