Financial Aid Specialist Job Description
Financial aid specialist
provides detailed information and professional advice to parents, students and staff regarding financial aid eligibility, including University policies and federal and state regulations.
Financial Aid Specialist Duties & Responsibilities
To write an effective financial aid specialist job description, begin by listing detailed duties, responsibilities and expectations. We have included financial aid specialist job description templates that you can modify and use.
Sample responsibilities for this position include:
Awards and revises all federal, state, and institutional aid private student loans for graduate and professional students within federal, state, and institutional guidelines
Maintains up-to-date knowledge of university and federal regulations, policy, and procedures related to the financial aid process
Processes applications according to federal guidelines or regulations
Assist Dean of Financial Aid with federal and state reporting
Assists with self-service activities to ensure customer comprehension and satisfaction regarding FASS and SBS questions, policies and procedures
Verifies accuracy of documents and consistency of data from need analysis processor, federal tax returns, financial aid transcripts verification document, and student information
Develops guidelines and procedures to ensure all transactions meet regulatory guidelines
Conducts audits of student files to ensure federal compliance
Assists in the development of, and frequently conducts presentations regarding federal financial aid, scholarships, student employment, and financial wellness topics to varying audiences
Counsels and advises students about financial aid eligibility, aid programs, application procedures, while individualizing information to the particular needs and situation of the student
Financial Aid Specialist Qualifications
Qualifications for a job description may include education, certification, and experience.
Licensing or Certifications for Financial Aid Specialist
List any licenses or certifications required by the position: VA
Education for Financial Aid Specialist
Typically a job would require a certain level of education.
Employers hiring for the financial aid specialist job most commonly would prefer for their future employee to have a relevant degree such as Bachelor's and Associate Degree in Education, The College, Business, Accounting, Communication, Finance, Business/Administration, Graduate, Associates, Technology
Skills for Financial Aid Specialist
Desired skills for financial aid specialist include:
Regulations
Government rules
Guidelines and procedures related to financial aid
Federal
Automated processing
Procedures
State
Eligibility requirements
Financial aid policies
Supervisory techniques
Desired experience for financial aid specialist includes:
Resolves basic issues, general concerns and inquiries through phone, email and chat regarding Financial Aid and Scholarship Services (FASS), and Student Business Services (SBS) processes and policies
Participates in, and contributes to, scheduled and ad hoc training in order to improve university policy and processes
Prepares activity reports/logs on a regularly scheduled basis
Provides personalized customer service at the highest level
Understands and satisfies customer needs and capitalizes on opportunities to improve customer service and satisfaction
Completes call logs and other appropriate reports
Financial Aid Specialist Examples
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Financial Aid Specialist Job Description
Job Description Example
Our company is looking to fill the role of financial aid specialist. Please review the list of responsibilities and qualifications. While this is our ideal list, we will consider candidates that do not necessarily have all of the qualifications, but have sufficient experience and talent.
Responsibilities for financial aid specialist
- Follow established processes and procedures that streamline the awarding and delivery of the aid programs
- Review inbound and outbound calls and email correspondence by observing performance, techniques and application of procedures
- Provide feedback on uniform application of guidelines and procedures
- Provide recommendations on departmental policies and procedures to enhance service productivity
- Provide information to prospective and enrolled students regarding financial aid program requirements and procedures via inbound and outbound telephone calls and email
- Inputs data and ensures the accuracy of all information entered into the system
- Maintains quality standards for key compliance and processing areas
- Reviews individual staff output for accuracy and quality
- Reviews and provides feedback for procedural updates
- May assist training staff in classroom for review and feedback to learners
Qualifications for financial aid specialist
- Excellent communication skills with a broad variety of audiences
- Must be able to prioritize competing tasks and requests to maximize efficiency and minimize errors
- Identifies procedure gaps, trends in errors and provides feedback to training team
- Provides constructive feedback to processors via correction requests
- Responsible for quality improvement and control of financial aid processes
- Ensures best practices are followed in financial aid transactions
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Financial Aid Specialist Job Description
Job Description Example
Our growing company is searching for experienced candidates for the position of financial aid specialist. If you are looking for an exciting place to work, please take a look at the list of qualifications below.
