So here we are, in a post affirmative action world, at least in terms of admissions. I won’t link to or summarize any of the thoughtful, well-informed pieces I have read over the past week as I’m sure you’ve been doing the same. And these pieces are written by people far more knowledgeable than I in terms of jurisprudence, policy or personal experience.
But I do see this event as putting yet another question in front of school. And isn’t this question always, in some form: how do we communicate our institutional values through our behaviors?
“Financial Aid” Distribution
For most schools, we are not “building a class,” we are trying to meet a net tuition revenue goal with mission matched students. Most independent schools are not in Harvard’s position. Like the vast majority of institutions of higher education, we let in a very high percentage of applicants.
Often, the stumbling block is that we can’t fund all the kids qualified to attend/fill our schools.
The opportunity independent schools have is in how they use their financial aid “dollars” (really, dollars not taken in/discounted price). That is a huge choice and a real lever at your disposal rather than the admission process itself.
Do you have an internal philosophy and a set of priorities? Could the head articulate the FA philosophy if asked? The board chair? And who is/are the decision maker(s)? Are the HOS, the CFO and the DEM all on the same page? I realize it would serve no one to have radical transparency about financial aid decisions, but internally, there is a big difference between spreading it thin over many students or going deep with a few - or how a strategy informs how the decision between the two gets made.
One of my hobby horses in the last few years of headship was how to better frame the generous amount of financial aid we distributed. Let’s face it, we are already using marketing by referring to it as “financial aid” or scholarship instead of a discount anyway. I was fascinated by Olin College’s approach where every student who enrolled was granted a four year Olin Tuition Scholarship.
I have no idea if for Olin this is a genuinely funded scholarship or really a tuition reset, but I found the positioning intriguing. My team was familiar with my back-of-the-napkin calculations and aspirational schemes (my CFO was always polite). My chief development director and I traded thoughts on how much we would need to increase the annual fund to close a budget gap if every enrolled student was given such an award. I still have fondness for the idea although it didn’t go anywhere. We were just starting to play with the concept.
There is a genuine opportunity to look at how you can harness your discount rate rather than letting it be the tail that wags the dog. Schools are very concerned with revenue and sustainability right now, but there is always discretion in how you allocate the resources you have. When you really pull it apart, you have a hundred choices. I wonder if it’s too scary to even start this deconstruction? Then we never even get to the point to decide if we want to keep allocating resources the same way - or not. Even if it might pay off in myriad ways.
Hiring
Why do we care so much about Harvard, anyway? What is the value of the degree but, in large part, the social capital, the network capital, the prestige it grants? There are many universities where students can work with excellent teachers, gain knowledge and develop skills. Our belief in the specialness of the very selective schools is in large part why they are a thing apart.
How much does a degree from a very elite college, a pedigree, if you will, influence how you evaluate a candidate or your decision to hire someone? I know many factors go into the hiring process but I think this is worth some reflection. Recall the credentials of some recent hires. If you’re a senior administrator or a department head, what do you think your head of school expects? And for heads of schools, does your board expect a list of very selective college degrees next to the name of any new hire?
And does the idea of opening up this conversation with your head or board make you go “hmmm” or fill you with dread?
What if you thought about credentials in an entirely new way that would open up your hiring pool and create more avenues to bring a diverse set of life experiences and outlooks into your community, on every level?
Even if you don’t change a thing, I believe this is worth the thought exercise.
We are part of an enormous educational ecosystem. In some ways, we are a large part and some ways, a small part, depending on how you look at it. Either way, it’s worth thinking about our role and to be intentional about where we want to make impact with our values.
I assume that wherever you are, you are either in air conditioning or you are hot. From where I sit typing this, I can see Long Island Sound and it looks so tempting, but damn you, New England, I know that water temperature is still frigid. But hot or not, I hope all you educators are getting some chance to relax and enjoy some July downtime.
Yours with an iced coffee -
Julie
Check our new programs for admissions/communication and hiring/retention:
Stony Creek Strategy Immediate Impact programs
And I have a few spaces available to work with coaching clients in the next school year:
Coaching for Heads and Senior Admins
Feel free to reach out for more information: jfaulstich@stonycreekstrategy.com
Next week in a Summer of TOOS: Talking Out of School’s inaugural interview feature where I ask a guest to raise consciousness about a misunderstood, overlooked, underappreciated or novel aspect of school/non-profit operations.
My first guest will be Michele Levy, President of Caravan Brand Partners, discussing brand strategy. This interview is 100% gold! Stay tuned for so much wisdom.