Senior Counselor, Student Financial Assistance

Title: Senior Counselor, Student Financial Assistance

Division: Strategic Enrollment Management

Department: Student Financial Assistance

FLSA Status: Exempt

Salary Range: Annual Salary

EEO Job Group: 2 E2

Responsible for independent student advisement and finalization of annual awards of grants, loans, and scholarships. The position analyzes financial aid applications and other confidential financial information to determine the amount and packaging of financial aid eligibility for an applicant. Maintain a comprehensive working knowledge of federal, state, institutional, athletic and/or USI Foundation aid programs, and provide program support to Financial Aid Assistant Directors, Senior Assistant Director, and/or Associate Director.

Coordinate, manage and reconcile specific federal, state, institutional, athletic and/or USI Foundation aid program(s), policies, and procedures. May also participate in high school and campus presentations.

• Advise and counsel students and their families about costs, financial aid policies, procedures, programs, funding, limitations, and options in a skillful, timely, and professional manner through personal interviews, written correspondence, and social media.
• Participate as a team member in the management of the Federal Professional Judgment Committee to ensure federal compliance concerning student/parent requests for special and/or unusual circumstance consideration.
• Assist students and families navigate the federal verification process.
• Serve as administrator for an area of primary responsibility. Manage all aspects of assigned program(s), including identification of award recipients, defining/interpreting program regulations, reconciling and reporting on program activity. Managing the assigned program(s) may include file exchange of official records from one or more of the federal, state, and/or private processing systems.
• Analyze and correct awards for student aid programs in a manner that is consistent with federal, state, institution, athletic and USI Foundation regulations, rules, and policies to prevent violations in the aid programs.
• Assist in the development and implementation of procedures for student financial aid application processing, verification, and awarding of funds. Recommend policy and procedural changes as needed for student financial aid programs.
• Maintain a current working knowledge of all student financial aid program rules, regulations, and policies to provide a high level of customer service.
• Ensure current changes to federal, state, institutional, and USI Foundation rules, regulations, and policies are communicated and implemented in a timely manner to students and/or staff regarding assigned area(s) of responsibility.
• Ability to maintain complex technical rules in support of business process, collaborate and work with diverse populations, and manage multiple priorities. Commitment to excellent service.
• Identify and correct errors associated with assigned program responsibility to ensure funding calculations are accurate and correspond with University records. Analyze and resolve inaccurate aid awards, including over awards and return of funds.
• May serve as liaison to various University departments and external entities, including USI Foundation scholarship and Business Office account administrators, as well as external agencies.
• May lead or assist with presentations during recruitment events and workshops.
• Other duties as assigned.

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Three to five years of experience in student financial assistance or relevant related higher education administration required.
• Must possess excellent oral and written communication skills, refined listening and strong interpersonal skills, tact and diplomacy for effective communication with students and parents on sensitive, confidential financial matters.
• Proficiency with computers, internet, Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Access, Outlook, and PowerPoint) software required.
• Technical competency for mastering appropriate software required.
• Demonstrated aptitude for numeric or data analysis, identification of inconsistencies, and…