Mike Flanagan, CEO, NewOrg, and Jeff Shields, President & CEO, NBOA

When shifting budget focus and admissions goal setting from student headcount to net tuition revenue (NTR), tracking the correct metrics to measure the new goals is critical. Participants will receive and review templates that allow schools to annually monitor and track their NTR, NTR per student, and NTR per grade. The session will also identify other important financial aid metrics schools should track and monitor annually, with recommendations on how to identify, slow down or turn around negative trends.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will learn how to monitor the shift in their financial aid goals and budget from student headcount to net tuition revenue (NTR).
• Attendees will receive templates to track key NTR metrics and other important financial aid key performance indicators (KPIs).

Speaker:

• Palmer Ball, Advisory, NBOA Advisory Services 

With enrollment pressures and rising tuition, discounting can either strengthen your school or strain it. This panel explores data-informed strategies to align discounting practices with mission, market, and margin. We will discuss trends in aid and discounting across peer schools, how to align enrollment goals with financial strategy and the role of aid segmentation and predictive modeling.

Learning Objective:

• Participants will learn how to evaluate and apply data-driven discounting strategies that align with their school’s mission, market conditions, and financial goals, using tools like peer benchmarking, aid segmentation, and predictive modeling.

Speaker:

• Sam Rosenfeld, Sr. Director, Solution Strategy and Partnerships, VenturEd Solutions

Tuition discounting is a powerful tool for enrollment management, but when applied reactively or without strategy, it can erode financial sustainability. In this session, participants will learn data-driven approaches to tuition discounting that protect margins while supporting accessibility and mission alignment. We’ll break down common discounting pitfalls and share actionable frameworks for setting discount policies that work. Real-world examples from independent schools will highlight best practices and outcomes, equipping you with the tools to craft a discounting strategy that strengthens your school’s long-term health and enrollment stability.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will learn how to identify common pitfalls in tuition discounting that erode financial sustainability and a framework for data-informed discounting strategies.
• Participants will understand how to model different discount scenarios to assess financial impacts and develop actionable steps to align discounting policies with your school’s mission and enrollment goals. Leave with a toolkit to craft or refine your own discounting strategy for future planning.

Speaker:

• Nichole Heid-Arce, Finance & Benefit Manager/ Assistant Controller, The Chapel School (NY)

What happens when the financial aid calendar ends, but the requests don’t? Schools are left balancing urgency with fairness, empathy with policy, and flexibility with fiscal limits. From job losses to late applications and reconsideration appeals, off-cycle cases are growing. Without a structured approach, these requests can drain staff time, create inequities, and strain budgets. This session offers a strategic approach to managing off-cycle aid requests—late applications, mid-year need, and appeals—without compromising equity or capacity. Attendees will learn how to define decision criteria, refine policies, and uphold institutional priorities while staying responsive to changing family needs.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will explore how to respond to off-cycle financial aid requests—such as appeals, late applications, and mid-year changes—with clarity and consistency.
• The session will cover key elements of an equitable reconsideration policy, strategies for setting decision criteria, and approaches for balancing empathy, fairness, and fiscal responsibility.
• Attendees will also learn how standardized protocols can reduce pressure on staff, improve communication with families, and support long-term planning.

Speaker:

• Alisa Evans, Founder and CEO, Mission Enrollment (CA)

Whether you're building a tuition assistance program from the ground up or refining a well-established approach, this session offers inspiration and practical ideas for professionals at every level. Join a panel of Canadian schools as they share real-world strategies, including need-based and merit aid, pricing models, videos, and communication of funding amounts, all designed to create a more personal, transparent, and mission-aligned experience for families. You’ll leave with fresh tactics and ideas that you can take back and apply in your own school context.

Learning Objective:

• Participants will gain practical ideas for enhancing the financial aid process at your school to make it more transparent and mission aligned.

Panelists:

• David Darby, Assistant Head: Enrolment Management, Lakefield College School (ON)

Stevenson is a PK-12 school with a 9-12 Boarding-Day program in Pebble Beach and a PK-8 Day program in Carmel. Spanning two campuses, three divisions and four tuition rates, managing enrollment and financial aid in a consistent, sustainable and predictable fashion provides unique challenges. Post-pandemic, Stevenson's Business Office and Admissions Office formed a strong relationship to steward the School's net tuition revenue budget through careful enrollment and class composition strategies supported by grade-level financial aid budgeting and other mission-driven financial aid and enrollment practices. Learn how Stevenson established sustainable net tuition revenue targets that support its mission, program and budget.

Learning Objective:

• Participants will learn practices for managing and sustaining net tuition revenue through grade-level enrollment and financial aid budget strategies.

Speakers:

• Matt Sclafani, Controller / Director of Financial Aid, Stevenson School (CA)
• Amy Graham, Director of Enrollment Management, Stevenson School (CA)

Returning student aid is often the largest—and least flexible—line in a school’s financial aid budget. With prior-year taxes now the industry standard, many schools are moving timelines earlier. Key questions include: Can families absorb the full tuition increase, only part of it, or none at all? How do schools plan for returning families who were once full-pay but now qualify for aid?

This session will examine how schools are rethinking returning aid: assumptions, methodology changes, and tuition increase impacts. We’ll also look at how FA, enrollment, and CFO/CEO leaders collaborate to forecast costs, set reserves, and align enrollment strategy.

Learning Objective:

• Participants will learn ways to collaborate across teams to better forecast enrollment numbers and financial aid needs for the upcoming year.

Speakers:

• Sarah Edwards, Founder & CEO, Edwards Educational Consulting
• Russell Gagarin, Director of Financial Aid, Landon School (MD)

Join us for an interactive case study session based on real-life financial aid scenarios and moderated by financial aid experts. Participants will have their choice of case study.