Kick Off The New Aid Year With a Little Less Stress

Here we go again! Another aid year is quickly approaching—anybody else looking for the slow-motion button to give us a few extra minutes to catch our collective breath? Let me know if you find it!

This is likely the WORST time of year to ask you to read on, but I promise you that if you give me two minutes, you will walk away with a few tools to kick off the new aid year with a little less stress. Ready? Here’s your Four-Step New Aid Year Checklist:  

1. Meet with Your CSM
   Your customer success manager (CSM) is a great resource to consult with through your aid year transition. I know this time of year is extremely busy, but if you can fit in 30 minutes with your CSM in the next 30-45 days, he or she will ensure you are prepared for the new aid year from a CampusLogic products standpoint. Our technology does a lot of the heavy lifting for you, and your CSM can give you a transparent view to what’s in the works—and what you DON’T have to worry about.
    
2. Review the New Aid Year Checklist
   The  New Aid Year checklist is very helpful if you are using StudentForms. We hope this checklist starts the conversation in your office so you feel prepared with the new year. Stay tuned for more communication about when 20/21 updates will be available for testing in StudentForms.
    
3. Evaluate Your Communications & Customizations
   You communicate daily with students—through our student financial success platform, and in a variety of other ways. This is the perfect time to look at your communication plans, results, and hurdles and make updates. Check that any custom forms/triggers/integrations are still working the way you intended, and decide if you still want to continue with that same setup.  
    
4. Get Retrospective—Take Time to Look Back
   At CampusLogic we believe in the power of retrospectives. Dedicating time to talk through what worked well last year and what needs to improve is important. If you don’t carve out a few minutes for this, you may find yourself doing the same thing the same way with the same result (which is fine, if you WANT the same result). The team should walk away with two to three things that can be improved and begin a plan to make those changes. The best way to gather the data in a retrospective is to have each person put their feedback/input on one Post-it® note. Each person can use as many Post-it notes as they need to give their feedback. After all feedback is given, the leader will then group the Post-it notes by similar themes, and the team will pick the two or three most important objectives to work on. This simple activity allows the team to be involved in giving feedback and helps set direction on the next big projects.

Thank You—For Your Time, and Your Support

Ok, two minutes later and I hope it was helpful! We are so grateful to be a small part of what each of you are doing to change the lives of students. Student financial success takes a village, and we are on call to help you have a successful new aid year in any way we can.

About the Author

A veteran in the emerging Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) industry, Chrisy joined CampusLogic in early 2016 after leading customer success teams at Mozy and Infusionsoft. She holds a master’s degree in Leadership from Grand Canyon University, where she also served as an enrollment advisor. Our Customer Success guru, Chrisy drives strategies that ensure customers get the most value from their investment—and have the personal support they need.

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