Agenda

Opening Remarks 
Jim Ventre, Assistant Head of School, Dean of Admission & Financial Aid, Phillips Academy 

Session I:
Thriving as a Financial Aid Practitioner During Challenging & Uncertain Times
A discussion with a panel of financial aid leaders (50 min)
Kemper Auditorium

Session II 

Option A: Kemper Auditorium

The Critical Intersection of Financial Assistance and Enrollment Priorities
Jenni Biehn, Director of Enrollment Management and Jennifer Corby, Assistant Director of Financial Aid and Enrollment Data Manager, Western Reserve Academy

Are admissions and financial aid fully integrated and collaborative programs that work powerfully together in support of enrollment goals at your school? During this session you will learn how to increase alignment by connecting discounting decisions to enrollment priorities. Consider a menu of need-based and merit-based discounting options, and then experience how you can use enrollment priorities as a framework to guide your discounting decision-making and impact your enrollment outcomes.

Option B: Underwood Room

Planning Over the Horizon - Strategies for Effective Long Term Financial Aid Planning
Jorge Delgado, Buckingham Browne & Nichols School, Nastaran Hakimi, Boston University Academy

We’ll discuss effective strategies for financial aid planning that look beyond the annual budget cycle. We’ll include key questions to help frame financial aid philosophies and policies and share how they set goals strategically. You will learn how to identify and work with key stakeholders in the budgeting process such as Finance Committee members and Business Office personnel and learn about tools for predictive modeling for financial aid awards.

Lunch | Cohort Groups of 8-10 
Location: Andover Inn

Session III 

Option A: Kemper Auditorium  

Supplemental Assistance Programs: A Philosophy and Practice for Your School
James Eberhart, Director of Financial Aid & Associate Director of Admission, Chadwick School (CA)

Geared toward those who are looking to start a supplemental assistance program (aid beyond tuition dollars), we’ll give you a way to think about what that could and should look like at your school. It will also offer a "manual" that could be used with some changes for you to bring back to your school. We’ll address budgetary concerns, as well as ways to partner effectively with your CFO and your Development Office to build this into your budget.

Option B: Underwood Room

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love NTR
Drew Cocco, Director of Client Success, Clarity Tuition, former Director of Financial Aid

The vast majority of schools depend primarily on tuition revenue to fund day-to-day operations, which makes every enrollment decision a revenue decision. What's more, tuition pricing is outpacing household incomes, leading to increased use of financial aid and discounting as a tool for achieving enrollment management goals. The goal of this session is to reframe our thinking about the role of Net Tuition Revenue within a strategic and mission-driven financial aid strategy so we can hopefully worry a little less about fiscal sustainability.

Case Studies & Systems Updates (90 minutes)
Clarity: Phillips Room, Andover Inn
SSS and TADS: Stevens Room, Andover Inn
FACTS: Conference Room Andover Inn
FAST: Private Dining Room Andover Inn
Black Baud: Section of Samuels, Andover Inn

Closing Cornerstone Speaker | Kemper Auditorium
Excellence and Access at Independent Schools
Phillip Levine, Katharine Professor of Economics, Center for Economic Security and Opportunity, Wellesley College

Professor Levine will challenge us and inspire us as we reflect on the concerns that have been growing regarding the high price of independent schools. Recent developments in college pricing further the need to re-evaluate pricing systems. We will examine the system of financing independent schools in this environment, focusing on maintaining excellence and improving access. Perhaps not surprisingly, the need for fundraising and endowment support is greater than ever. And it is essential for enrollment and financial aid professionals to continue to find ways to better communicate the availability of financial aid. 

Breakfast
Andover Inn: Phillips Room

Business Taxes and Complicated Financial Aid Cases
Alisa Evans, Founder & CEO, Mission Enrollment

The era of straightforward W-2 income earners is steadily fading into the past. Nowadays, financial aid administrators regularly confront complex family financial situations frequently intertwined with business ownership. Practical assessment of these families' applications requires an understanding of specific tax forms and schedules, even the ability to scrutinize tax transcripts. Alisa and Anita Harper will lead you through a strategic approach for complex and business owner reviews, involving identifying pertinent tax documents according to income source, where vital information resides on them, and honing the skill to decipher the subtleties of cash flow.