The Financial Wellness Center— specialized in enhancing students’ understanding of the role of finance in their lives and assisting them in making smart, informed decisions about their money—aims to improve the way it supports students by providing the right information at the right time to the right students.

“Each student’s financial wellness journey is unique, shaped by their distinct needs, circumstances, goals, and aspirations,” explained Gabrielle Mcallaster, director of the Financial Wellness Center. “It is clear that a one-size-fits-all approach to financial counseling does not suffice, and our students require distinctive guidance and support tailored to their individual situations.”

To accomplish this and to prepare for an increasing student population, the center is evaluating its processes and exploring how technology can support staff in providing students with an experience tailored to their needs and interests.

The center is partnering with University Information Technology to pilot the use of Salesforce as a customer relationship management platform. The way the system is being configured, each student’s personalized journey will begin with their profile, which includes demographic information, eliminating the need to ask redundant questions during each visit. Student profiles also serve as a repository for staff to add case notes from one-on-one counseling sessions and view notes from previous sessions, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of each student’s progress over time at the university.

Additionally, staff can indicate students’ interests on their profile, such as investing, saving, or budgeting. The technology then uses this information to invite students to workshops related to their interests, enhancing engagement and support.

Moreover, with the platform, the center can send automated communications to students. For example, if a student misses their counseling session, they will receive an email asking them to reschedule. This feature enhances the center’s ability to maintain consistent communication with students and helps students stay informed and engaged.

While this initial effort is focused on updating the Financial Wellness Center’s case management processes and implementing customized and automated follow-up communications to help students work toward their financial goals, it also presents an opportunity to prepare for future expansion into other Student Affairs departments. Collaborating with various departments within UIT, Student Affairs will use this test case to learn and plan for how to create the most seamless experience for students.

“As we look to incorporate this into more departments, we envision curating a host of information, resources, invitations, follow-ups, and connections from a wide range of offices,” said Annalisa Purser, special assistant for strategic initiatives in Student Affairs. “We want to be proactive in providing students with personalized information and experiences to support their individual student journeys.”

May 8, 2024 Uma Gupta

Waaree Energies Ltd, India’s largest solar PV module manufacturer, has collaborated with Ecofy, a non-banking finance company backed by Eversource Capital, to provide low-cost, hassle-free finance to homeowners and MSMEs adopting rooftop solar systems. Ecofy has committed INR 100 crore into the partnership.

The partnership will leverage Waaree Energies’ solar expertise and Ecofy’s digital financing solutions to accelerate the solarisation of over 10,000 rooftops across households and MSMEs, contributing to the government’s target under PM Surya Ghar Yojana 2024.

Kailash Rathi, head of partnerships and co-lending at Ecofy, said, ” Over the past 15 months, Ecofy has empowered over 5000 rooftop solar customers. We have invested heavily in this segment enabling penetration through product innovation and instant approvals. As the country prepares for the peak solar season, the collaboration between Ecofy and Waaree is expected to act as a catalyst, and aid in accelerating solar adoption and penetration across diverse segments of society.”

Pankaj Vassal, president-sales at Waaree Energies, said, “By integrating our solar solutions with Ecofy’s financing platform, we are working towards removing barriers and aiding in accelerating the adoption of solar power across households and businesses. Ultimately, this is expected to empower more people to embrace the benefits of clean energy while collectively building a greener, more environmentally-conscious India.”

Waaree Energies had an installed PV module manufacturing capacity of 12 GW, as of June 30, 2023 (Source: CRISIL Report). It has four solar module manufacturing facilities in India, with international presence.