Student Financial Specialist (Online)

Position Summary

Serves as the student financial specialist for students attending one or more programs at Bryan College Online. Assist students in applying for and obtaining federal and state aid as well as explaining the affordability of the program and assisting with payment options. Assist in fulfilling the college’s mission and purpose of achieving set educational goals by providing information and counseling services to current/prospective students.

Reports to: Director of Financial Aid

Education Required

Experience Required

• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations.
• Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals and to effectively present information and respond to questions from students, parents, faculty, staff, etc.
• Ability to work with mathematical concepts such as probability and statistical inference.
• Ability to apply concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios, and proportions to practical situations.
• Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.
• Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

Duties

• Counsels and advises current/prospective students about financial aid eligibility, application procedures, aid programs, and costs, while individualizing information to the particular news and situation of the student.
• Collects and analyzes financial data on students to determine aid eligibility according to the federal, state, and institutional guidelines.
• Collects special circumstance documentation or information from students and evaluate for making possible adjustments or revisions to costs, contribution, need, or dependency status.
• Evaluates all FAFSA C codes and missing EFCs, then contacts student with instructions for solving the problem with their FAFSA on an as-needed basis.
• Processes and verifies applications, packages awards, and certifies and disburses aid for students.
• Completes the verification process for selected students.
• Evaluates transcripts to determine Hope Eligibility.
• Assists in certifying TSAA and Hope awards through FAST.
• Performs Return To Title IV Calculations (R2T4) once a student withdraws and determines amount, if any, that needs to be returned.
• Assists in ensuring compliance with institutional, federal, and state policies and communicates them effectively to students and members of the College.
• Gathers and coordinates information from various departments to complete the Financial Aid process.
• Checks Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) at the end of each term for each group and places students not meeting requirements on warning or suspension.
• Assists in distributing SAP letters and Loss of HOPE letters.
• Notifies financial aid director and committee of any SAP appeals that are received.
• Checks COD weekly to determine which students have completed Teach ATS and Teach Entrance Counseling and marks ALL students document tracking file accordingly.
• Assists with editing the financial aid web pages.
• Sends all exit letters to current non-return students or graduating students.
• Receives, answers, or redirects all incoming phone calls from current/prospective students and assist with answering questions.
• Assists students, when needed, to complete work study and/or verification paperwork.
• Maintains current student electronic files.
• Maintains knowledge of current and proposed federal and state regulations as they relate to financial aid matters.
• Assists as needed with mail distribution.
• Assists with traditional new student orientations as needed.
• Assists in importing all data files from Ed Connect into EDE and CAMS.
• Assists with setting up budgets for each program.
• Assists with gathering data for the monthly Clearinghouse reports and responsible for making any corrections once report is filed.
• Answers phones, emails, assist students with general billing questions.
• Sets up payment plans and take payments for students.
• Ensures payments have been made before classes have begun and communicate with students when payments have not been received.
• Applies holds to student accounts when payments have not been made or funds had to be returned.
• Continues to contact students even after they are dropped or withdrawn from classes to collect on payments.
• Sends overdue balances to collections agency and works with agency for payment settlements
• Analyzes student accounts and makes adjustments as necessary.
• Works collaboratively with Academic Advisors, Admissions Counselors, and the Business office to ensure consistent implementation of Bryan policies.
• Assists with online Dual Enrollment student awarding.
• Other duties as assigned.

Desired Qualities

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.