Program Specialist

Aquinas College • East Grand Rapids, MI

12h • Onsite

About The Position

This position ensures the College is compliant in meeting the requirements of the SSS grant by providing appropriate leadership and performs additional responsibilities for CORE.

Requirements

• BACHELOR’S DEGREE FROM AN ACCREDITED COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY PREFERRED.
• MUST HAVE AT LEAST THREE YEARS’ EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH TRIO PROGRAMS.
• MUST DEMONSTRATE OUTSTANDING COMMUNICATION AND ORGANIZATION SKILLS.
• MUST BE KNOWLEDGEABLE OF COLLEAGUE OR OTHER STUDENT DATABASE SYSTEMS.
• MUST HAVE INTERMEDIATE PROFICIENCY IN EXCEL.
• MUST BE ABLE TO PERFORM THE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS OF THE JOB WITH OR WITHOUT REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION.

Responsibilities

• Identifies students eligible for SSS grant aid and scholarships; conducts group sessions with eligible students and determines award amounts, notifying Financial Aid office of awards.
• Ensures federal regulations are met with regard to the number of participants in specific categories.
• Assists in the writing of Student Support Services (SSS) grant proposals.
• Maintains the SSS custom modules in Colleague.
• Creates reports necessary for the operation of CORE.
• Determines the academic needs of SSS eligible students by cross-referencing academic need codes in the grant.
• Works with ITS to ensure accurate data is available and reportable in all areas required by the SSS grant regulations and legislation.
• Collects and reports on data required to comply with federal regulations and reporting in SSS and CORE.
• Reviews admissions and financial aid applications to identify SSS eligibility of incoming freshmen prior to STAR sessions and notifies students of eligibility.
• Maintains policy standards in order to ensure data is valid, complete, and available for institutional reporting and analysis.
• Participates in the development of departmental policies and procedures and ensures compliance with standards.
• Maintains documentation of data handling procedures within CORE.
• Maintains familiarity with records issues, laws, and regulations.
• Maintains familiarity with institution-level data processes.
• Provides statistical data and analysis to staff.
• Reconciles the budgets for CORE and SSS, initiating a monthly drawdown to reimburse Aquinas College for expenses associated with the SSS Grant Program.
• Notifies Student Accounts and/or Financial Aid offices of Service Learning sponsorships, SSS grant aid, and SSS scholarships by providing student information and amount in a timely manner.
• Maintains knowledge of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) law, SSS regulations, Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system (EDGAR), and Office of Management and budget (OMB) circulars.
• Performs other job duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Aquinas College offers an excellent benefits package that includes affordable medical, dental, and vision plans, generous paid vacation each year, 16 paid holidays, paid sick time and short-term disability, and college-paid life and AD&D insurance.
• Additionally, Aquinas employees and their dependents are eligible for free tuition at Aquinas after one year of full-time employment.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level