Commit to continuing aid

If you bring someone into your school using tuition aid and their financial situation doesn't change, you need to have a commitment to continue the aid.

Okay, so this doesn't need much explanation. Obviously the ethical thing to do is to continue your financial commitment to the family if their situation doesn't change.

Maybe you have seen cases where school boards have cut tuition aid because of pressure to cut the school's budget to account for tuition shortfalls. We have. Certainly areas not critical to the school's commitment to excellence are at the top of the hit list.

However, if the board is willing to cut aid to families already enrolled, the damage of that decision will extend way beyond the two or three families who will have to dis-enroll because of finances. Not only does it generate negative PR in the community, it also communicates that there is instability within the school's leadership.

I read the other day that companies that choose to continue a healthy commitment to their marketing budget during financial downturns come out much stronger than their competitors two years later.