East Carolina University has taken a proactive approach to financial wellness, recognizing that student success often depends on more than the initial financial aid package.
The university’s financial wellness team provides coaching, education and targeted outreach designed to help students navigate the financial realities of college life. Arbol provides an operating system for that mission, allowing ECU to scale this work and give its financial wellness team the capacity to recognize and redirect students toward transparent, confident pathways.
What this means: ECU is working to ensure that students not only understand the cost of college but also feel confident managing the financial decisions they encounter along the way.
We recently spoke with Kevin Sutton about the goals of ECU’s financial wellness efforts and what he’s seeing among today’s students.
We are ideally looking to expand our team and our reach across our university and even across the state.
Financial wellness is becoming a bigger part of the conversation in higher education, and our goal is to make sure students have access to the support they need to manage their finances throughout their entire college experience.
Freshman student recurring expenses are an area where we see a lot of opportunity for improvement in understanding.
Students may have some of their major costs covered, like residence halls or meal plans, but then there are other expenses that come out of pocket. Those include social activities, transportation and everyday living. Adjusting their lifestyle when those choices have a personal expense attached can be difficult for some students.
Many students struggle with those recurring expenses, but there are also more urgent situations. Things like parking or jaywalking tickets can come up unexpectedly. When the urgency of resolving the issue combines with the cost itself, it can compound the stress and impact other parts of their day.
I view our institution’s responsibility as addressing affordability on the front end while minimizing barriers wherever possible.
That can be tangible support like scholarships and financial assistance, but it also means clear communication and strong customer service around processes.
That same mindset — removing barriers and communicating clearly — should continue throughout the entire student experience if we want to improve persistence.
For us, it starts with a personalized approach.
When students come into a financial coaching session, we’re not giving them cookie-cutter information. We’re looking at their individual situation and helping them navigate it in a way that makes sense for them.
But supporting students well also means working behind the scenes. If we see students running into institutional barriers, we bring those issues forward. That might mean working with campus partners to clarify a process or improve how something works in the future.
We’ve tried to build a comprehensive program by learning from what has worked well at other institutions and from the challenges they’ve faced.
In addition to incorporating best practices in the field, we’re also willing to explore new ideas. One example is our partnership with academic affairs to develop a financial education certificate program for future teachers.
We also rely heavily on data to guide our outreach and services. That includes working with specific student populations such as students living off campus with refunds, medical students, online learners and others who may have different financial needs.
One challenge is simply resources. Our work is expanding and the need is growing, but financial resources are limited at many institutions.
It’s my hope that as we continue to demonstrate the impact of financial wellness — both on our campus and nationally — decision-makers will recognize how important this work is.
What change would you most like to see in how higher education thinks about affordability?
I would like to see a broader definition of affordability.
Too often the conversation focuses only on upfront cost. But affordability should also include the student experience while they are enrolled.
Institutions may not control every price that students face, but there are many processes and procedures that can make a real difference in helping students navigate those expenses successfully.
Looking ahead
As universities continue to confront rising costs and shifting student needs, programs like ECU’s financial wellness initiative demonstrate how institutions can support students beyond the financial aid award letter.
By focusing on clear communication, personalized guidance and removing barriers throughout the student journey, East Carolina University is helping students build the financial confidence they need to succeed both in college and beyond.