Program Specialist 3 - Welcome Center

Program Specialist 3 - Welcome Center Department:
Student Affairs

Reports To:

Customer Service Manager Salary range: $59,760 - $80,496
* Annually

Priority consideration to those who apply by August 18, 2026.

This position will remain open for a minimum of seven (7) days. The College reserves the right to close the recruitment at any time after the minimum posting period once a sufficient applicant pool has been established. All classified positions will start their salary at Step

A.

Olympic College is currently hiring for a Program Specialist 3 - Welcome Center. The purpose of this position is to serve as the initial contact for potential students and current students, to guide them through the admissions, enrollment, financial aid processes, cashiering, student accounts, and minimizing return visits. This position processes admission applications, conducts enrollment processes, provides cashiering and student account services, and assists with the completion of all FAFSA/WASFA requirements from first term through graduation.

All work is performed independently with a high level of accuracy and efficiency.

• Provide personalized assistance to students completing FAFSA/WASFA applications, including complex tasks such as Special Circumstances and Dependency Overrides. Explore alternative funding sources and understand payment options. Guide students in understanding account balances, tuition payment obligations, Nelnet Payment Plan.
• Provide assistance to students and staff, including rectifying cashier errors, answering inquiries about student accounts, and providing account advice to stakeholders. This may involve updating student account procedures.
• Receive and process various forms of payments and interdepartmental transactions. Provide receipts for transactions, reconcile/balance student and departmental receipts, and prepare bank deposits daily.
• Assist students, departments, and outside agencies with account interpretation, reconciliation, and correction.
• Review back-up documentation provided by stakeholders and correct errors as needed on student accounts.
• Anticipates potential problems and explores solutions and alternatives, and recommends resolutions to meet certain criteria to set students up for success.
• Assists students in using and understanding the class catalog, class schedules, and first-term enrollment.
• Respond to inquiries via face-to-face, virtually, phone, email/e-Chat, text, and other web-based methods regarding enrollments, financial aid, student accounts, and other continual student support.
• Process/update student records by processing student forms, documents, and other information needed to complete transactions and procedures.
• Ability to identify and de-escalate or mitigate situations when needed.
• Assist students with determining alternate funding resources when necessary.
• Update student accounts by processing student forms, documents, and other pertinent information to complete transactions and procedures.
• Serve as the interdepartmental liaison regarding the interpretations and implementation of program policies.
• Foster cross-departmental relationships to effectively handle complex student issues and to collaboratively facilitate resolutions for students within established guidelines.
• Independently conduct research and analyze data to identify program needs and participant eligibility for continued enrollment in the college.
• Collaboratively participate in identifying areas for program development
• Collaborate with external organizations and internal staff to assist incarcerated students formerly to understand their needs.
• Assist with developing and establishing policies and procedures by bringing recommendations to the Director.
• Assist students in understanding student account balances, tuition payment, obligations, options, and deadlines.
• Inform students about college collection policies and procedures.
• Manage/Maintain Calendly welcome center appointments and review students’ files prior to the meeting.
• Verify enrollment status, process Admissions applications, and complete program research on behalf of students.
• Independently investigate discrepancies (i.e., dependency override) and recommend…