Collections Coordinator

The College of New Jersey • Ewing Township, NJ

4d

About The Position

The Office of Student Accounts serves students, faculty and staff of The College of New Jersey community by billing student tuition, fees, room and board, processing refunds, issuing the College ID card, establishing TCNJ Get It Card accounts, providing parking services through the sale or issuance of parking permits. The Office of Student Accounts maintains all financial transactions recorded on students, including registration fees, housing, meal plan charges and other various fees; payments and financial aid awards. The department is also responsible for the collection of all student related accounts receivable. Conduct all in-house aspects of the collection for Federal Perkins and Nursing Loan Programs awarded through The College of New Jersey and The Office of Student Financial Assistance. Serves as primary collection agent for all current and prior student past due student accounts receivables, responds to verbal and written inquires and monitor student accounts for resolution. Coordinate with other offices in response to these inquiries. Assist the Director of Student Financial Systems with the small balance write-off process. In addition, responsible for all Special Programs including third party contracts and institutional waivers. Maintain documentation for Collections and Special Programs processes and procedures.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree with a minimum of 2 years higher education collection experience.
• Works independently -- This position will meet weekly with the Director of Student Client Services to advise them of ongoing project process. Any potentially serious issues will be brought to the Executive Director's and Director of Student Client Services immediate attention.

Nice To Haves

• Strong knowledge and background in navigating the College of New Jersey student financial system, Oracle Peoplesoft.
• Strong background in higher educational student accounts and financial aid.
• Solid experience with accounting functions and principals and cash management.
• Strong problem-solving skillset and the ability to navigate through student account review and discussions with families / students.
• Strong communication skillset including handling challenging phone calls and email conversations.

Responsibilities

• Conduct in house collections of recent separations from the College (under one year) for any Student Account receivables. This includes sending one pre-collect letter, two Dunning letters, and one final demand collection letters for each cohort (fall, winter, spring, summer) and addressing student inquiries and payment plans on those accounts. Outreach includes communicating with students regarding past due balances from any academic term (fall, winter, spring, summer) and ensure that all internal collection efforts have been exhausted before accounts are placed with third-party collection agencies. This is conducted throughout each month with phone call / email outreach and through the letter series.
• Research accounts and respond to students who communicated with Collections regarding outstanding balances from prior semesters (years) in the SIS student operating system. Resolve disputes with student’s balances from the conversion to PAWS from SIS.
• Assist and support in house collection efforts (outreach) for currently enrolled students in efforts to reduce the outstanding accounts receivable.
• Maintain a database of collection accounts to track outreach, payments, and collection agency submissions as well as delinquencies on account receivable accounts and AIMS accounts
• Prepares the certification letters required by the Department of Taxation twice a year for The College's continued participation in the S.O.I.L. (Set Off Individual Liability) Program.
• Reports recommendations to the Director of Student Client Services as to which accounts should be forwarded to SOIL per the collection policy. This includes assisting with any payments received as a result of this process.
• Prepares a recommendation to management for a write-off report of uncollectible tuition, fees and fine accounts per The College's write-off policy.
• Reviews and interprets applicable principles, federal and/or state laws and regulations in the course of official duties, with the help of The College's attorney when necessary. Makes recommendations to the Executive Director of Student Accounts for creative strategies to reduce the number of receivables.
• Monitor payments and maintain monthly log sheets of funds collected from former students through the internal collection process and share with the Office of Student Accounts leadership.
• Develop and maintain monthly payment arrangement processes for students with outstanding balances at the direction of the Executive Director of Student Accounts.
• Coordinate the assignment process for account receivable accounts, AIMS, and Perkins/Nursing Loans accounts to be assigned to the appropriate third-party collection agency. This includes maintaining the service indicators applied in PAWS for those students who are in collections and have advanced to a third-party collection agency, paid off their debt, or have been reassigned to another third-party Collection agency.
• Assists in the RFP process for the contractual agreement between The College of New Jersey and third-party collection agencies.
• Prepares an annual third-party collection agency report including aging of accounts with these agencies.
• Participation in collection conferences and serve on committees to continue building relationships with other universities and government entities to keep informed of current collection regulations and practices.
• Prepare any necessary reports from the College’s student system or any third-party system as it relates to collection, collection account, account activity, third-party collecting, etc.
• Facilitate collection of Perkins and Nursing loan program funds and any other required tasks such as assignment of loans back to the federal government or any other existing or new requirements. Update ECSI website/database for TCNJ Nursing and Perkins loan information.
• Communicate with students regarding past due Perkins and Nursing Loans ensuring that all internal collection efforts have been exhausted before accounts are placed with third-party collection agencies in collaboration with ECSI. Conduct several outreaches monthly via phone call / email to this co-hort about the status of their requirements / loan.
• Ensure all credit balances that exist with ECSI relating to Perkins / Nursing loans are reviewed monthly and then follow the escheatment process on a yearly basis.
• Post any applicable adjustments or refunds on ECSI’s website.
• Assign proper collection account holds to accounts that are delinquent.
• Own and manage the notification of and exit interview process for the Perkins and Nursing Loan programs in conjunction with the College of New Jersey billing servicer, ECSI. Complete this process three times per year as per regulation for students who have graduated or separated from the college. Manage the service indicator (hold) process for students that are required to complete the Exit Interview. Update the respective student account, student checklist in PAWS for exit interviews.
• Work with Director of Student Client Services to identify, through a comprehensive review process, Perkins Loan accounts to be forwarded to NJ Division of Taxation (SOIL) for state refund garnishment.
• Post SOIL payments for Nursing & Perkins Loans to ECSI (SAL) as required for notification.
• Update ECSI’s SAL system with demographic and financial information from the borrowers.
• Review and apply federal and state laws regarding the collection of outstanding accounts receivable accounts, as well as Perkins/Nursing Loan Programs.
• Audit accounts receivable & Perkins and Nursing accounts to ensure all internal collection efforts have been exhausted before they are placed with a third-party collection agency.
• Reconcile and prepare the Perkins portion of the FISAP report.
• Works closely with the Scholarship Coordinator and/or their designee in the Office of Financial Aid to complete billing invoices as requested by the scholarship donor.
• Establish and maintain a strong working relationship with outside organizations such as New Jersey Vocational Rehabilitation, Commission for the Blind, medical centers, private corporations, and any other newly identified organizations.
• Review and post the College of New Jersey employee, Graduate Assistant (manual posting as needed), New Jersey National Guard, Unemployment, Senior Citizen waivers, and other waivers as needed.

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefit plans covering medical, dental and prescription plans
• Generous leave entitlements program and Energy Savings Program
• Employee and dependent Tuition Waiver and Reimbursement Program
• Pension, retirement, and deferred compensation plans, group life insurance
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Employee affinity groups
• New Jersey State Employee Discount Program (Pet insurance, cell phone plan discounts, discounted amusement park tickets, etc.)
• Access to extensive learning opportunities

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees