Best Financial Aid Software
Financial aid software handles the administrative processes involved in the issuing and management of financial aid. These solutions are typically used by higher education institutions to maintain compliance, reduce costs, and improve the entire process of financial aid distribution.
Administrative professionals in higher education institutions use financial aid software to automate financial aid document processing, communicate with students regarding their financial aid, distribute forms digitally, and analyze data associated with the entire process. Students can use a financial aid software portal to submit documents, track progress, and maintain an overview of their own financial aid status.
Financial aid software solutions often integrates with school resource management software and student information systems (SIS) to provide comprehensive student profiles.
To qualify for inclusion in the financial aid software category, a product must:
Best Financial Aid Software At A Glance
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FACTS Grant & Aid Assessment is a comprehensive solution designed to simplify and enhance the financial aid process for K-12 schools. This software solution provides school administrators with fle
- Education Management
- Primary/Secondary Education
- 67% Small-Business
- 33% Mid-Market
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Workday Student is an end-to-end student and faculty lifecycle information system that is designed to work seamlessly with Workday Financial Management, Workday Human Capital Management, Workday Payro
- Higher Education
- Education Management
- 46% Enterprise
- 43% Mid-Market
52,282 Twitter followers
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Ellucian is the leading provider of higher education technology with a singular focus on the unique needs of colleges and universities. Their comprehensive, integrated ecosystem includes purpose-built
- Higher Education
- Education Management
- 48% Mid-Market
- 47% Enterprise
6,147 Twitter followers
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CampusLogic delivers SaaS technology that helps colleges and universities remove barriers in the financial aid process. The company currently helps more than 750 schools increase enrollment, retention
- 67% Mid-Market
- 33% Enterprise
6,147 Twitter followers
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- User Satisfaction
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"Expand student access and streamline awarding with financial aid software that connects with your enrollment and tuition systems. Blackbaud Financial Aid Management helps you streamline your financia
- 100% Small-Business
32,782 Twitter followers
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EMPOWER is your complete campus management solution. Synchronize, control and effectively use your school's data with the best software, service and value.
- 50% Enterprise
- 50% Mid-Market
32 Twitter followers
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With 45+ years of experience in Title IV and school operations, Fame has the knowledge and resources available to keep your school compliant with the latest accreditation regulations. Our unmatched us
- 50% Mid-Market
- 50% Small-Business
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Helping schools help families. For more than 50 years, SSS has helped connect hundreds of thousands of students with an exceptional education.
- 100% Small-Business
969 Twitter followers
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- User Satisfaction
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Regent Award is a comprehensive software-as-a-service solution that automates the entire financial aid lifecycle. Regent Award affords institutions the academic flexibility to meet the needs of all st
- 100% Mid-Market
125 Twitter followers
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SimpleApply is a resource for Online Admission Applications, Net Price Calculators and custom Section 508 compliant forms, specialized in Higher Education, K-12, Health Care, Government, and Nonprofit
- 100% Mid-Market
266 Twitter followers
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- User Satisfaction
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Integrated web-based tuition management, admission, enrollment, financial aid, and school management for private and public schools.
- 100% Mid-Market
95 Twitter followers
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Bukas is an education financing platform dedicated to making higher education more accessible and affordable for Filipino students. By partnering with leading colleges and universities across the Phil
- Overview
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Eduquette is a leader in providing web-based school management system that is comprehensive and capable of processing financial aid.
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OPRS School Tuition allows staff to create payment plans for tuition and fees, apply financial aid, record payments and print many reports including payment coupons.
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While US and eligible non-citizens typically apply for state aid using the online FAFSA, undocumented students typically have to download, print, complete, and submit paper-based applications. This ma
125 Twitter followers
Learn More About Financial Aid Software
What is Financial Aid Software?
Financial aid software simplifies and organizes the complex processes of administering financial aid programs. Financial aid includes loans, work-study programs, grants, and scholarships.
Some financial aid software tools handle all the steps in the process, from gathering eligibility information for a student’s application to arranging repayment plans for student loans. Higher education institutions typically use financial aid software to maintain compliance, reduce costs, and streamline the process of financial aid distribution. Additionally, some software cater to private K-12 schools to help manage private scholarships and grants.
