By Hannah Gordon
Assistant News Editor
In August of 2013, St. Bonaventure University partnered with the Savings and Growth for Education (SAGE) Scholars’ Tuition Plan in order to assist students and their families cover the cost of attending the university.
Families can earn tuition rewards for their students by saving or investing with financial partners of SAGE, or by being an employee of a company that is partnered with SAGE.
“The families save dollars toward college, and if the student selects a SAGE partner institution, the university agrees to match the SAGE scholarship,” said Kathryn Dillon Hogan, associate vice president for enrollment at St. Bonaventure.
Being in a partnership with SAGE means St. Bonaventure agrees to provide scholarship dollars to students, and in return the university is able to access the database of SAGE scholars, according to Hogan.
“Access to the database means that we can market to these students and inform them of the opportunity to apply to St. Bonaventure,” Hogan said. “This gives us access to students who have already decided that they would like to attend a private university.”
Having that access to potential students – 280,000 are currently enrolled in SAGE – allows St. Bonaventure to recruit students nationwide, and focus on students who are likely not interested in public schools.
“The model is aligned with best practices for high-achieving students, and we are proud to be a part of it,” said Emily Sinsabaugh, vice president for university relations.
SAGE was founded in 1997 with the same purpose it has today. Despite all the benefits, it took some time for St. Bonaventure to join the program.
“I came to SBU in 2010,” Dillon said. “I received information about SAGE in 2011 and began to gather the information and tried to determine if it was a good program for the students we generally recruit to SBU.”
During that time period, St. Bonaventure was also adding a new constituent relationship management system and reshaping the recruitment process to increase outreach to high schools and expand into new markets, Dillon said.
“Those items took precedence because we believe they will have a significant impact on the enrollment process overall,” Dillon said. “The SAGE partnership is another component of improving the enrollment process. The timing coincides with our ability to effectively develop a relationship with the prospective students we hope to meet through the partnership.”
It is anticipated that the money to back the SAGE scholarship dollars will be covered by St. Bonaventure merit dollars and other scholarships, according to Dillon. The university expects no direct costs to participate in the program. SAGE is free for students and their families to join as well.
“I think the SAGE program is a great opportunity for us to connect with families who are planning on college attendance for their children,” Sinsabaugh said. “These are families who have made college attendance a priority, and the program rewards families who invest in that priority.”
Although it is too late for current students to enroll in SAGE and reap the benefits, incoming classes have the opportunity to lower tuition costs.
“We anticipate the first SAGE scholars may enroll in fall 2014,” Dillon said.