Responsibilities for financial aid specialist
- Performs process management audits to ensure effectiveness and efficacy of financial aid processes
- Provides one on one instruction for financial aid employees if necessary in concert with the financial aid managers
- Collaborates with internal auditing to insure compliance in regards to FERPA and Title IV
- Assist in determining budgetary recommendations and requirements for Educational Programs
- Represent Finance in budget meetings with TIP Educational Programs division
- Serves on a variety of financial aid committees
- Additional staff training as needed
- Represent the department at special events such as orientations, financial aid workshops, financial literacy workshops
- Act as a liaison between the Admissions/Student Support staff and the campus Financial Aid and Veteran Affairs office
- Ability to manage multiple functions associated with various degree programs simultaneously
Qualifications for financial aid specialist
- Minimum of 2 years’ experience in Financial Aid for higher education or related regulatory loan processing
- Specific expertise in processing financial aid in Verification and C-Codes (Aggregate/Eligibility/Overlapping Loans)
- A working knowledge of non-term processing
- Experience in processing in CampusVue or other student loan database required
- Ability to use Duke financial systems (SAP, Buy@Duke), Microsoft word processing, database & spreadsheet programs (Excel) is essential excellent communication skills
- Must be in good standing with the Department of Education
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Financial Aid Specialist Job Description
Job Description Example
Our company is growing rapidly and is searching for experienced candidates for the position of financial aid specialist. We appreciate you taking the time to review the list of qualifications and to apply for the position. If you don’t fill all of the qualifications, you may still be considered depending on your level of experience.
Responsibilities for financial aid specialist
- Evaluates student files for eligibility of federal, state, institutional, and private financial aid programs
- Communicate with students regarding student loans, grants, scholarships, Federal Work-Study, verification, special circumstances, unusual enrollment, and other financial aid issues
- Support training and professional development for new and experienced Admissions Counselors and Student Support Advisors on financial aid processes based on school and program requirements
- Work within the Financial Aid Systems and Application Processing Office
- Assist Manager with testing and implementing all upgrades/patches to enhance the Banner Financial Aid system
- Plan and develop training documents to give to Managers for staff training
- Implement all new related features as delivered by Ellucian
- Provide troubleshooting/problem solving to Financial Aid module and related software
- Assist Manager with New Aid Year Setup
- Interpret complex information and make evaluative determinations and recommendations
Qualifications for financial aid specialist
- Comfortable with basic web-editing tools
- Familiarity with hiring forms (I-9, tax)
- One (1) year of professional experience in different aspects of administration and business practices
- Bachelor’s degree in accounting, business, psychology or related field
- Experience with Veteran’s educational benefits and VA Once
- Associate’s degree and/or an equivalent combination of education and experience (Bachelor’s degree preferred)
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Financial Aid Specialist Job Description
Job Description Example
Our innovative and growing company is looking for a financial aid specialist. Please review the list of responsibilities and qualifications. While this is our ideal list, we will consider candidates that do not necessarily have all of the qualifications, but have sufficient experience and talent.
Responsibilities for financial aid specialist
- Responsible for awarding the Federal Work Study Program (FWS) and the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) in the University system of record
- Verify and sustain absolute compliance with all regulatory and institutional policies and procedures through the development and maintenance of a Financial Aid Policy & Procedure Manual
- Collaborate with other college departments
- Collaborates and works with fellow admissions and financial aid specialists, admissions counselors, supervisor, and enrollment management leadership to achieve university enrollment objectives
- Initiates and develops relationships with prospective students, families, and community partners through phone calls, emails, mail and in person interactions
- Works collaboratively with academic units and services throughout the University to facilitate student support pertaining to financial aid education
- Monitors recruitment, enrollment, and financial aid trends in assigned territory
- Required to work either the May or December commencement day per calendar year
- Performs other duties related to job description as assigned by supervisor
- Provide exceptional financial aid customer service via multiple mediums (phone, email, chat), with a focus on single-source service
Qualifications for financial aid specialist
- Ability to document and track expenses
- High school diploma and at least 5 years of related work experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience
- Self-starter with the ability to work and contribute in a team environment
- Ability to present a professional image in a formal and informal setting
- Ability to meet deadlines and complete projects accurately and on a timely basis
- Ability to apply critical thinking skills while performing multiple tasks with frequent interruptions
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Financial Aid Specialist Job Description
Job Description Example
Our innovative and growing company is looking for a financial aid specialist. If you are looking for an exciting place to work, please take a look at the list of qualifications below.
Responsibilities for financial aid specialist
- Manage and coordinate Federal Pell Grant processes that determine eligibility, monitoring PLEU (Pell Lifetime Eligibility), and maintaining awards in accordance with federal regulations
- Oversees the collection, management, and reporting of data in accordance with the federal and state regulations
- Participates in the development and implementation of data management systems and procedures, as appropriate
- Provide problem resolution to those customers or escalating highly unique or complex issues to the Regional Financial Aid Managers, as appropriate
- Process 1098T requests from students
- Resolve CampusNexus exceptions, as directed
- Process Return from Medical Leave requests
- Research why financial aid funds have not posted to student accounts and provide resolution
- Resolve rejected files (from 3rd party servicer) for inactive students received from the Refunds Team
- Provide telephone outreach to students as identified and directed by supervisor
Qualifications for financial aid specialist
- Attention to detail and ability to meet strict deadlines
- Ability to understand and perform complex oral and written instructions with little or no supervision
- Ability to perform detailed work rapidly and accurately
- Ability to plan, schedule, and manage projects, and assignments
- A minimum of an Associate’s Degree would be required
- Candidate must possess a minimum of 2 years of experience with a relational database