Nicole Engelbert VP of Higher Education Development @ Oracle
She is responsible for engaging the industry ecosystem to develop thought leadership and best practice with cloud technology and to use those insights to guide the development of Oracle’s higher education solutions including its Student Cloud product suite.
Prior to Oracle, Nicole served as the Director of Research & Analysis at Ovum where she spent the last decade advising institutions globally on critical areas such as cloud migration, legacy modernization, emerging technologies, and student experience.
A sought after presenter on the higher education technology conference circuit, Nicole is also regularly quoted in publications such as the NY Times, University Business, Campus Technology, and the Wall Street Journal. Nicole holds a BA in classics from Union College and an MEd in
educational administration & policy analysis from Teachers College, Columbia University.
The Story
A fault line has emerged in US financial aid
Is COVID-19 the 'Big One?'
EFC versus actual affordability
Healthcare, DMV, or trusted advisor?
COVID-19 is the rocket fuel
The Why
Today's investment in higher education shapes tomorrow's reality
A new student landscape is being shaped beneath the water line
What's Next
We must build back better
Re-imagining the financial aid office is the first step
Thriving post COVID-19 demands a new approach
Current model neither scales, nor performs, nor sustains
Move financial aid from back office to front office
Clear space and resources to outpace the new reality
Call to Action
Building the financial aid office of the future
“To boldly go where no [wo]man has gone before." -- Captain James T. Kirk
Introduce the machine with intentionality
Reducing commodity transactions
Re-engineering business processes
Re-skilling employees
Promote student agency
Delivering self-service tools
Breaking down the ‘black box’
Adopt virtual engagement as business as usual
Video conference calls
Virtual assistants and chatbots
Closing Thoughts
A final thought for the road ahead
"Improve a mechanical device and you may double productivity. But improve man, you gain a thousandfold." -- Khan Noonien Singh
Discern between what needs to be done and how to do it
Find a table with more and different seats
Create a safe space to learn and re-learn
What will you do with what you just learned?
"You can design today for tomorrow, or you can design tomorrow, today."