University Financial Aid Compliance Manager, Office of Student Financial Assistance

Overview

University Financial Aid Compliance Manager, Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) at The City University of New York. Salary: $83,681.00 - $90,838.00 Annually. Final date to receive applications:
Feb 12, 2026.

OSFA at the Central Office serves as the central administrative hub for financial aid operations and provides guidance to financial aid offices across CUNY's 26 colleges and institutions throughout NYC. The department delivers regulatory compliance oversight and administrative management of Federal, State, City, and institutional funding to support access to higher education for over 219,000 students and administers disbursements of over $1 billion in aid annually.

OSFA leads the implementation of evolving regulations, manages new awards and programs, and drives university-wide initiatives and technology implementations affecting student access and success.

• Provide financial aid compliance guidance, monitoring, and training for applicable Federal, State, City, and institutional financial aid programs.
• Interpret federal, state, institutional, and Title IV regulations to ensure campus compliance; manage internal and external audit requests.
• Analyze the effectiveness of financial aid policies, procedures, systems, and forms; recommend and implement improvements; monitor annual regulatory changes; participate in initiatives to implement requirements.
• Facilitate development of FA compliance policies, procedures, and operational guidelines; communicate standards to ensure compliant administration across all CUNY campuses.
• Manage the R2T4 Funds federal process and NYS Aid Programs (including TAP, Opportunity, and Federal Work-Study) and support new aid and scholarships for specific student populations and non-degree programs.
• Keep documentation up to date for federal, state, city, and institutional aid compliance rules and administration.
• Supervise a team of FA Coordinators and Specialists; provide coaching and guidance to ensure consistent application of compliance standards.
• Monitor changes and trends in federal, state, and city student financial aid legislation and guidance; inform and advise impacted areas.
• Monitor federal notices of proposed rule making; analyze and interpret rules and prepare impact analyses.
• Identify compliance vulnerabilities and risks; develop and implement corrective action plans to mitigate risk and improve practices.
• Conduct compliance trainings for office and campus staff on updates and issues regarding financial aid programs.
• Serve on the Compliance workgroup for the Student Manual; review legislation/regulation impacts and serve as back-up for unit duties.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

• Bachelor's degree and 6 years' related experience required.

• Experience in student financial aid and scholarship administration with expertise in compliance, auditing, reporting, and training.
• Comprehensive knowledge and understanding of federal, state, city and institutional financial aid programs, operations, regulations, and best practices.
• Strong knowledge of Federal and NYS financial aid policies, including Title IV, Return to Title IV (R2T4), HEERF, TAP, and other state aid programs.
• Experience using large-scale People Soft-based FA processing systems and related technologies.
• Ability to analyze financial aid business processes and implement standardized best practices across a multi-campus university system.
• Experience supervising, coaching, and developing staff in a compliance or financial aid environment.
• Understanding of the critical role of financial aid in student recruitment, retention, and success relative to enrollment goals.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to convey complex procedures and eligibility rules to diverse audiences.
• Customer-focused, proactive, flexible, and collaborative approach to working with diverse members of the university community and external constituents.
• Detail-oriented with strong analytical, evaluation, problem-solving, and research skills.
• Strong organizational and follow-through skills to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines.
• Advanced proficiency with administrative and financial systems, databases, and programs; proficient in Microsoft Office (especially Excel) and remote/virtual meeting tools.

Manages centralized student financial aid/assistance functions and programs, plus related systems and technologies in compliance with laws, regulations, and policies.

Maintains responsibility for Financial Aid data records, applications, business practices and reporting within an ERP system to support student enrollment; ensures data integrity and compliance with regulations.

Supports campuses with implementing and using ERP FA system modules and reporting; conducts training and addresses system performance issues.

Manages and trains staff; performs related duties as assigned.

Higher Education Associate

Exempt

The salary range is $83,681 -…