Financial Aid Advisor - Internal

JOB SUMMARY:

Reporting to the Director of Financial Aid, the Financial Aid Advisor will have responsibility for the Direct Loan program, including processing loan applications, evaluating funding levels, assisting graduating borrowers, and managing default prevention process. The Advisor will manage the Maryland state aid programs including roster processing and reconciliation. This role is responsible for the administration and reconciliation of multiple financial aid programs and must adhere to the applicable federal, state, and college regulations and practices to perform essential processing.

These responsibilities will necessitate the use of various software and web‑based applications specific to financial aid operations. The Advisor is accountable for Title IV Program compliance and held to strict ethical practices in the administration and processing of federal, state and College financial aid programs.

Due to the need for interaction with students, employees, and college community, this position requires in‑person presence but is eligible for telework: positions with back‑up duties require consistent on‑site presence; telework may be available to certain roles on a limited basis to best meet the needs of the department.

THIS IS AN INTERNAL POSTING

• Counsel parents and students regarding availability of financial aid funding, eligibility requirements and the application process.
• Conduct workshops on completing the financial aid application for prospective, new, and enrolled students on a regularly scheduled rotation.
• Act as back‑up to part‑time staff in covering front office during working hours, as needed and as directed by supervisor and/or designee.
• Provide leadership for the financial aid work‑study staff to include hiring and supervision, on a rotating basis.
• Review student financial aid applications and perform federal verification on selected records, resolve conflicting information and C coded records.
• Evaluate special circumstance requests and make a relatively assured determination that changing and reprocessing financial (FAFSA) data to the federal processor is within program statute.
• Review Census Report data to determine proper Direct Loan and Maryland state aid funding levels for students, and make adjustments or cancellations, as necessary. Review Direct Loan Acceptance Forms and post loan awards in accordance with student requests, College policy, and Title IV regulations.
• Administer Direct Loan program in accordance with new regulations related to pro‑ration and aggregate limits for grandfathered and new enrollment.
• Perform outreach to graduating students with Direct Loan borrowing history to ensure completion of exit counseling requirements.
• Design and implement Direct Loan Default Management program, to include outreach to defaulted borrowers.
• In coordination with the Assistant Director, track any Workforce Pell (WFP) recipient, including course start–end dates and reported attendance.
• Maintain and refresh financial aid information located at the College’s website and the student portal.
• Act as liaison to the marketing department in determining social media outreach messages surrounding events, deadlines, policies, updates, etc.
• Perform monthly reconciliation of the Direct Loan and Pell Grant programs using reports from multiple databases.
• Collaborate with cashier’s department for registered Medical Assistant Program (MAP) students and determine proper funding levels for students, make adjustments or cancellations as necessary.
• Collaborate with College departments such as Registration and Accounts Receivable to discuss relevant data for processing financial aid applications and reconciling financial aid awards.
• Assist director in maintaining audit‑ready files for all audit/program reviews.
• Assist with end‑of‑term SAP evaluations, including reviewing students exceeding maximum timeframe limits; update institutional systems based on outcomes, coordinate appeal reviews with the committee, and notify students in accordance with federal and institutional guidelines.
• Maintain database of SAP appeals on an on‑going basis, to include facilitating collaboration of the…