Getting Started: The Importance of Flexible Payment Plans

Why flexibility is important

With the price of higher education tuition continuing to climb and enrollment numbers continuing to fall, higher education institutions, like yours, need to get creative with attracting and retaining the student population. Offering payment plans, like those available from Nelnet Campus Commerce, is an ideal way to bring in students, but adjusting those payment plan schedules is a great way to keep students enrolled. Adjusting payment plan schedules and deadlines is a method your institution can use to secure as much revenue as possible – and there are a number of ways to go about it.

• Create a variety of schedules. If your institution only offers plans that include two or three payments, consider increasing the number of payments students can spread their bills over throughout the term.
• Add a second due date. Give students another option to choose as their due date – allowing more flexibility.
• Push spring payment plan start dates back. Give students a little extra time to get their finances in order before they have to start making payments.
• Extend cutoff dates for payment plan enrollment. This allows students more time to enroll in a payment plan, increasing the likelihood their bills are paid in full.
• Review and revise controllable dates. Reconsider dates for things like deposits, adds and drops, late fees, and cancellation dates.
• Offer past due payment plans to students with outstanding balances. Offering options to students who have past due balances, provides them a way to pay what they owe without being sent to collections, and opens the possibility of the student being able to persist.

A mini case study: Johns Hopkins University School of Education

Johns Hopkins University School of Education recognized that their current payment plan schedules weren’t working. The institution eventually reached out to their Nelnet Campus Commerce customer relationship manager to explore which options could help them make improvements.

The result? Johns Hopkins had a much more comprehensive set of payment plan options. Before the changes, the institution offered five payment plans that began Aug. 1 (for fall plans) and Jan. 1 (for spring plans).

After revising their payment plan offerings, they got the number of plans down to three, but added multiple enrollment deadlines for each of the plans. Their new plans consisted of five payments, four payments, or three payments and these could be paid at different times for the fall term and for the spring term. These plans still offered benefits to those who enrolled in a plan early on, but there was just enough flexibility for students and families who needed more time to make their financing decisions.

A student account manager at Johns Hopkins University School of Education shared that the new payment plans were very popular with the late-decision students, and she encourages other institutions to look into flexible payment plans if the opportunity presents itself.

Next steps for higher education institutions

If your institution is considering whether current payment plan schedules work as well as they should, here are a few steps to take. First, review all of your current payment plan offerings – gather as much information as you can before thinking about changes.

Then, decide which changes (if any) could help your institution and don’t be afraid to get creative. While you’re brainstorming, contact your customer relationship manager, client success manager, or account manager to get their thoughts – we’re always happy to help come up with ideas.

Finally, continue to listen to students and families. What issues are they facing? If it was up to them, what would an ideal payment plan experience look like?

By listening, you unlock a world of insights that are incredibly powerful.