Dissertation Chapter
The implication of the study

The COVID-19 pandemic forced university officials, such as senior admissions and
enrollment management officers, to think and act differently than they had in the past (Johnson et
al., 2020). This led to learning important lessons and advancing efforts to create a campus culture
of strategic enrollment management. Strategic conversations about how the institution can
increase financial assistance for Pell-eligible students who want to attend U.C. but cannot afford
the costs were made possible by sustainable practices, such as a greater emphasis on strategic
sizing and long-term planning. This circumstance is shared by several student subpopulations,
including first-generation, rural, and other students. The percentage of Pell-eligible students at
the university has decreased over time, despite its desire to expand. The pandemic offered a clear
chance to attract and keep these students more successful.
In addition, Learning, Teaching, & Curriculum helped create a culture focused on
managing enrollment strategically rather than just responding to crises. Having tactical meetings
with university leadership as opposed to reporting on enrollment management procedures,
timing, and clients served is another sustainable practice. Finally, a cross-campus committee
identified several friction points regarding undergraduate student experiences that needed to be
improved in collaboration with a consultant to help decrease the melt of incoming students and
maintain current student enrollment (Krishnamurthy, 2020). In response to what might have been
a bad year for the institution, the LTC task force developed several creative strategies to meet
enrollment metrics. U.C. quickly prepared for the unknown when the pandemic started, and
institutions sent students, faculty, and staff home before the end of the spring 2020 semester
(Krishnamurthy, 2020). The university's efforts to retain students from the start of the pandemic

3
were aided by their early planning and emphasis on enrollment, which led to the most significant
summer enrollment in its 200-year history. As of the first day of fall 2020 classes, there were
1.5% more people overall than the year before, and there were 7.83 more full-time equivalents
(FTE) students enrolled, an increase of 9.7% from the year before (Johnson et al., 2020).
Additionally, the removal of non-resident fees resulted in a slight increase in the summer's gross
tuition. LTC acknowledged these achievements but did not anticipate that they would last
through the remainder of the fall semester. The task force assisted the institution in starting the
fall 2020 semester as one of two public Ohio institutions with increased enrollment by
considering summer enrollment, retention, and recruitment.
One of the most important sources of funding for colleges in the U.S. is the Federal
Student Loan Program (FSLP). In 2004, more than 10 million loans totaling $52 billion were
approved under the scheme. Though it significantly decreased from 22.4% in 1990 to 5.4% in
2003 (on a 2-year basis, cohort default rate), the default rate on student loans is still a significant
worry for policymakers. In 2001, the total amount of unpaid debt surpassed $25 billion. In
addition, decision-makers maintain that financial aid is required to educate children from low-
income households. This thesis is based on a convincing correlation between family income and
college enrolment. However, student loan default rates are also a concern for policymakers.
Legislators responded by introducing many legislative changes that increased the student loan
program's generosity while also attempting to lower default rates. The present model is set up
such that government subsidies for student loans are determined by financial necessity. Six
months after graduating, borrowers begin making payments at a variable interest rate.
There have been numerous notable policy changes during the last 20 years. A
consolidation scheme with flexible payments was implemented in 1986 as part of the Higher

4
Education Amendment (HEA)—a significant policy change. The change allowed borrowers to
lock in interest rates or transfer to an income-contingent plan whenever they wanted throughout
the loan's payback period. By lowering payments and assisting students in hedging against
interest rate risk, this change increased the incentives for repayment. A second significant
modification in 1992 loosened the eligibility conditions (HEA in 1992). It clarified the
anticipated parental contributio