East Stroudsburg University (ESU) has partnered with Enrollment Research Associates (ERA) since 2021 to implement a proprietary financial aid leveraging model. This model is unique to ERA and has been a cornerstone of ESU’s enrollment success, – helping to attract new students (ESU experienced a 4.7% annualized student FTE enrollment increase since implementation of the ERA model), strengthen academic profiles, and improve retention during a time when colleges and universities similar to ESU have been experiencing enrollment and retention declines. These gains have positioned ESU for sustainable growth during a challenging enrollment landscape. Given continued enrollment growth and retention are essential to ESU’s financial sustainability, transitioning to another supplier now would be detrimental to the university as it would be neither costeffective nor strategic. It would demand significant investment of time, human and fiscal resources to replicate past and existing efforts with no guarantee of achieving similar results. Our current success is the direct outcome of the University’s collaborative strategy with ERA, and pivoting away at this critical time would jeopardize established progress and stability. Maintaining this partnership ensures continuity, protects ESU’s competitive advantage, and leverages proven strategies that have delivered measurable results. Please note: This is a Sole Source Notification.
