At the Sept. 18 Board committee meetings Tennessee State University leaders described an intensive late‑August registration “purge” process that preserved student enrollments, generated additional cash flow and improved predictability for fall semester operations.

Enrollment and financial leaders said a multi‑office effort—enrollment management, financial aid, Bursar, the provost’s office and external partners—worked daily in the two weeks before classes to help students clear holds. Jim Grady (Alvarez & Marsal) briefed trustees on the purge timeline. He said the university worked the list of students with outstanding items, and with the university foundation matched eligible donor scholarships to student balances and allocated emergency funds; those interventions removed roughly 379 students from the purge list and covered about $1.4 million in balances. Bradley White reported an overall boost in federal direct loan disbursements: as of mid‑September federal loan payments were ~$14.2M, up roughly $3M from the same point last year. White and trustees said greater reliance on timely federal aid and loan acceptances improved short‑term cash flow and reduced bad‑debt risk.

Eric Stokes, vice president for enrollment management, described recruitment and CRM improvements. TSU launched the Slate CRM for undergraduate admissions Aug. 21; Slate’s undergraduate application had received over 1,000 direct applications to TSU by mid‑September (plus ~650 Common Black College App imports). Admissions leaders said the new application path reduces friction (application completion time down to ~14 minutes), enables automated decisioning and integrates Parchment transcript matches (184 transcripts matched automatically in early weeks). Stokes said the enrollment strategy includes targeted lead buying (ACT data), expanded campus visits and regional recruitment with alumni partners, and a 36‑month communications plan to build the top of the funnel.

Residence life leaders described temporary housing changes to meet demand. Residence Life consolidated first‑year students into Wilson Hall and offered single rooms in Watson Hall to seniors and other students; the office reported approximately $356,565 additional fall revenue from 165 singles placed, with projected spring revenue doubling that amount if demand holds. Trustees asked whether the single‑room pricing captured new revenue or simply recovered lost occupancy; administrators said the pricing generated net incremental revenue because Watson would otherwise have been underfilled.

Why it matters: the purge and early aid packaging improved the university’s near‑term cash position and reduced receivables risk; the Slate CRM and scholarship algorithm are intended to improve application conversion and reduce manual work. Housing pricing produced incremental revenue for operations. Trustees asked for monthly updates on reconciliation progress and a plan to sustain enrollment and housing gains through spring.

Discussion vs. decision: actions were managerial (implementation of Slate, pricing decisions for housing); an admissions testing standard change (SAT/ACT alignment) was approved by the Student & Academic Affairs Committee and forwarded to the full board.