Financial Aid Advisor

Department: Financial Aid and Veterans Services

FLSA: Exempt

Direct Reports : N/A

Minimum Qualifications: Bachelor’s Degree in a subject area within Finance, Accounting, Human Services, Student Personnel, Student Development, or other related fields.
Work Experience: Two years of relevant experience and training in administering scholarship and/or financial aid programs.

Preferred QualificationsKnowledge, Skills and Abilities

1. Ability to interact appropriately with students and co-workers in high stress situations.
2. Ability to serve internal and external stakeholders with a high level of customer service skills, to include, understanding the value of and initiating appropriate responses to inquiries whether in the office, online, or via telephone.
3. Evidence of strong counseling skills to assist students who have unique needs, exceptional circumstances, and/or need alternative sources of financial support.
4. High level of ability to provide accurate, timely information regarding the status of students’ awards.
5. Knowledge of and sensitivity to the needs and expectations of the community college student, faculty, and staff, as well as, community groups.
6. High level of ability to organize work tasks and provide attention to detail.
7. Ability to work with a diverse student population.
8. Ability to establish and maintain effective communication and interpersonal relations throughout the college and the community.
9. Ability to process applications for financial aid awards.
10. Thorough knowledge of administering rules and regulations governing state and federal aid.
11. Knowledge of higher education financial aid services and programs.
12. Ability to perform with a high-level of proficiency in a college student information system (e.g. Colleague or Banner), Windows, and Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint).
13. Proven record of participation in professional organizations and initiatives.

Essential Functions

This position is responsible for providing a high level of customer service, advising, and support to students on all aspects of financial aid and basic student account information. The Financial Aid Advisor initiates and/or implements corrective action as needed in order to ensure that an excellent standard of service and a high level of student satisfaction is maintained, facilitates the resolution of difficult and/or unusual situations related to student financial aid issues, demonstrates cultural competency and actively seeks to grow in this area.

Job Duties

1. Develop objectives and recommend changes to existing processes and practices to increase the accuracy of information and the office’s efficiency and responsiveness in order to promote the highest level of customer service.
2. Create a welcoming and positive relationship with visitors and ensure the interaction is a welcoming, efficient and satisfying experience.
3. Maintain primary responsibility for management of a specific program. These specific programs can include one or more of the following: Federal Work Study program, student loan processing, satisfactory academic progress, state grants, ISIR load processing, scholarship management, and return of title IV funds.
4. Maintain a cooperative working relationship with internal and external partners including the Business Office and Bookstore to obtain necessary documents, resolve problems, facilitate solutions, enhance customer service, and ensure quality services for students receiving aid.
5. Actively participate in financial aid related outreach events including but not limited to open houses, orientation, high school outreach, FAFSA day, and classroom presentations.
6. Process financial aid applications to include, but not limited to eligibility determination, verification, resolution of conflicting information, and authorization and posting of awards to student accounts.
7. Obtain and evaluate confidential information from students and parents in order to advise on eligibility for aid, the application process, and college financing options.
8. Monitor student eligibility by applying standards of progress requirements in accordance with federal and state regulations. Educate student applicants and borrowers of their financial and academic obligations when receiving federal financial aid.
9. Maintain accurate student financial aid records in strict accordance with current federal, state, and college regulations governing financial aid.
10. Review and suggest updates to the financial aid information found on the Durham Tech website to ensure current cost of attendance, compliance with federal regulations, accuracy of processes, and the integrity of consumer information.
11. Provide information for necessary federal, state, and institutional reports and maintain accurate student financial aid records, as subject to audit by appropriate internal and external agencies.
12. Participate in unit meetings and serve on committees as needed.
13. Participate in and maintain current knowledge via on-going professional development for financial aid functions in Colleague, federal regulations, trends in student aid programs, state laws and procedures, college procedures, and other technical support concerns.
14. Ensure proper security for Durham Tech’s student educational records in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), state law, community college system regulations, and college policies and procedures.
15. Support/participate in the unit and college’s planning process.
16. Adhere to all the college’s policies, guidelines and statutory requirements and recommend to senior management adoption and/or changes to policies, practices, procedures, and guidelines.
17. Additional duties shall include other appropriate activities as assigned by the Director, Vice President, and President.

Physical Demands

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position. The physical and mental demands described as follows are representative of those that must be met by an employee in performing the essential functions of this job:
• Ability to sit and stand for long periods of time;
• Ability to lift, at times, 10 lbs.;
• Sufficient visual acuity and manual dexterity to use a computer for long periods of time;
• Ability to express or exchange ideas through oral communication and to hear vocal responses within classroom range;
• Infrequent travel between buildings on campus, to other campuses, or locally or out-of-town to attend conferences.