Edtech.com's Summary

Texas A&M University is hiring a Financial Aid Advisor I - Processing in its Scholarships and Financial Aid office, which administers grants, student loans, scholarships, and veteran educational benefits for students across its campuses. The role works behind the scenes with a processing team to review student files and process documents. It is an entry-level position where no experience is required and the advisor learns the aid process while shadowing team members.

Highlights

Learn to review and load federal student aid application (ISIR) data in Compass, and check that students’ awards remain accurate after FAFSA changes.
Review student files and resolve discrepancies between application data and additional documents received, adjusting records in Banner and Compass as appropriate.
Learn to award, revise, and approve disbursement of financial aid within program policy and guidelines, while advising students and their families by email, phone, and in person.
Prepare scholarship checks for deposit, scan documents into the imaging system, and balance deposit totals against the imaging system.
Back up the Processing team through cross-training on correcting over awards, determining aid and loan periods, and clearing C flags on students’ aid applications.
Help plan and run departmental events such as financial aid awareness programs, Aggieland Saturday, and New Student Conferences.
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent education and experience, with no prior experience required and working knowledge of Microsoft Office.
Must stay in good standing on federal student loans, comply with Texas Higher Education Fair Lending Practices policy, and be available for weekends and extended hours during peak periods.
Pay of $21.64 per hour.

Financial Aid Advisor I - Processing Full Description

Who We Are

The mission of Scholarships & Financial Aid is to provide students and their families with information and financial resources to attend Texas A&M University, along with support programs that promote higher education and developmental opportunities. We administer scholarships and financial aid, which include the following programs: grants, student loans, student employment, veteran educational benefits, athletic aid coordination, short-term loans, and emergency tuition and fee loans.

In addition, our office provides advising on the programs listed above. Our office also assists students in gaining financial literacy knowledge through our Money Education Center. Our office is responsible for processing student aid and veteran educational benefits for College Station, Galveston, all Health Science Center sites and Qatar which totaled approximately $1 billion in financial aid assistance for the prior academic year.

What We Want

Scholarship & Financial Aid is seeking a Financial Aid Advisor I who will be primarily responsible for financial aid processing. As a financial aid processor, this person will work with a team behind the scenes to process documents and review student files. We are looking for a detail-oriented individual who can work in a fast-paced environment, multi task, problem solve, and work with spreadsheets and data. The ideal candidate will be passionate and enthusiastic about providing excellent service to students by timely working daily processing tasks.

What You Need to Know

Salary Range: $21.64/hour

Cover Letter & Resume: A cover letter and resume are strongly recommended

Other Requirements:

Occasional Travel
May be asked to work weekends, holidays, and outside regular business hours during peak periods
Must comply with Texas A&M System Policy 07.02 Texas Higher Education Fair Lending Practices
Must be in good standing on all Federal Student Loans. The U.S. Dept. of Education will not grant access to student loan data for any individual who is in default status. Access to such information is a necessity for this position. Must be able to rectify default status within three months of employment. Good standing must be maintained for continued employment.

Essential Duties/Tasks

Advising/Processing - Under close supervision, learns to use discretion and independent judgment to advise and counsel students and their families on financial aid and scholarships. Learns how to and assists with reviews of student files and adjusts as needed. Learns the student financial aid/scholarship process and shadows team members. Learns how to award, revise and/or approve the disbursement of financial aid through the specific controls of program policy and guidelines. Learns how to communicate with students and their families via multiple methods (i.e. email, in-person, phone, etc.). Learns to review application data against additional data received and resolve discrepancies or adjust data in Banner/Compass as appropriate. Learns how to collaborate with on campus representatives regarding students’ financial aid concerns.

Financial Aid Knowledge & Team Support - Learns, interprets, and maintains knowledge of current federal, state, and institutional policies, procedures, and regulations pertaining to financial aid. Learns how staff interact with students and help transition students from prospective to currently enrolled students. Learns how to ensure processing activities adhere to established policies and procedures while using critical thinking skills.

Financial Aid Processing - Learns to review match rules to find matching students records in Compass to load ISIR files. Learns to work reports related to ISIR data review – ensuring correct ISIR transaction is current record, reviewing ISIR for accurate data and adjusting as needed, and determining students’ awards are accurate after FAFSA changes are made. Learns to manage reports related to processing student financial aid. Learns to ensure files are completed accurately and in a timely matter, including reports. Learns to train others in the office and answers questions related to duties. Learns to use discretion and independent judgement to research and resolve issues related to responsibilities. Learns to assist in preparing paper scholarship checks for deposit into University accounts. Learns to review scanned images of checks to ensure quality of images. Learns to balance deposit total with total in imaging system. Learns to prepare documents for imaging, including identifying all documents, separating into batches, placing separator sheets, scanning batches, validation of the documents scanned, and release of these documents into the repository. This position provides back-up support for the Processing team as needed. This includes cross training with other team members to learn different processes, including correcting over awards, determining correct aid and loan periods for students, determining aid eligibility and awarding students, and processing documentation to clear C flags on students’ aid applications.

General - Participates in and assists in the planning and execution of events for departmental initiatives (e.g. financial aid awareness programs, Aggieland Saturday, New Student Conferences). Learns how to respond to various questions that may require researching and consolidating data regarding financial aid and scholarships. Attends local, state, and national workshops, and conferences. May assist with presentations.

Qualifications

Required Education and Experience:

Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
No experience required.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Ability to meet deadlines and maintain a high level of accuracy, professionalism, and customer service.
Working knowledge of Microsoft Office software.
Ability to work individually or as a team in a dynamic organization.
Good interpersonal communication skills.
Must be literate in the English language and able to comprehend, give and follow both written and verbal instructions.
Ability to organize and make decisions.
Ability to work well under pressure.
Ability to use tact, diplomacy, and judgment in dealing with all customers.
Attention to detail.

All positions are security-sensitive. Applicants are subject to a criminal history investigation, and employment is contingent upon the institution’s verification of credentials and/or other information required by the institution’s procedures, including the completion of the criminal history check.

Equal Opportunity/Veterans/Disability Employer.

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Financial Aid Advisor I - Processing

Edtech.com's Summary

Financial Aid Advisor I - Processing Full Description

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