How St. Edward’s University is Protecting Students and Preserving Resources with Tuition Insurance
St. Edward’s University used to receive nearly 50 tuition refund appeals a year, totaling close to $1 million in refunded revenue annually. Many of these appeals involved difficult personal circumstances, but they also placed an emotional and administrative burden on university staff and created inconsistent outcomes for students.
“We were spending hours each month reviewing deeply personal petitions,” said Peter Beilharz, Director of Student Accounts. “It was hard on staff, and it wasn’t sustainable. We wanted a better way to protect students while ensuring fairness and clarity.”
The solution came in the form of a partnership with GradGuard Tuition Insurance. With an easy setup and seamless integration into the university’s billing process, St. Edward’s began offering students the option to purchase insurance to help cover tuition costs in case of a covered medical or mental health withdrawal.
“The implementation took less time than one refund committee meeting,” Beilharz noted.
Why It Matters:
Students are now empowered to make informed decisions about tuition protection.
Families have access to a safety net in the event of unexpected circumstances.
The university maintains a consistent and transparent policy without having to rely on case-by-case decisions.
More than $1 million in annual revenue is now retained and reinvested into student services and academic excellence.
BOTTOM LINE
Tuition insurance through GradGuard allows St. Edward’s University to serve students with empathy and foresight, helping families safeguard their investment in higher education while ensuring institutional stability.
“We rarely offer tuition refund appeals — not because we don’t care, but because we now offer a proactive way for families to protect their investment,” Beilharz said. “It’s a more compassionate and sustainable solution.”
GradGuard’s Tuition Protection Program promotes financial literacy by helping schools disclose its refund policy and can protect families from a financial loss if their student is forced to withdraw due to a covered reason.
