Advisor, Financial Aid

Description

The jobholder advises students regarding financial aid applications, awards, and miscellaneous matters. The jobholder also verifies and awards aid to eligible applicants, complying with all federal and state regulations as well as local policies and procedures.

Min Salary $43,682.78 Max Salary $58,971.74

• 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, identify and recommend college success supports, and assist 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 needed.
• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

Required:

Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited post-secondary institution

Required:

Minimum one year financial aid experience

• 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.

• Knowledge of Ellucian Colleague preferred

Each advisor will be assigned one of the following duties on a…