There are three parts in which Bishop Noll can better itself and its community: increasing the student body, increasingly yearly net profit, and increasing the standard of a Catholic education that would cause more students to want to attend Bishop Noll. More students would mean a larger profit, and a larger profit could go many ways, including to improve the education–thus restarting the cycle. This plan, of course, isn’t capable of happening over night, but over a five to ten year time-frame. With changes in these three areas, Bishop Noll can ensure that it will prosper and continue its significant progress.

Attracting students and increasing enrollment is perhaps the most important issue that Bishop Noll needs to address. With a number of other private school options in the Chicagoland area, Noll has to take into account the options that might attract students. A less expensive tuition, more scholarships to reduce tuition, better transportation options, improved facilities–of both the educational and recreational nature, and better advertising for the school are only a few ideas that could considered.

But let’s start with a more obvious one that some department at Bishop Noll–admissions or another–needs to really push. Recently, the Indiana State government approved the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program, a voucher system designed to allow financially eligible students to attend a private school. Bishop Noll accepts students that participate in this program.  Indiana has already given vouchers to about 3,700 students, and it still has 3,800 to give. Noll needs to set up a program that would both educate local families about Noll and the accessibility of this program, and aid them in applying for a voucher or scholarship through the program.

While Noll’s enrollment has already benefited from the new students that have participated in the program, we can benefit immeasurably more.

Educating our community’s families about the program is the first step. Most people probably don’t even know that they are eligible. Indiana offers the scholarship to students whose parents make up to $61,000 for a family of four. Many of our current students fall into that category. They are eligible to apply, and if they are already scholarship recipients from funding that comes from the school, Noll can hold on to that money or use it on another student. Boasting of Noll’s wonderful attributes and the fact that the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program is applicable at the school would only further interest current and prospective families.

But the movement that might really draw in prospective students is if Bishop Noll admissions also aided in the application for the process. Many parents might refuse to even look at Indiana’s program, simply because they do not want to deal with the hassle of applying. If our admissions department aided with all of the necessary paperwork, suddenly our school seems so much more charitable and enticing.

While other suggestions for improvements to the school could take years to actually apply, the movement to create a program to aid and educate local families hardly takes no time at all. Bishop Noll should take advantage of the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program and use it to its fullest power.