Financial Aid Processor – Loans

Role Overview

• Provides guidance and support to students on complex student financial operations.
• Ensure financial compliance with federal, state, local, international and university policies.
• In a high-volume processing environment, a financial aid processor prepares and processes student financial aid files in accordance with federal, state and institutional regulations and guidelines for the purpose of determining eligibility and awarding financial aid.
• Assists with the administration of one or more federal, state or institutional programs by reviewing, analyzing and determining eligibility and awarding for various financial aid programs.
• Analyzes and processes financial data on students to determine aid eligibility and make awards within federal, donor and/or institutional guidelines.
• Requests additional information based on analysis and review to apply established government and institutional regulations, rules, guidelines, and procedures.
• Determines eligibility for federal, state, and institutional financial aid.
• Resolves over awards and over-payments and contacts students, lenders, employers, donors, guarantee agencies and/or staff to resolve discrepancies.
• Compare and resolve discrepancies between student accounts and financial aid office records for Federal Direct Loan and TEACH Grant program reconciliation.
• Review and resolve outstanding origination errors and rejected loan records.
• Determines appropriate cost of attendance for students and awards federal, state, and institutional aid to financial aid recipients.
• Uses information systems to input data, maintain databases, perform research for projects or inquiries and generates reports.
• Interacts with appropriate outside entities in order to facilitate the student eligibility process.
• Notifies students of changes in eligibility of awards.
• Addresses questions and requests from students, parents, or guardians in person or in writing regarding financial aid programs and eligibility.
• Analyzes various system-generated reports such as grades and enrollment status or award status to verify continued compliance and eligibility of students receiving aid under federal and institutional guidelines.
• Must be able to meet and maintain access requirements for secure federal and/or state websites, such as the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS).

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree and five (5) years of experience appropriate to the area of assignment/field; OR, Any equivalent combination of experience and/or training from which comparable knowledge, skills and abilities have been achieved.
• Knowledge of government, donor and/or institutional rules, regulations, guidelines, and procedures for awarding of financial aid.
• Understand how the Student Aid Index (SAI) calculation works and how the SAI impacts the awarding of Title IV funds.
• Knowledge of federal Title IV financial aid programs, awarding eligibility requirements and supporting regulations.
• Working knowledge of Federal Systems such as COD (Common Origination and Disbursement System), FPP (FAFSA Partner Portal) and NSLDS (National Student Loan Data System).
• Knowledge of and skill in automated processing.
• Demonstrated skills in critical thinking and problem-solving.
• Knowledge of Family Educational Rights and Privacy (FERPA) requirements.
• Demonstrated basic computer software skills, such as Microsoft Office products, specifically Word and Excel.
• Knowledge of the principles of exemplary customer service demonstrated through actively listening, acknowledging, and responding to every inquiry; taking ownership and resolving each concern or problem as appropriate; exhibiting professionalism and expertise in every interaction and engaging in professional development to meet expectations for service excellence.
• Ability to stimulate changes in individual, institutional, and corporate behaviors to create a more sustainable environment.
• Ability to lead by example in communicating, participating, and encouraging support of the institution’s sustainability programs.