At The Weber School, education goes beyond academic preparation, it’s an intentional  journey of identity, purpose, and community. Located in the heart of Sandy Springs, The Weber School’s innovative approach to teaching and learning prepares the next generation of ethically informed student leaders to leverage their learning in service to both the Jewish community and the broader world.

True to its mission of honoring tradition while embracing innovation, Weber set out to improve its financial aid process with the same care it brings to every aspect of the student experience. The promise of a simpler, more efficient, and more supportive approach for families was what first drew the school to Clarity.

“The efficiency for our families and for us was the biggest draw to Clarity,” shared Paul Ginburg, Associate Head of School & Chief Advancement Officer at The Weber School. 

“It turned out to be the difference between applications getting completed within a few days as opposed to waiting a couple of weeks,” he continued.

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Faster Enrollment Decisions With a Streamlined Process

“Most families don’t know what schedules are, or how extensive their tax returns really are. If there was any detail missing from their application, we would have to call them and they would either have to figure it out or they'd have to talk to their accountant, which added time,” Ginburg explained.

“On top of that, it took a minimum of two weeks for our previous system to process the documents so that we could view the information,” he continued. “We couldn’t have a committee meeting until that was available, so they just slowed things down for us even more.”

“With Clarity we were able to finish at least a month earlier than normal."

“We got through most of our applications by the middle of April, whereas before it was well into May before that would happen.”

That early efficiency translated into more than just convenience for the Weber team.

“We were also able to make faster enrollment decisions because we were getting the verified data much quicker.”

“We could share the information families were looking for with them much earlier. I think it helps to strengthen trust and ease anxiety when you can tell families their award amount at the same time they’re receiving either their re-enrollment agreement or new enrollment agreement.”

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Faster Deposits and Re-Enrollment

The increased efficiency wasn't confined to just financial aid. Using Clarity Contracts, The Weber School also created meaningful operational advantages when it came to re-enrollment.

“I’ve seen deposits come in faster than in previous years,” shared Vanessa Leibowitz, Chief Financial Officer at The Weber School.

“Re-enrollment has been faster this year than in the past, and I think that’s because there’s less for the families to do, and it’s easier for them to do it.”

“The automated reminder emails from Clarity also mean that I’m making less of those follow-up calls and emails myself,” Leibowitz added. 

“Whether it’s easier for families to get it right the first time, or the reminder emails are incredibly effective, all I know is that it’s now less work on my part to have families complete their contracts.”

“A big advantage for us is how easy it is to communicate the awards with Vanessa,” shared Ginburg. “It’s very simple for me to input what the award is, and then all I know is that the enrollment agreements go right out and come back in quickly,” he continued.

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A Simple Solution For Split Households

“The way Clarity handles split households has been one of the most impactful elements of Clarity Contracts for us,” shared Leibowitz.

“We were never able to send a split contract before. It took a lot of back-and-forth and manual work just to implement a workaround solution,” she continued. 

“In Clarity we can set it up where one parent pays 20%, for example, and the other parent pays 80%, and they get two unique contracts. They're also able to set up their own accounts, so neither of them are seeing any information they don’t need to be.”

“It has made our lives much easier, and is definitely appreciated by our families.”

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A Culture of Constant Improvement

“I like that the Clarity platform is always a work in progress,” shared Leibowitz. “When we say ‘oh, this would be a really helpful feature upgrade’, Clarity is typically already working on it, and that’s always a nice thing for us to hear.” 

“All software solutions always have room for improvement. Making adjustments to payment plans in our previous system was always a huge pain, and making the most straightforward request always required way too much back-and-forth,” Leibowitz added.

“Nothing ever changed, though, so it's nice to know that at Clarity, improvements are actually happening constantly.”