Financial Aid Counselor 1

The Financial Aid Counselor provides excellent customer service and guidance to financial aid applicants and their families throughout the financial aid application process; determines eligibility within the parameters of institutional, state and federal requirements.

SUPERVISORY AUTHORITY:

May be responsible for the supervision of student employees in the financial aid office.

NATURE AND SCOPE:

Internal contacts include students, faculty and staff. External contacts include families, prospective students, student advocates, and representatives of government agencies, lending institutions, guarantee agencies, community organizations, legislative representatives, and the general public.

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Exercises independent judgment in the management of operational details of the financial aid process including but not limited to:
• Provide advising throughout the financial aid process to prospective, new and current students and their families. 
• Reviews incoming financial aid application and any supporting documentation needed to determine the accuracy of the financial and household information reported on the FAFSA. This requires knowledge of not only federal financial aid regulations but IRS tax laws and how they relate to federal financial aid.
• Complete assigned duties with a high degree of accuracy to ensure compliance while experiencing multiple interruptions.
• Exercise great attention to detail when completing assignments as error in judgment or calculations could result in unintended consequences for the student and/or the institution such as under or over funding of a student, loss of student eligibility, audit findings, fines, damage to school’s reputation or loss of institutional eligibility.
• Will have the authority to recalculate and makes changes to financial aid awards when student’s eligibility changes.
• Maintain knowledge of federal, state and institutional policies as it relates to the awarding and disbursements of federal, state and institutional aid.
• Assists with the oversight of the administration of both the federal and private loans.  This includes the certification of private education loans, resolving issues between the university’s system and the Dept. of Educations. Participation in state, regional and national professional development activities to ensure a complete understanding of federal and state regulations and remain current on changes to the federal and state aid programs.
• Must utilize conflict resolution skill set to pacify disgruntled students and parents, helping them to understand the situation and identify potential solutions to issues. 
• Maintain student confidentiality in accordance with FERPA regulations.
• Ensures that students are receiving Exit Counseling information upon withdrawal, graduation or dropping below half time.
• Monitors TEACH grant eligibility; checks GPA after each semester, ensure required documents are complete, send TEACH Exit information, etc.
• On an occasional basis, travel to an off-campus meeting site to attend institutional workshops;
• Maintain work area in a neat and orderly fashion
• Assist the management and other office staff in special project assignments;
• Participates in committees under the direction of the Manager of Financial Aid counselors to review Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) appeals, Professional Judgment requests, and Howard University Scholarship appeals, as needed.
• May be required to work evenings and weekends
• Other duties as assigned by the financial aid director/associate director and/or Manager of Financial Aid Counselors.

CORE COMPETENCIES:   

• Must have a thorough knowledge of available types of financial aid, scholarships and general student eligibility criteria.
• Familiar with financial documents and a high competency of computer skills
• Proficiency in technology and the systems used to determine student’s eligibility and originate a financial aid award. (These may include but not limited to: Workday, Banner, NSLDS, COD, CPS, ELM, MS, School Servicing Center, Campus Logic, Word, Excel, etc.)
• Ability to interpret complex financial aid regulations and apply appropriately in different situations
• Understanding personal income tax laws as they relate to federal financial aid
• Ability to work independently as well as in a team environment
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Strong problem-solving abilities and the ability to use sound judgment for decision-making

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

Bachelor’s Degree and at least two years of experience in financial aid (or a related area) or the equivalent combination of education and work experience combined.