As uncertainty from the pandemic continues, managing refunds and withdrawals remains one of the top issues burdening higher education administrators. GradGuard's latest webinar, 'Best Practices and Benchmarks for Managing Refunds During COVID-19', hosted by NACUBO, dives into this issue and provides clear next steps for campus leaders.
Rising number of withdrawals isn't a new problem
Medical withdrawals have been increasing long before COVID-19. A 2019-2020 Benchmark Study revealed 70% of reporting schools are seeing a growth in student withdrawals.
Those withdrawals contribute to financial losses to both students and institutions, and the pandemic has tightened budgets. COVID-19 has also drawn attention to ordinary student health conditions, such as anxiety, depression, and mononucleosis, that may also disrupt an academic term or lead to an unexpected student withdrawal.
What schools are doing
Most people know they can insure a $300 plane ticket. Not as many people are aware they can also insure a $30,000 college tuition payment. But 2020 was definitely the year of tuition protection, with more than 50 schools implementing an integrated active-choice program.
On Feb. 11, NACUBO hosted Best Practices and Benchmarks for Managing Refunds During COVID-19. The webcast was presented by Derrick Shy, Vice President of Campus Development for GradGuard and Tracy Brown, Director of Anderson Central and Student Accounts.
How tuition protection plans benefit schools
What You'll Learn in this Webcast:
- Recommendations on how to achieve this goal of transparent refund and withdrawal policies
- New industry partnerships to help you do so at no cost to your institution
- Timely data pertaining to student health trends that allow this process to be delivered and managed by campuses like never before
