The Domino Effect in Financial Aid Operations
The 2024 FAFSA rollout should have been a wake-up call for our industry. It revealed just how dependent enrollment, operations, and student experience are on a functioning, responsive financial aid system.
And the challenges didn’t stop there. Uncertainty around the Department of Education’s direction in 2025 continues to cast doubt on institutional planning, forcing financial aid teams to navigate ambiguity at nearly every turn.
What was once treated as a support function is now a strategic lever. And when financial aid falters—whether due to flawed systems or federal instability—the entire institution feels the consequences.
This is the Domino Effect. One area of misalignment in financial aid creates a chain reaction—but the right move can do the same.
Financial Aid Misalignment Doesn’t Stay Contained
When financial aid struggles, the impact doesn’t remain isolated. A delay in packaging, a staffing shortfall, a compliance gap—each of these issues can quickly and significantly affect other areas of the institution.
Take timing, for example, according to the Ellucian 2024 Student Voice Report:
- 22% of students would enroll elsewhere if paperwork exceeded two weeks.
- 73% of students say they would consider switching institutions if their aid package took longer than four weeks.
But timing isn’t the only friction point:
- When staffing levels drop, remaining team members are stretched too thin to provide personalized support, leading to longer response times, student frustration, and increased melt.
- Manual, outdated systems create bottlenecks in processing and increase the risk of human error—errors that can delay disbursements or result in incorrect aid offers.
- A compliance misstep—like missing a documentation requirement or failing to update a policy—can lead to consequences, creating financial strain and reputational damage that extends far beyond the aid office.
These aren’t isolated pain points. They’re connected. And the more pressure financial aid offices face, the more likely a single issue will cascade into multiple others.
A Strategic Shift Is Already Underway
Institutions across the country are realizing that financial aid isn’t just a functional necessity—it’s a strategic opportunity. When aligned properly, financial aid can drive enrollment growth, improve operational efficiency, enhance student engagement, and mitigate risk.
At FAS, we’ve spent 34 years supporting financial aid teams through all types of disruption. Over time, we’ve seen four patterns emerge—four interconnected areas where breakdowns most often begin:
- Enrollment challenges
- Operational inefficiencies
- Poor student experiences
- Compliance risk
And more importantly, we’ve seen how solving issues in one area can lead to improvements in the others—when the right strategy is in place.
The Better Model: Turning Disruption into Momentum
That strategy is what we call the Better Model. It’s a four-pillar framework built specifically for financial aid operations that need to function under pressure—and still deliver results. Each pillar focuses on a key area of transformation:
- Better Enrollment – Speed and clarity in packaging can drive real ROI in recruitment and retention.
- Better Operations – Efficiency and staffing models must adapt to modern demands.
- Better Student Experience – Expectations are shaped by the on-demand digital world.
- Better Peace of Mind – Compliance and stability are non-negotiable.
Rather than treating each of these in isolation, the Better Model addresses how they connect. Fix one, and you strengthen them all. Misalign one, and the domino effect begins.
What You’ll Find in the eBook
Our new eBook, The Domino Effect: Aligning Financial Aid for Maximum Impact, outlines a strategic framework built around four pillars—Enrollment, Operations, Student Experience, and Compliance—and explains why aligning these areas is critical to institutional success.
- What the latest data tells us about student expectations and enrollment behavior
- Why outdated processes and understaffing are compounding risk across institutions
- How institutions are rethinking financial aid as a strategic function
- What a better model looks like—and how it can deliver measurable results
It’s not a step-by-step guide—it’s a blueprint for rethinking the role of financial aid as a catalyst for impact. Financial aid isn’t just one of many functions in higher education. It’s a function that touches nearly every student and every department. When it’s misaligned, the institution suffers. But when it’s strategic, the institution thrives.
Ready to see how your team can turn disruption into momentum?
Download The Domino Effect: Aligning Financial Aid for Maximum Impact