Why Use Financial Aid Software?
Financial aid software has many use cases at educational institutions. Some of these include automating complex processes, maintaining compliance with regulatory requirements, and streamlining communication with financial aid recipients.
Automates complex aid processes — Financial aid software helps education administrators manage the financial aid process for thousands of students from start to finish. With this software, officials can easily manage eligibility documents, award aid packages, and set up disbursement schedules.
Maintains compliance — Colleges and universities with students eligible for federal student aid must stay compliant with evolving laws and regulatory requirements for those programs. If institutions make mistakes in this process, they may face thousands in fines or have to repay federal student aid funds. Financial aid software helps administrators ensure they comply with the most recent regulations.
Improves communication — The complexity of the financial aid process often overwhelms students and their families. Financial aid software streamlines communication with recipients of financial aid, allowing students to access self-service systems where they can upload documents, view the status of their award offers, and receive notifications about disbursements. Modern financial aid software systems make these services available across multiple devices, such as phones and tablets.
Who Uses Financial Aid Software?
Financial aid software is typically used by school administrators and students at higher-education institutions, although a smaller number of private K-12 schools use these tools as well.
School administrators — Administrators at colleges and universities use these tools to process federal financial aid eligibility documents, educate students about the financial aid process, communicate with students about key deadlines and events, and automate the disbursement and management of awards. Private K-12 school administrators also use financial aid software to manage private grants and scholarships.
Student aid recipients — Students can use financial aid software solutions to upload eligibility documents for an application, check the status of their awards, and manage payments.
Kinds of Financial Aid Software
Financial aid software focuses on two main markets: colleges and universities and K-12 private schools. Larger higher-education institutions need software with the capacity to manage and process a wide range of aid for higher education, including federal loans, private loans, grants, scholarships and work-study programs. Software that targets the private K-12 school market focuses on private grant and scholarship management.
Financial aid software also differs in its integration with other products. Some products are part of a larger software suite that includes features related to other aspects of school administration like recruiting, admissions, student records or advising. Others are designed to focus more specifically on the financial aid process.
Financial Aid Software Features
Financial aid software may include some of the following features:
Administrators
Automated calculations — Administrators can automatically calculate total cost of attendance (COA), disbursement schedules, and which students are eligible for tuition discounts or scholarships. This type of software helps automate calculations, preventing errors that might result in compliance violations.
Tracking and analysis — Administrators can track how they distribute aid dollars to help meet budgetary requirements or institutional goals.
Notifications — The days of waiting for a postal carrier to deliver the financial aid bill are over. Administrators can set up automatic notifications to students’ phones or email accounts to deliver immediate updates on topics such as financial aid offers, payment due dates, and important deadlines.
Students
Self-service portal — Students can sign on and see a screen with personalized details about their award package and financial aid disbursement schedules. Within these portals, students can view information about award packages, accept or decline awards, and print records. The ability to access this information allows students to stay informed about the financial aid process and accept or decline aid based on the most recent information.
Secure document uploads — Instead of carrying a folder full of forms and sensitive documents to the financial aid office, students can securely upload important paperwork from computers or mobile devices. Sending these forms electronically allows administrators to easily manage documents and expedite the verification of a student’s eligibility. Students can also check on the status of the eligibility verification process online.
Educational resources — The financial aid process can be difficult to navigate, especially for first-timers. Financial aid software tools allow administrators to incorporate educational resources for students, be more transparent about the financial aid process, and help students understand their aid packages.
Potential Issues with Financial Aid Software
Despite the potential of financial aid software to make information available to students and compliance easier for administrators, the process is still complex and confusing. Financial aid staff must be trained on how to effectively use the software and ensure it integrates with other systems, like the school’s student information systems software or state and federal government systems. Schools need administrators with technical skills to manage the software effectively. Additionally, this software must continuously innovate ways for students to interact with experts and eliminate the guesswork out of the financial aid process.
Even with the help of software, maintaining compliance with changing government regulations is a constant challenge. Financial aid software systems are only as accurate as the data entered into them. Administrators must input student data accurately and conduct regular audits to avoid regulatory compliance violations and penalties. Schools must be aware of new financial aid regulations so they can adjust their systems to stay compliant.
