Financial Aid Verification Counselor

University of Colorado•Colorado Springs, CO

4d•Onsite

About The Position

The University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) is seeking a Financial Aid Verification Counselor to join the Office of Financial Aid & Student Employment. This role is crucial for the proper administration of financial aid verification processes, ensuring the accuracy of student aid applications by reviewing tax documents, resolving FAFSA data discrepancies, and maintaining compliance with federal, state, and institutional regulations. The counselor will advise students on eligibility, package financial aid, and verify information to authorize disbursement. This position manages core financial aid verification processes within Campus Solutions, administers and reconciles aid corrections, and counsels students. It also involves managing student workers and overseeing software processes that disburse over $110 million in financial aid to over 9,000 students. The role requires strong knowledge of Federal Financial Aid, student aid counseling, and data analysis, with a critical emphasis on understanding and applying regulations correctly.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree with progressive experience in financial aid is required.
Must have experience in administering financial aid verification processes and counseling.
Supervisory experience and ability to learn and apply new supervisory skills is required.
Must have CU-SIS (PeopleSoft Campus Solutions) experience.

Responsibilities

Daily advising and counseling of students and families on all aspects of the financial aid process.
Review of student documents collected for verification and correcting discrepant data.
Image student and parent documents, query creation, review of verification rules and interpreting federal policy in terms of institutional action and responsibility.
Running of system queries to maintain a timely response to document receipt and continue to uphold the office’s compliance with federal, state and institutional regulations, evaluation of suspended ISIRs, adjusting aid and overawards and assisting in other IT related tasks.
Review of financial aid documents that need resolved and the updating of the student information system.
Make changes to student's Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and financial aid awards when applicable.
Comment student file for discrepant data and seek resolution from the student either through mailings, e-mails, or phone calls.
Research applicable U.S. Department of Education directive and/or Internal Revenue Service publications for the proper handling and resolution of student files.
Ensure queries are run and worked as needed for optimal processing of aid.
Seek to automate processes where applicable and work with the more technical staff in office for the successful understanding and deployment of automation.
Increase the student budgets and thereby increase the eligibility for federal, state and institutional aid because of extraordinary expenses.
Review the students' documentation and request for the increase and approve or disapprove the adjustment.
Adjust financial aid awards to student (increase/decrease) after new information is received. This could be from a change in enrollment status, family income, housing status, third party payments, assets, size of family or number of household members enrolled in college. Adjustments to aid could include grants, loans, and/or work study.
Deal with the highly technical field of "Need Analysis" and must apply state, federal, and institutional statues and regulations to determine eligibility and award students' appropriate aid. Advise students on additional resource possibilities.
Audit and verify application materials for completeness and accuracy. Contact students and parents by mail, email or phone to clear up any inconsistencies. Make final award decisions for the University, which include appeals to general rules and regulations by interpreting federal, state and institutional guidelines. Adjust students' budgets and/or need using "professional judgment." Update and annotate students’ files justifying decision.
Counsel and advise students regarding financial aid satisfactory progress requirements to receive and retain their financial aid. Refer students who are having academic and/or personal problems to Academic Advising, Dean of Students, Wellness Center, or the Excel Centers as appropriate.
Maintain expertise in areas of financial aid by attending staff meetings, conferences and workshops, and by studying federal, state, institutional and outside reading sources. These would include the Federal Regulations, Colorado Commission on High Education Handbook, our national and state financial aid association newsletters and miscellaneous trade magazines and newsletters.
Trouble-shoot why a student's aid was not paid and determine the path to rectify the situation (e.g. packaging problem, disbursement error, SAP issue, residency issue, etc.).
Advise as to other community resources that are available.
Acts as an advocate and liaison between students and UCCS and other outside agencies.
Handle customer service related to verification questions; this includes email and phone.
Collaborate with the other staff to ensure a smooth verification process and seek ways to improve the student’s experience while still adhering to federal regulations.
Program responsibility will include responding to student emails received in the general email account as well as the uploading of documents received into the financial aid office imaging system.
Help the University's recruiting effort by participating in Mountain Lion Visit Days, new student orientations, and by providing general financial aid information to prospective students.
Conduct workshops and presentations in high schools, community colleges and other community forums to educate and inform the public about the process and application for state, federal, and institutional aid; as well as the availability of private funding and providing other information about the University.
Written and telephone contact with students and parents in a recruiting effort based on referrals from the Admission Office, the athletic department, the University connection office, student success center, and other campus offices.
Collaborate and confer with other campus offices and individuals on how changes in our or their policies will affect each other, the students and other offices. These offices include Admission and Records, University Connection, University Learning Center, Student Success Center, Bursars and Academic Advising.
Be a resource for the customer service student assistants and be available for specific student requests to see a counselor in a more private setting.
Hire, supervise, train, and collaborate with student employees to support the needs of the department.
Review and update policies and procedures documents as needed