Specialist, Financial Aid

Harrisburg Area Community College•Harrisburg, PA

10d•Onsite

About The Position

This position is responsible for the processing of federal and/or state financial aid, communicating with students, and ensuring that students’ customer service needs are addressed.

Requirements

H.S. Diploma or equivalent and 4 years experience or, a combination of experience and education sufficient to successfully perform the duties of the job.
Valid Driver's License
Compliance with PA ACT 15

Nice To Haves

Financial Aid experience preferred, but not required.

Responsibilities

Provide financial aid program support to processing tasks as assigned by an assistant director of financial aid and/or a coordinator; work on cross-unit teams to address specific financial aid needs for the unit.
Process financial aid applications, award aid to students’ accounts, verify financial aid documentation, intake financial aid and/or verification documents, and reconcile aid.
Meet requested financial aid production targets and maintain accuracy to a designated degree of correctness.
Analyze and interpret federal student aid regulations as outlined in the college’s financial aid Policies and Procedures manual and the Federal Student Aid handbook – and make decisions about students’ aid; decipher IRS tax laws and apply them to the verification process; resolve C codes by analyzing and interpreting data from the National Student Loan Database, Department of Homeland Security documentation, Selective Service information, Social Security Administration documents and default resolution; review NSLDS for aggregates and mid-year transfers.
Collect, organize, and process incoming confidential documents including verification forms, tax returns, and W2 statements from students and parents; review forms to verify accuracy and completeness; utilize proper method of communication to request missing information; review, scan/index, and enter data of incoming financial aid paperwork received from students; guide students through satisfactory academic progress application process; assist students with dropping/adding/failing/taking incompletes as it relates to financial aid.
Complete all third-party paperwork including but not limited to: OVR, Housing Authority, Childcare Information Services (CCIS), and KEYS.
Send financial aid communications and outreach to students and deliver financial aid educational programming to students, to college partners, and to external stakeholders.
Meet with students to address and resolve students’ questions and customer service needs via phone, email, face-to-face interactions, and remote delivery methods.
Develop expertise and serve as a subject matter expert in the content area; remain current on new and innovative practices in the field; develop and maintain a network with colleagues through professional organizations and other types of professional alliances; coordinate services with other departments; and maintain the secure storage of confidential documents.
Build and maintain effective communication and relationships with staff, faculty and members of college leadership.
Travel to various locations to participate in meetings, training, etc.; all financial aid staff will be expected to participate in awarding financial aid, conducting student verifications, SAP appeal reviews, and coverage of customer service as assigned; all staff may be assigned to cover evening and/or weekend hours.
Other duties as needed or assigned