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Smith is a leader among its peers in providing access to low- and middle-income
students. Within our peer group, the college has both the highest proportion
of students on need-based aid and on Pell Grants, as well as the highest discount
rate. While this is a source of great institutional pride and is consistent
with our mission, the high level of support for needy students presents tradeoffs
with other areas of our budget. When our discount rate increases rapidly over
a short period of time, as recent experience painfully demonstrated, we need to make
real sacrifices in other areas of our program. We face the question of how
we should balance our commitment toward economic access among students with other
competing claims on resources. What is the right balance between need-eligible
and full-pay students? Wherever we decide to position ourselves on this important
question, the resulting impact on our finances should be intentional and manageable,
not reactive and unpredictable. We need to ask ourselves in regard to financial
aid, what are we trying to achieve and who are we trying to attract? What should
be our goals in regard to equitable packaging? Is the balance of our aid investment
among various student populations the right one?
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Setting
the Context
Important Issues
Facing Smith
Enhancing
admissions competitiveness
Balancing
economic access with competing institutional priorities
Exploring the shape of the curriculum and intellectual
capacities
Investing in faculty development
Leveraging role as residential academic community
Examining
opportunities for
special academic programs
Articulating
Smith’s
distinctive position and advantage
Enhancing philanthropic support
Improving the climate for diversity
Aligning facilities planning with strategic priorities
Next Steps in the
Planning Process
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