Advisor, Financial Aid

Description

Min Salary $43,682.78 Max Salary $58,971.74 Duties/Functions

• Advise students regarding eligibility for all federal, state, and local financial aid programs within the requirements of federal and state regulations and solve complex eligibility and payment issues, by telephone, email, video conference, and in person;
• Assess and request needed documentation for a complete financial aid request, verify family income and other data against the Free Application for Federal Student Aid ( FAFSA ), and package eligible aid applicants with the proper amounts of federal and state grant programs, within the requirements of federal and state regulations, using the college’s computer software (Ellucian Colleague).
• Coordinate all outside sources of aid with student’s financial aid package to prevent over awards;
• Counsel students with special circumstances on applying and documenting requests for exceptions and aid recalculations, such as dependency overrides and changes in family income/circumstances;
• Counsel students who are not making satisfactory academic progress on how to regain good standing, identifying and recommending college success supports, and assisting students with writing and documenting appeal request if aid eligibility is lost.
• Assist in the administration of procedures and practices to assure compliance with federal regulations and audit requirements as specified by the United States Department of Education, the North Carolina Educational Assistance Authority, and the North Carolina Community College System;
• Recommend policy and procedural improvements to the Director and Assistant Directors, as need arises;
• Effectively work with other college constituents as necessary to coordinate outside resources and other financial aid-related activities;
• Actively serve on college committees;
• Demonstrate and model the college’s employability skills: adaptability, communication, information processing, problem solving, responsibility and teamwork.
• Perform all duties as assigned by supervisor.

Difficult Challenges

• Constantly moving, fast-paced environment
• Changing priorities with fixed deadlines.
• Volume of students at peak times means less time per student which impacts quality of service
• Working with challenging students and families with complicated family situations
• Keeping abreast of Federal, NC regulations and knowing how to interpret, comply, and apply them to student requests for aid.
• Interpreting complex tax returns and correcting incorrect data submitted by students and parents to ensure that only eligible students receive aid.

Contacts

• Daily: supervisor re updates, assignments, advice and assistance on escalation
• Daily: colleagues re advice, assistance, consultation in area of specialty
• Daily: students re advice on financial aid
• Weekly: Business Office re verifying balance due / business office holds
• Monthly: Department of Education or State of North Carolina for regulation interpretation assistance and guidance.

Education Required Education Preferred Experience Required Experience Preferred KSA Required

• Knowledge of federal and state financial aid regulations;
• Ability to maintain accurate and auditable financial aid records;
• Ability to participate as a team member, ability to understand and interpret rules and regulations, and ability to readily adjust to change;
• Ability to use a personal computer, including Microsoft Office Word and Excel
• Excellent oral and written communication skills;
• Ability to maintain confidentiality of students’ records;
• Ability to work effectively with students, faculty, and staff;
• Ability to work independently with a high degree of accuracy, attention to detail, and ability to meet deadlines.

KSA Preferred

• Knowledge of Ellucian Colleague preferred

Department/Job Specific Requirements

• Import and process incoming Free Applications for Federal Student Aid (FAFSAs) which includes importing and processing state grant eligibility files, reviewing and updating corrected FAFSAs, calculating student budgets, calculating required documentation from each student, and creating and sending correspondence to applicants. In addition, review requests that require the use of significant judgement for dependency overrides or special circumstances that can change student eligibility.
• Intake, review, and use considerable judgement with processing satisfactory academic progress appeals (Letters A-K). Analyze appeals for necessary information and documentation and communicate any deficiencies to the student. In addition, process missing signature forms from students/parents and process citizenship confirmations with the Department of Homeless Security when necessary.
• Intake, review, and use considerable judgement with processing satisfactory academic progress appeals (Letters L-Z). Analyze appeals for necessary information and documentation and communicate any deficiencies to the student. In addition, provide certification assistance to the Veterans Resource Center staff during busy periods. Maintain knowledge and required trainings to keep School Certifying Official status with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
• Administer most aspects of the state grant programs. This includes certifying eligible state grant recipients using the College Foundation website, reviewing, and processing residency determination changes that affect state grant eligibility, processing requests to unlock state grants from other colleges, assisting with monthly reconciliation of state grant programs, identifying funds that need to be certified or returned to the State as part of the reconciliation process, and preparing memos to return funds. Also, aid with State Grant refund calculations during busy periods.
• Administer most aspects of the Federal Work Study ( FWS ) program. This includes communicating program availability with identified eligible students, communicating job availability with potential supervisors, assisting supervisors with developing a position and a position description, entering position descriptions in PeopleAdmin, and monitoring position advertisement. Transmit needed employment paperwork to supervisor during the hiring process and examine student records to confirm FWS eligibility before hiring is finalized. Monitor and manage the FWS expenditures to prevent student overawards and fund overawards. Process monthly payroll.
• Manage the financial aid office at the Greensboro campus, providing a one-stop shop for walk-in students with all aspects of financial aid, veterans, and scholarship administration. Primarily responsible for monitoring the FINAID email account, researching questions asked by email, and responding appropriately and in a timely manner.

• Ethics
• Safety/Shooter on Campus
• Personal Information Protection Training ( PIP )
• Anti-Discrimination/Harassment & Title IX
• Other training may be required as determined applicable.

Physical Demands

• Mostly sitting with some walking or standing
• Objects or loads carried that weigh 20 pounds or less
• Rare (less than 15% exposure to hazardous chemicals, filth, fumes, adverse weather, or personal health and safety risks