Question: Is there a way to have specific contract text with a required signature section to show up on the enrollment contract for only those families who receive fin aid?

Katie Newhall

I am trying to avoid having two separate enrollment contracts but would like to include a section in our enrollment contract that requires parents to read and more importantly sign off on our financial aid policy, however, this section of the contract should only appear on the contracts that include financial aid. Hoping to hear what others do - I am open to any suggestions or “work arounds” if this feature is not available at time time. Thanks!

Troy Burki

@Katie Newhall I think the easiest approach would be to create separate contract types. You can use the special contract text block and keep a single contract type, but you would need to add the financial aid policy to each student receiving FA's special contract text field. Other options could include creating a general section that includes the FA policy for everyone and says ‘if applicable’ or you could also set up a separate school form that is issued to families receiving financial aid.

Shannon Krise

@Katie Newhall I was going to suggest the same thing as Troy. The special considerations text would work, and you could probably do a bulk upload for everyone receiving financial aid. We have the special considerations block in all of our contracts, but it will only be displayed on the contract if something is entered for special considerations on the student's record in enrollment management. I don't think you can include a section specific signature or acknowledgement that way though.

We include financial aid policy on all contracts, but for us, at the time parents complete the contract they are simply indicating whether they are applying for financial aid by choosing “Yes” or “No” to the applying for financial aid question. Depending on the text you need to include, you might be able to reword that question to work as an agreement/acknowledgement to the financial aid information, but again, that question would appear on all contracts.

Katie Newhall

@Shannon Krise so helpful! Thank you for your time in writing a response! I like the idea of rewording the financial aid question… I will try that!

Katie Newhall

@Troy Burki Thank you so much for your response, very helpful!

Katie Newhall

@Shannon Krise - Hi Shannon, Can you tell me where on the enrollment contract you are able to add the question regarding whether or not the family has applied for financial assistance? I don't see this option when setting up the contract. Thanks!

Bryan Lorenzo

Hi @Katie Newhall in the deposit section of the contract you can show/hide the question Applying for Financial Aid.

Shannon Krise

@Katie Newhall Bryan saved me some trouble because it might have taken me a while to find that again. You can customize the text of the question using the “Display As” column. I had forgotten that the question was actually in the deposit section though. It makes sense since it's used to set deposit rules, but that placement might be a little tricky for what you are trying to do.

Katie Newhall

@Bryan Lorenzo
THANK YOU!!! ?

Katie Newhall

@Shannon Krise
THANK YOU!!! ?

Coco Parham

@Bryan Lorenzo just curious, we do not use this feature but add the financial aid so it appears on their contract. How is this question helpful if we want parents to complete their FA before contracts are issued?

Lauren Marcus Eisenberg

@Katie Newhall I would encourage you to use the Special Contract Text Field. We use this field liberally and I add it to every contract we build even if I don't anticipate needing it since blank fields do not appear on the contracts as noted by another commentator.

Bryan Lorenzo

Hi @Coco Parham - it is a question available on the contract as the system allows for a deposit rule to be set up. The deposit rule would reduce the deposit to X amount if they respond Yes they are applying for Financial Aid.

Coco Parham

@Bryan Lorenzo Thank you. We have not showed the question but we also use the deposit rules that reduce the deposit, depending on the amount of FA they recieved. We are setting up our 24-25 contracts now. I will show the question from now on. thanks!

Bryan Lorenzo

Hi @Coco Parham - there is another deposit rule to adjust the deposit if X financial aid is awarded in EMS. So, if you're actually awarding aid in EMS you can use that option as well. In this case it wouldn't be necessary to have the Queston enabled.

Ash Smelkinson

@Coco Parham Yeah, we have a similar system set up, where the awards for financial aid are listed on the contract itself, and the “deposit rules” are set to adjust the deposit based on the amount of aid given. We don't actually explain the adjusted deposit on the contract- I may bring up doing that this year.

We ask the “do you intend to apply for Financial Aid” question on our applications, and use it as a guide to remind people once enrollment season rolls around in case they are new and haven't applied yet.

There is always a difference between who self-reports as applying and who actually goes through the process.

I'm curious about how it works for those who ask if they intend to apply in the deposit section of the contract.

Do many schools have contracts set up where families have to agree to pay the whole tuition no matter what aid they get, and is there then an opportunity to withdraw later if they aren't able to afford it without the aid they're hoping to receive?

Coco Parham

@Ash Smelkinson yes, we do the same. Our candidate families are required to answer the FA question on the application and then reminded to complete the process in later discussions. When our admission group calls families to congratulate them with acceptances, FA awarded is discussed as well. So it is covered in a few ways. Thanks!

Coco Parham

@Bryan Lorenzo that is what we use. Thank you for all your help!