Assistant Director of Financial Aid & Scholarships, Counseling at ST MARYS COLLEGE OF CALIFORNIA – Moraga, California

Summary

Reporting to the Associate Director, this position is responsible for providing proactive counseling and advising to undergraduate and graduate level students in the College, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and the School of Divinity. The Financial Aid Counselor assists with the administration of federal, state, and/or institutional aid programs and evaluates financial aid applications to determine student eligibility. The Counselor collects data and keeps accurate records to ensure compliance with relevant policies, procedures, and regulations.

Essential Job Functions

§ Provide in-person, over the phone, and over email advising and counseling for students, parents, and others seeking information and assistance with all aspects of the financial aid application, eligibility, and disbursement process. Advise and assist students and others over the phone and by email and mail regarding financial aid questions and issues.

§ Utilize professional judgment to accommodate and counsel students regarding special circumstances. Review special circumstances presented by the student in-person or by means of written requests. Make appropriate revisions to student eligibility, cost of attendance or financial aid to accommodate the circumstances that are within the law and institutional policy and funding guidelines, and defensible.

§ Perform community outreach at workshops in a variety of settings, including on and off campus, day, evening, and weekend venues. Coordinate presentations with sponsoring groups and other presenters, determining in advance the appropriate equipment needed and handouts and materials to be provided.

§ Review a variety of reports such as outside aid, ISIR load, change in program or major, loan processing, federal verification, comparing new data to previously recorded data, analyzing data for reasonableness and consistency with other information, contacting outside parties or students when necessary for clarification, making determinations as to how this affects student eligibility, adjusting the aid package and notifying students of changes.

§ Cross trained in many other important office tasks and acted as primary backups for other team members in the office for important system loads, special programs, reconciliation, work study, state programs, and more.

§ Determines financial aid eligibility for new students through the packaging process according to federal, state and institutional requirements, monitors individual student awards, resolves data conflicts and over awards.

§ Assist with development and maintenance of financial aid policy and procedures manual.

§ Review federal and state written updates and attend training and information meetings to maintain current knowledge of regulatory and institutional changes and policies relative to financial aid.

§ Monitors incomplete aid applications and proactively reaches out to students to assist with the completion of their financial aid tasks.

§ Hire and manage 7+ student workers in the financial aid office. This includes developing and conducting onboarding and training, scheduling, assigning daily responsibilities, monthly 1:1's, and end of year performance reviews

§ Administrative or liaison activities unique to assigned programs.

Required Qualifications

§ Minimum of a bachelor's degree

§ 1-2 years of experience working in financial aid

§ Valid U.S. driver's license and passport

§ Proficiency with Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, Slate