Colleges and universities spend millions courting each incoming class, yet when students struggle to pay, the follow-through often gets buried in the already-overloaded queue of a student accounts team member. Pre-collections—the outreach that happens before an account is sent to collections—may not feel glamorous, but treating it as a strategic priority protects tuition revenue and keeps more students on track to graduate.
At most institutions, tuition and fees make up 50% or more of operating income. Meanwhile, enrollment softness and growing student financial need threaten that foundation. A recent survey of bursar and student accounts offices found that 85% still track past-due balances in spreadsheets, and nearly three-quarters say staff spend up to half their week chasing those balances. The result? Delayed cash flow, burned-out teams, and students who receive support too late.
Revenue protection starts before delinquency
“Revenue protection” is a growing discipline that treats tuition like any other institutional asset—something to be monitored, forecasted, and preserved. Its cornerstone is proactive engagement: reaching students before missed payments spiral into 90-day arrears or registration holds.
Here are five tactics any campus can adopt to take a proactive stance on revenue protection:
1. Centralize visibility into student accounts receivable (A/R)
When data lives in silos—student information systems (SIS), billing software, customer relationship management (CRM), spreadsheets—it’s nearly impossible for staff to see where a student stands. This delays support, reduces confidence, and makes reporting a reactive pain point. Centralizing student A/R into a single pane of glass enables faster triage, more informed conversations, and proactive intervention. The result: faster balance resolution, time savings for staff, and stronger institutional forecasting.
2. Engage students early and across multiple channels
One of the most effective ways to reduce student delinquencies is to start the conversation early. Proactive outreach—not just a final notice before collections—builds awareness, opens support channels, and positions the school as a partner, not a bill collector.
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Simple 90-day reminder flows (1–2 touchpoints per week), paired with messaging around options and support, can dramatically reduce the number of accounts going into arrears. Schools using this approach have seen up to a 30% increase in accounts—and revenue—recovered.
3. Personalize communications based on balance size and student behavior
Not all balances require the same intervention. A $50 parking fine isn’t equal to a $5,000 tuition bill. Segmenting students by risk level, balance size, and payment history allows teams to target outreach more efficiently. Tailored email or SMS campaigns based on these segments improve engagement and resolution—while avoiding unnecessary outreach that frustrates students and wastes staff time.
4. Automate repetitive, manual workflows
Student accounts teams spend hours each week compiling spreadsheets, drafting emails, and tracking payments. Automating workflows—from reminders to at-risk student flags—saves time and reduces human error. It also lets staff shift from administrative firefighting to strategic, high-touch support. Schools using automation have reported workload reductions of 50% or more.
5. Offer flexible, self-serve payment plans
Allowing students to pay over time can be the difference between retention and withdrawal. But it’s not just about offering plans—it’s about making them easy to understand, activate, and manage. Letting students self-enroll in long-term plans (12+ months) with custom autopay dates—backed by clear guardrails and eligibility criteria—can boost adoption and reduce delinquencies. Schools with well-communicated, flexible options have seen 20–25% increases in plan sign-ups.
The win-win of early engagement
Traditional collections strain student relationships and can result in writing off up to 35 cents on the dollar after agency fees. Pre-collections flips the script: institutions recover more revenue while students avoid mounting holds, credit damage, and the stress of dealing with third-party collectors. One large public university using these tactics recovered over 30% of past-due A/R in just four weeks—generating hundreds of thousands in incremental revenue and enabling dozens of students to re-enroll.
It’s time to elevate pre-collections
Higher education has invested in CRMs to recruit students, SIS platforms to track them, and donor systems to engage alumni. The revenue that powers those missions deserves equal attention. By making pre-collections a standing agenda item—not an after-hours scramble—leaders can protect cash flow, empower staff, support student success, and safeguard their institution’s future.