Mike Flanagan, CEO, E3n, 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
• Rachael Cramond, Director of Customer Experience, 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:

• Anita Harper, Chief Operating Officer, Mission Enrollment (MN)

Learn how some universities have grown stronger despite headwinds, and how to apply this in independent schools. This session will explore how pricing and discounting may be fine-tuned to attract the desired enrollment.

Learning Objective:

• Participants will understand how to apply lessons learned from higher education to their own schools to make pricing and discounting decisions that enable them to maintain and grow enrollment.
   

Speaker:

• Sacha Litman, Managing Partner, Fierce Outcomes

The evolving nature of the geopolitical climate and our global populations mandates that we rethink how we use and leverage financial aid as a tool for shaping and developing our institutions. This session will explore how you can apply financial aid to recognize and rectify intentional and unintentional barriers to creating the school communities we desire to have.

Learning Objective: 

• Participants will learn how to leverage financial aid as a tool to shape their school community and fulfill their mission

Speaker:

• Genieve Rankel, Director of Financial Aid, Buckingham Browne & Nichols School (MA)

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)

With the 2017 tax code allowing families to legally shield income and assets, financial aid analysts are increasingly challenged to identify true financial need. And while many of us hope our software solutions will uncover this need, it's very easy to miss major resources that families have tucked away in tax shelters. This session will explore practical strategies for uncovering hidden resources and distinguishing between actual need and savvy tax planning. Learn simple ways to interpret tax documents, spot red flags, and make equitable aid decisions that maximize limited budgets and prioritize students with genuine need.

Learning Objective:

• Participants will learn how to uncover hidden resources in the financial aid application process

Speakers:

• Marjorie Mitchell, Head of Enrollment Management, Westminster Schools (GA)

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)
• Sophie Grossman, Executive Director, Admissions, Appleby College (ON)
• Jarryd Stock, Director of Admissions, St. Andrew's College (ON)
• Reto Camenzind, Associate Director of Admissions, Senior School, St. George's School (BC)

The Reynolds Family - Vancouver, BC -  Moderated by Ann Halupka, Director of Enrolment Management, St. John's School (BC)

The Star Family - Seattle, WA - Moderated by Doug Moon, Associate Director of Admission & Financial Aid, University Prep (UPrep), Seattle (WA)

The Stetson Family - Austin, TX - Moderated by Priscilla Lund, Director of Enrollment Management & Financial Aid K-12, St. Andrew's School (TX)

The Green Family - Ithaca, NY - Moderated by Alisa Evans, Founder & CEO, Mission Enrollment