Case Study: North Park University Chicago achieves streamlined financial aid operations and increased student engagement with Ellucian Colleague Self-Service Financial Aid

North Park University empowers its students through Colleague Self-Service Financial Aid

North Park University Chicago is a private, Christian liberal arts university in Chicago with about 3,100 students; its small financial aid office (fewer than six staff) was frequently operating at capacity and needed a technology-based way to guide students through aid applications and make them more aware of borrowing. In 2015 the university chose Ellucian’s Colleague Self-Service Financial Aid to provide a student-facing, transparent solution for managing financial aid.

Ellucian implemented Colleague Self-Service Financial Aid in seven months (Feb–Aug 2015), delivering real-time student debt displays, individualized checklists, counselor views and parent proxy access. The result for North Park University Chicago was faster deployment, higher student engagement and transparency, reduced burden on financial aid and IT staff, and the ability for counselors to focus on students needing intensive support—improving the student experience and operational efficiency.

North Park University Chicago

Lindsay Mitchell

Assistant Director of Financial Aid/Data Systems