Transforming the Student Financial Experience at Wayland Baptist University: A Partnership for Success

Wayland Baptist University faced a challenge familiar to many educational institutions: inefficient billing processes that led to late and sometimes inaccurate billing, ultimately affecting their ability to collect student payments on time. CFO Lezlie Hukill and Christy Miller, Executive Director of Financial Aid, turned to Meadow to transform their processes, improve their communication and reduce their student A/R.Meadow turned out to be much more than a modern platform—it was a dedicated partner committed to driving innovation tailored to their unique university.

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University Overview

Wayland Baptist University (WBU) is a non-profit private institution that serves over 4000 students across its traditional residential campus in Plainview, Texas, and ten satellite campuses across Arizona, Texas, and Hawaii, catering to primarily adult students. Over 70% of WBU students use a combination of grants, scholarships and loans to pay for their education.

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The Challenge

Lezlie Hukill and Christy Miller faced challenges due to outdated and inefficient billing processes that negatively impacted their ability to collect timely student payments. "One of the things we were not doing well was getting statements out to our students earlier in the semester," Hukill shared. "When you don’t get student billing out, students don’t pay."

Miller also grappled with the limitations of manual, PDF bills: "PDF bills are only as good as the day the bills are sent." Furthermore, capturing students' attention to prompt timely payment was a significant hurdle. "It is hard to communicate with students where they are," Miller shared. "I joke that I am going to send carrier pigeons and smoke signals, do TikToks, and I don’t know what else to try to get their attention."

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The Solution

Hukill and Miller sought a cost-effective solution to address the inefficiencies of their existing student billing system. They were drawn to Meadow's student financial engagement solution, which enabled them to send personalized communications via email and text and made it easier for students to do everything - from add an ally to pay their bill - on their phone.  Meadow would allow them to meet students where they are.

They didn't want a generic, "big box" solution; instead, they were looking for a partner who would work closely with them to tackle their challenges as if they were their own. They found that partner in Meadow.

Miller also noted that students responded positively to the platform: "Meadow's promise to deliver data-driven, student-friendly communications came through from the start.”  Miller said about their students "They find it very user-friendly, they like the look and feel of it, it feels very clean and organized. Having everything summarized is really helpful for them. Overall, it has been a very welcome change for our students"

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The Results

In just a short time, WBU made significant strides in reducing non-payment issues. With Meadow, the university saw a noticeable improvement in payment outcomes:

• Improved Payment Collection: 18% increase in on-time payments
Thanks to Meadow's personalized student communication and ease of use , students responded more quickly to payment reminders, leading to faster collection rates and fewer students to chase.
• Enhanced Student Engagement: 83% communications engagement rate
Meadow's user-friendly interface and streamlined processes made it easier for students to manage payments and stay informed.
• 10% decrease in student A/R: Like many schools, WBU was thinking about how to decrease A/R and found with Meadow that not only did students pay faster, but also that more students paid than before.

Miller also noted that students responded positively to the platform: "They find it very user-friendly, they like the look and feel of it, it feels very clean and organized. Having everything summarized is really helpful for them. Overall, it has been a very welcome change for our students."

"Meadow has been a lifeline for us. It has almost been like working with a boutique partner," Hukill shared. "I was expecting a student payments platform with a few nice features. What I wasn’t expecting was Meadow’s sophistication with reminders and student communications."

Miller also noted that students responded positively to the platform: "They find it very user-friendly, they like the look and feel of it, it feels very clean and organized. Having everything summarized is really helpful for them. Overall, it has been a very welcome change for our students."

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Conclusion

By modernizing their approach to student billing, Hukill and Miller not only improved payment outcomes for WBU but also uncovered new opportunities to better serve their students.

"Not only is Meadow lifting the hood on business and financial aid processes," Miller said, "but it is also lifting the hood on our institutional processes as a whole and causing us to rethink how we do things to be more efficient, effective, and deliver good service. Meadow has really partnered with us to help us see what we can be doing better."

Hukill added, "Meadow keeps our university at the forefront of billing and in serving students, which is really important to us."