Software as a Service (SaaS): A Financial Aid Perspective

Contents INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................................3 UNDERSTANDING SAAS............................................................................................................................3 WHY SAAS FOR FINANCIAL AID .............................................................................................................4

Up-to-Date Software .............................................................................................................................4 Reduced Reliance on IT ........................................................................................................................4 Lower Total Cost of Ownership.........................................................................................................5 Secure Data...............................................................................................................................................5 Accelerated Implementation.............................................................................................................5

CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................................6 ABOUT REGENT ............................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION This whitepaper describes Software as a Service (SaaS) and how it solves the compliance headaches, resource constraints, and manual processes that financial aid offices have been dealing with for decades. From a user’s perspective, this whitepaper will address the following questions:

• What is SaaS? • What are the benefits of using a SaaS solution for financial aid management? • What is the process of implementing a SaaS financial aid management solution?

Financial aid, a complex and regulated business process in an institution, traditionally has been an underserved market seeing very little technological advancement in its backbone administrative software solutions. As such, it is a great fit for the benefits a SaaS solution delivers.

UNDERSTANDING SAAS

Software as a Service (SaaS) or On-Demand software is simply a different delivery model for providing software capabilities. With SaaS, it’s about service, not software. Instead of physically installing applications or updates onto your computer, these needs can be securely fulfilled by services provided through your web browser. The solution is deployed as a hosted service and is accessed via the Internet. The users of the system do not have to purchase, install, or maintain any software.

A critical point of differentiation between SaaS applications and traditional on-premises software is that SaaS applications are designed to provide a single-instance, multi-tenant architecture. This feature of SaaS generates economies of scale that allow rapid, low cost, and low-risk deployment of software solutions without the significant investment associated with hardware, implementation, upgrades, and ongoing support for institutions. In higher education, this means that an institution with multiple campuses or multiple Pell IDs can manage the entire enterprise from one instance of the product. In an on-premise deployment environment, an institution must buy software, a server, hardware, an operating system, and a database for each site. The costs quickly increase when upgrades are required and have to be installed at each site, rather than being done from a central location. The extra expense and reduced functionality resulting from this deployment model are completely flipped on their heads in a SaaS environment.

Because of these benefits, SaaS has become widely adopted by institutions. According to Eduventures, 65% of learning institutions currently use hosted solutions or are in the process of implementing hosted technology solutions, and 47% of them have used application hosting for at least 2 years. Higher education institutions have fully embraced the idea of SaaS, and financial aid is now following suit.

WHY SAAS FOR FINANCIAL AID Ultimately, the success of education institutions is measured by the success of their students. With the deployment of SaaS solutions, all departments, especially the financial aid office, are better positioned to focus on their core mission. This is because the management of technology and compliance is nearly eliminated with SaaS, resulting in the following benefits:

• Software that is always up to date • Reduced reliance on IT • Lower total cost of ownership • Secure data • Accelerated implementation

SaaS is a proven delivery model that can meet a financial aid office’s current and future process and/or operations demands, while also meeting the reduced costs and resource optimization needs through the following benefits.

Up-to-Date Software

On the technical side, the SaaS provider hosts the application and data centrally—deploying patches and upgrades to the application transparently, and delivering access to end users via the internet through a browser. These automatic updates eliminate the school’s need to wait for the availability of their internal IT department in order to remain compliant. With SaaS, you never have to upgrade or patch your system – it is always kept up-to-date by the application provider. The latest product features, bug fixes, and other upgrades are accessed by simply logging on to the web. So, for example, you no longer have to wait for PELL table changes. As soon as updates are available, they are automatically applied to your financial aid system without interrupting your business flow. Upon opening your browser and securely logging into your financial aid management system, you have the latest financial aid changes in place. Due to the operational complexity and ever increasing demands for public accountability and student achievement expectations, it is imperative that financial aid offices have these updates in a timely manner without the typical IT maintenance delays which often occur. With SaaS, ensuring compliance is effortless.

