Financial Aid Specialist

Position Details

Lehman College, of The City University of New York, ranks among the top five institutions in the nation for fostering social mobility. A four-year Hispanic-Serving Institution in the Bronx, Lehman offers bachelor's, master's, and advanced degrees and certificate programs in the Liberal Arts, sciences, and professions. The College's community-driven mission and notable academic programs attract a diverse, international enrollment of over 15,000 students who take courses on its 37-acre, tree-lined campus and online degree programs.

Many thousands more community members benefit yearly from its active cultural, educational, health, and economic outreach programs and services.

Reporting to the Associate Director TAP Certifying Officer, the Financial Aid Specialist will be responsible for the administration and oversight of the New York State Excelsior Scholarship Program. The incumbent provides advisement, eligibility review, and compliance monitoring in accordance with federal, state, and institutional regulations, while supporting the overall mission of the Financial Aid Office.

• Administer the Excelsior Scholarship Program in compliance with NYS Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC), CUNY, and institutional policies and procedures.
• Review and determine student eligibility based on enrollment status, credit accumulation, residency, income thresholds, and other program-specific requirements.
• Monitor continued eligibility, including full-time enrollment and academic progress requirements tied to the Excelsior Program.
• Advise students individually regarding Excelsior requirements, documentation, eligibility determinations, appeals, and award changes.
• Communicate with students via email, phone, and in person regarding outstanding documentation and program status.
• Maintain accurate student records in financial aid systems and state platforms, including HESC portals.
• Identify and resolve discrepancies related to eligibility, enrollment, or award posting.
• Assist with audits, compliance reviews, reporting, and data requests related to state - financial aid programs.
• Participate in outreach activities, workshops, and presentations related to the Excelsior Scholarship and financial aid programs.
• Support general financial aid operations as needed.
• Remain current on changes to financial aid regulations, policies, and procedures impacting state and federal aid.
• Other duties as assigned by the TAP Certifying Officer or Director.

Applicants must be legally eligible to work in the United States. Sponsorship will not be offered for this position.

Bachelor's Degree and four years' related experience required. Bilingual in Spanish/English strongly preferred.

• Knowledge of student New York State financial aid programs, processes and systems and work experience in the financial aid office.
• Knowledge of student financial aid (Federal statutes and regulations), processes and systems and work experience in the financial aid office
• Comprehensive understanding of CUNYfirst or People Soft and New York State HESC database structure.
• Strong analytical, research, and technical skills to evaluate and use data in planning and decision making.
• Familiar with web-based navigation and writing reports (PS Query) for relational databases and work with large databases.
• Working knowledge of ERP systems or specifically People Soft database, Microsoft Excel, Access and PowerPoint is required. Excellent written & oral communication skills.

Administers and supervises financial aid programs and operations.

• Reviews contracts, disbursements, tuition and fees; validates student eligibility for various programs
• Administers, monitors and troubleshoots CUNY financial aid systems as well as Federal and NY State systems in order to ensure integrity of student databases and timely and accurate delivery of funds
• Assists CUNY staff, applicants, and students/families with advice on financial aid issues and eligibility
• May review and reconcile student payroll processing
• Represents the Financial Aid function at Admissions events; works with academic departments as well as Bursar, Registrar, Admissions and Computing offices to assure staff understand and implement financial aid processes correctly
• Assists in the development and evaluation of Admissions processes
• Prepares documentation, instructions, and materials in various media to support financial aid activities
• Performs related duties as assigned.

Financial Aid Specialist

Higher Education Assistant

Exempt

Salary commensurate with education and experience. $68,364 - $70,815

CUNY is in the process of implementing salary schedule increase s. Once implemented, salaries of eligible employees will increase by approximately 9.54% with an additional increase of 3.5% effective 9/1/26, in accordance with the terms of the PSC-CUNY collective bargaining agreement.

CUNY's benefits…