Financial Aid Specialist-Scholarships and Systems - UT Chattanooga

University of Tennessee•Chattanooga, TN

4d•Onsite

About The Position

The Financial Aid Specialist provides operational support for institutional scholarship administration, the University’s One-Stop Scholarship Application, and financial aid technology processes. The position coordinates the annual scholarship application cycle, maintains application information, works with academic departments and campus partners, monitors application activity, and supports scholarship review and awarding. It also assists with day-to-day administration of Dynamic Forms and monitoring of Automic automated processing outputs. Working under established departmental policies and procedures, the specialist maintains documentation, conducts routine reviews, identifies discrepancies, and refers technical issues to appropriate staff. The role collaborates with the Associate Director of Scholarships, Financial Aid & Scholarships staff, academic departments, Information Technology, and other campus partners to support accurate, efficient, student-centered processes. The position assists with financial aid and scholarship operations, including reviewing student records and documentation, routine adjustments and award processing, report follow-up, reconciliation, quality control, and audit documentation. It provides routine assistance and training to students, staff, and campus partners, maintains procedures and records, and escalates complex or sensitive issues to appropriate personnel.

Requirements

Associate degree.
Experience in administrative support, customer service, student services, business operations, or a related area.
Basic computer skills and ability to learn enterprise applications and electronic workflow systems.
Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
Ability to maintain accurate records, follow established procedures, handle multiple assignments, and meet deadlines.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive student information appropriately.
Ability to work collaboratively with students, faculty, staff, and campus partners.
Ability to coordinate recurring administrative processes and annual application cycles; communicate deadlines, requirements, and procedures clearly; and review information for completeness and accuracy.
Ability to recognize routine errors, follow established troubleshooting procedures, maintain documentation, track outstanding assignments, learn new systems and business processes, protect confidential information, and escalate issues when appropriate.
Strong customer service and problem-solving skills.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree.
Experience in higher education, financial aid, or scholarship administration.
Experience with Banner, Oracle, or similar student information systems.
Experience with electronic forms, workflow applications, or scholarship management systems.
Experience with data entry, reporting, document management, or quality assurance.
Familiarity with institutional scholarship processes and student service operations.

Responsibilities

Coordinate the annual One-Stop Scholarship Application cycle, including preparation, opening, monitoring, closing, and reporting.
Serve as the primary operational contact for questions about the centralized scholarship application process.
Maintain application questions, deadlines, eligibility information, instructions, supporting documentation, and related procedures.
Coordinate with academic colleges, departments, and scholarship committees to maintain accurate scholarship information.
Monitor application completion, reviewer assignments, outstanding requirements, and application activity.
Assist with routing applications to reviewers and committees and support scholarship selection, awarding, student notifications, and reconciliation.
Prepare routine reports on applicants, application completion, and scholarship activity.
Respond to student and campus inquiries, refer complex questions to appropriate staff, and assist with training campus partners.
Maintain standard operating procedures, process instructions, reference materials, and records for assigned duties.
Identify recurring operational issues and communicate potential process improvements to departmental leadership.
Participate in departmental meetings, technology projects, and implementation activities as assigned.
Maintain assigned Dynamic Forms and workflows; assist with routine updates, configuration, testing, and implementation.
Review form submissions and workflow activity for incomplete submissions, routing issues, and processing errors; monitor outstanding forms and assist with follow-up communications.
Document form requirements, workflow steps, troubleshooting procedures, updates, and assigned workflow activities.
Coordinate with Information Technology, vendors, or system administrators when additional technical assistance is needed, and refer complex configuration, access, security, or design decisions to appropriate personnel.
Review assigned Automic processing outputs and reports daily, check routine automated processes for completion, and identify errors or exceptions.
Document unsuccessful processes, notify appropriate staff, track reported errors through resolution, and verify assigned follow-up activities.
Escalate issues that may affect student records, financial aid awarding, disbursements, reporting, or compliance.
Assist with testing and validation following approved system changes.
Assist with processing and administration of federal, state, institutional, and scholarship programs.
Review student records and documentation for accuracy and completeness; assist with routine financial aid adjustments, corrections, and award processing.
Review assigned reports and exception lists, support scholarship reconciliation and quality control, and help validate system results and identify discrepancies.
Maintain appropriate records and provide supporting documentation for internal and external audits as requested.
Perform other duties as assigned.