Reduced Reliance on IT

At its core, the SaaS delivery model reduces the reliance on IT across the board, including staffing, hardware, and ongoing maintenance. A SaaS solution allows the financial aid management office to focus on its mission to proactively lead students and their families through the entire process of financing education, and leaves the hosting, networking, data security, and other issues to the SaaS financial aid management solution provider.

Lower Total Cost of Ownership

The SaaS model also benefits you by lowering the total cost of ownership and accelerating the typical implementation cycle that most institutions experience when deploying a financial aid management solution. SaaS reduces the total cost of ownership for your institution by eliminating or decreasing IT and infrastructure costs, while also offering a single point of contact for all IT support and application management requirements. Subscription-based pricing, which is typically used in SaaS solutions, offers significantly lower up-front costs. This alleviates the expense of traditional perpetual license fees, eliminates the need for investment in cost-intensive IT infrastructure, and removes related ongoing maintenance and support costs. Thus, budgeting funds, financial aid management, and maintenance become simple and predictable.

Another reason SaaS solutions translate into a lower total cost of ownership is that these solutions are extremely configurable and do not require the customization that is typically necessary in traditional systems. Customization is an expensive prospect that generally leads to more maintenance instead of smooth running systems that replicate an institution’s business processes. Because SaaS solutions are configurable, institutions can shape the software at an architectural level, enabling a true replication of workflows, organizational structures, and other processes.

Secure Data

Security is more than just user passwords and policies. It is both a business imperative and a key benefit of the SaaS delivery model. SaaS solutions are delivered via state-of-the-art, secure data centers with redundant power, cooling, servers, storage, and network infrastructure – providing up-time typically greater than 99.5%. Additionally, both applications and data are backed-up securely on a regular basis and can be restored if required later for any reason. Granular security controls both within the infrastructure and the application categorize data by SaaS customer as well as by end user. This ensures that data remains confidential and that only authorized users are able to see the data required to perform their roles. By leveraging economies of scale and built-in security designed from the ground up, SaaS solutions ensure the security of your data better than the typical campus deployment.

Accelerated Implementation

Another benefit of SaaS is its ability to be implemented quickly. The accelerated implementation is the result of eliminating the need to: purchase and configure hardware, install the application, install desktop software, have IT staff to come up-to-speed with the application, and train users on the new software. Users already have a web browser and the SaaS provider is already an expert in its application, reducing the implementation timeframe from weeks or months to days.

The SaaS model has proven to not be simply software-focused, but service-focused, providing instant payoff on your investment through the benefits discussed above. SaaS is quickly becoming the standard way of conducting business, therefore reducing the implementation timeframe significantly.

CONCLUSION

From worldwide banking systems to international e-mail systems, SaaS is already a common method of delivering the benefits of hosted software solutions and enabling these tools for use in each of our lives. It empowers the user by offering superior flexibility, automatic updates and upgrades, rapid access to innovation, quick implementation, lower cost options with no hidden technology costs, and minimal IT impact. In addition, the ability to manage multiple campuses/offices/Pell IDs through one instance of the solution allows the cost to be spread across all institutions. The net result is that the SaaS delivery model is a compelling alternative to traditional financial aid management systems, and one that enables the financial aid office to focus on serving students.

Having a SaaS financial aid management system will optimize enrollment, enhance retention, and increase revenue for any institution. Now is the time to experience the benefits of SaaS and embrace it as a strategic imperative for financial aid within all higher education institutions.

ABOUT REGENT Regent is a leading Software-as-a-Service provider of financial aid management software solutions with more than 30 years of industry experience. The company’s web-based, easy-to-use solutions interoperate with any established student information system. Regent provides institutions with improved efficiencies, fewer errors, and enhanced services for students, equaling a positive return on investment within the first year. Regent’s management solutions are designed and built by and for members of the financial aid and enrollment management communities. Regent enables institutions to better craft and execute financial aid strategies. With its Student Self Service Portal, Regent also offers 21st century access for students seeking financial aid information anytime, anywhere, from any device, in any language. For more information, visit: www.regenteducation.com. Regent Education, Inc. 47 E. South Street Frederick, MD 21701 800.639.0927