Community College Presidents and Regent Convene to Discuss the 21st Century Financial Aid Office

Frederick, MD, April 25, 2007 – Regent, the leading provider of financial aid management software solutions for higher education institutions, recently invited top institutional leaders at the Higher Education Research and Development Institute’s (HERDI) Spring conference in Tampa to discuss the 21st Century financial aid office.

HERDI unites innovative companies with top community college presidents to provide candid, straight forward feedback from top administrators that can help companies shape strategy and products so that they align more closely with needs of the higher education marketplace.

At the HERDI event, Regent met with a panel of presidents representing five community colleges of differing sizes from across the country. The panel said that technology such as Regent’s financial aid management solution is key to addressing 21st Century needs: accountability, funds management, and an effective 21st Century financial aid office. Regent provides seamless communication among all financial aid stakeholders and efficiency gains due to ease of use, automation, and improved workflow. The presidents said that these efficiencies have a direct and positive effect on their institutions’ bottom lines, providing an excellent return on investment. Some 69% of not-for-profit institution enrollments are aid based, which means a substantial portion of an institutions operation budget is directly or indirectly tied to student aid.

Jackie Snyder, president of the Metropolitan Community College District in Kansas City, MO, said, “Working with companies like Regent enables us to learn more about leading innovative solutions in the market that help us shape our business processes. I learned a great deal about how traditional financial aid processes can be greatly enhanced to benefit our students by utilizing a system as dynamic and robust as Regent.”

Toni Cleveland, HERDI’s president, said, “At the HERDI conference, company representatives and the community college presidents engage in a candid meaningful dialog. This is a good start. Our goal is to foster the development of positive relationships between community college presidents and company representatives that goes way beyond conference meetings.”
“Participation at HERDI afforded Regent the opportunity to learn from top community colleges leaders,” said Mike Ratti, Regent’s CEO. “The insight we gained through our frank, straightforward discussion with the presidents will help Regent continue to shape its strategy to help higher education institutions better align with the challenges of achieving operational excellence and enterprise wide transparency”.