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Flexible, Fair, and Student-First: OKWU’s Transformation of Pre-Collections
OKWU used Meadow Pre to proactively recover past-due balances with compassionate outreach — driving six payments and $11K financed in the first week alone.
By the Numbers
<1
day between launch and first student payment
6
past-due payments made in week one
25%
made a payment in the first few months
$15K
amount in financed payment plans in month one
“Every institution should look at this. If you want more proactive, streamlined, and student-friendly communication, this is a great option.”
Introduction
At Oklahoma Wesleyan University (OKWU), empowering students means meeting them where they are — even after they leave campus. For Alexander Johnson, Director of Information Technology, the university’s partnership with Meadow Pre has helped OKWU regain control of past-due balances, strengthen communication between departments, and ensure students have fair, transparent options for resolving their financial obligations.
“The ultimate goal with Meadow Pre was to get control of our balances,” Johnson shared, “but also to give our students — even those who have graduated or withdrawn — options for how they can rectify their situation.”
The Challenge
In the wake of COVID-19, like many colleges and universities across the U.S., OKWU faced a surge in unpaid balances as students struggled to cover tuition and fees. The team did the best they could to address the unpaid balances, but limited bandwidth made it difficult to make the impact the institution needed.
“We had two people responsible for about 1,000 student accounts,” said Johnson. “It just wasn’t sustainable.”
WATCH: Students’ right to choose
Identifying students with overdue balances in a timely manner was a big challenge. The team didn't have the time to do outreach and also didn't know who they should reach out to. Manual processes across the bursar, registrar, and financial aid offices meant that tracking withdrawals and running reports often happened months after the fact, when studies show that the longer a balance sits, the less likely it is to ever be resolved. For example, a balance that is six months past due only has a 58% probability of recovery.
“The hardest thing for us to do prior to Meadow was identify the populations we should be communicating with,” he said. “We were exchanging spreadsheets between offices just to figure out who needed to be contacted.”
By the time the team was able to make contact with a student, it was often too late. Some students had graduated despite an overdue balance while others had stopped out for financial reasons, unaware that there might be resources available and additional options for payment. Students were slipping through the cracks.
The Solution
OKWU implemented Meadow Pre to automate its pre-collections process and bring structure and cross-team visibility to how the university handles current and past due student accounts. They implemented a 10+ touchpoint, personalized and mobile-first program to engage students with unresolved balances weeks and sometimes months earlier than they were before. Now, students with a balance who graduate or withdraw are automatically added to Meadow Pre within 14 days, ensuring timely communication while they’re still connected to the university. The messaging to students about their past-due balances is clear, transparent, and compassionately offers options for them to catch up, sending signals of support and value of their place in the institution.
“Rather than waiting for the end of the semester to figure out who we should be communicating with, we’re more proactive throughout the semester,” said Johnson.
This early, empathetic outreach helps OKWU address balances before they reach traditional collections — and even prevent some withdrawals altogether.
“We’ve actually retained a few students because of that proactive communication,” Johnson noted. “They realized, ‘Oh, I didn’t know I’d still owe this balance — I might as well finish the semester.’”
Before implementing Meadow Pre, OKWU briefly considered sending accounts to their traditional collections agency partner, earlier in the process. But the numbers and student impact didn’t add up. Based on OKWU’s experience with collections agencies they knew it was likely to be ineffective and expensive.With most collection agencies… the institution gets about 60% of what they collect on a good day,” Johnson said. “With Meadow, we keep more and it doesn’t hurt their credit.”
That combination — impact to A/R and protecting the student relationship — made Meadow Pre the clear choice.
Prior to onboarding Meadow Pre for past-due account support, OKWU partnered with Meadow Pay to handle their current student billing and communications. Using both Meadow Pay and Meadow Pre gives staff a holistic view of each student’s unique financial lifecycle — from enrollment through graduation — while maintaining full ownership of funds collected.
The Results
The impact was immediate — both operationally and philosophically. OKWU collected their first past due payment the same day they launched communications through Meadow Pre. Within the first week, six payments were made and two students signed up for a payment plan, financing almost $11,000.
The payments are only part of the story. Johnson also noted:
- Faster communication and cleaner data: Automating pre-collections uncovered inconsistencies in aid and refund practices, helping OKWU catch and correct errors sooner, resulting in a more positive student experience
- Reduced reliance on traditional collections: By contacting students earlier, OKWU now prevents many accounts from ever reaching an agency.
- Improved student relationships: Students appreciate transparent communication and flexible post-departure payment plans.
- Holistic financial insight: Meadow Pre and Pay together create a full picture of student accounts — helping staff support both onboarding and offboarding.
“Having Meadow Pre gives students the right to choose,” Johnson said. “They can leave on a positive note because they have options for how to pay their bill, instead of just ghosting us out of fear or embarrassment.”
Johnson emphasized that even small staffing teams can benefit:
“It’s a very low lift — for IT and for administrative staff. We were up and running faster than we expected.”
Why It Matters
For OKWU, Meadow Pre isn’t just about recovering past-due accounts, it’s about reinforcing the university’s mission of care and accountability.
“Every institution should look at this,” said Johnson. “If you want more proactive, streamlined, and student-friendly communication, this is a great option.”
OKWU is proving that a student-first and compassionate approach to pre-collections is more effective. It keeps students enrolled, gives them flexible options, reduces staff burden, improves institutional A/R, and minimizes reliance on punitive tactics like collections agencies. A true win-win for students and the institution.
