Spring Conference April 9 – 11, 2018 Effective Cross-Cultural Communication to Recruit and Retain a Diverse Student Body Presenters: Robert Muhammad, Financial Aid Director-Winston Salem State University Michael O’Grady, Client Services, Financial Aid Services, Atlanta Georgia Spring Conference April 9 – 11, 2018

There is no list of Do’s and Don’t for Cultural Diversity!!!! Looking at Multicultural Communication and Diversity Looking at Multicultural Communication and Diversity in Financial Aid Offices Looking at Multicultural Communication and Diversity in ”ASFAA’s.”

State of the Union in Higher Education Good News- Stock market is up Bad News –Most people don’t have significant stock holdings if any Good News- Endowments are up Bad News-–Most schools serving underserved populations have little or no endowments Good News-– States are rebounding from the recession Bad New– They are not making up for the divestment of the last 10 years Good News—Some financial aid process are becoming better (PPY) Bad News– Federal Student loans remain expensive and pre-paid refund cards might restrict certain uses of refunds

Winter is Coming Traditional student enrollment will continue to decline Schools aren’t adapting fast enough to understand the needs of non-traditional students Enrollment patterns are becoming less linear 52 percent of private schools, and 44 percent of public schools did not make their enrollment goals (Chronical of Higher Education) Large decline in birth rates starting with the recession will reduce the available college age population by 15% by 2026. (Nathan D. Grawl, author of “Demographics and the Demand for Higher Education.”)

Not only will some regions see flat or declining graduation numbers, the new arrivals on our college campuses will be increasingly nonwhite, first generation, and low income. Chronical of Higher Education, December 2016 Traditional Students Non-Traditional Reputation of School Convenience and Amenities Quality of Faculty Flexible Scheduling School Look and Feel Tutoring Available Social Life  

Impact on Financial Aid Offices “Why do we have to work so hard making poor people prove they are poor….” Anyomous financial aid director Manual verification workload increase due to seemly lower resourced households and extended family member flux in household size Increase phone calls Increase in “debt relief” scam companies charging students to change loan repayment programs

FTE = FTE Envisaging the challenges of recruiting and retaining a diverse student body including different generation IS your job Schools unable to make enrollment goals will disappear “This is how we always have done it” is a key to unemployment

Real Reasons Students Leave Higher Education From: The Cost of College Attrition at Four Year Colleges & Universities, EPI Policy Perspectives, Feb. 2013

Leveraging Technology for Better Customer Service Transfer work-load to where interpersonal skills are needed Reduce rote tasks 24/7 Institution can become bilingual Financial Education Mitigate budget cuts Go Green Use analytics as your GPS for default management

Spring Conference April 9 - 12, 2017

Model of Communication Sender Encoder Decoder Receiver

Don’t ZZZZZ on Generation Z Also called the Homeland Generation, iGeneration, Delta Generation 1981-1996 Millennials Z Generation overview— No American Dream 47% Greatly concerned about student debt 36% Worried about affording college Expectations? Immediate provision of goods and services

Abstractive Associative To do To be Linear Non-linear Monochronic Polychronic Nuclear family Extended Family

College “Culture Shock” & Veteran’s PTSD/I Awareness Introduced by 1954 by Kalvervo Oberg Normally a student blames his or her “financial aid” as the reason for leaving school. Difficulty in assimilating to new culture and environment Anxiety, disorientation, uncertainty, confusion Phases: Honeymoon Phase - Negotiation Phase - Adjustment Phase (things become “normal”) - Reverse Culture Shock

Veterans and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder/Injury (PTSD/I) continued… One in five veterans will experience re- entry issues or possibly PTSD/I Approximately 200,000 women served in Afghanistan and Iraq 23% to 33% of women veterans report experiencing “MST” of which 42% will acquire PTSD

Please visit them and let them know how much you appreciate it. NCASFAA would like to thank our Professional Affiliates for their support. Please visit them and let them know how much you appreciate it. Spring Conference April 9 – 11, 2018