Student Finance Specialist (Temporary)

Berklee College of Music

6d•Remote

About The Position

Berklee’s division of Pre-College, Online, and Professional Programs (POPP) is seeking a Student Finance Specialist for a temporary, 30-hour-per-week position supporting an initiative to implement Workday Student. This role serves as a primary point of contact for finance-related inquiries from students, families, prospects, and alumni, providing excellent customer service. The position primarily assists Berklee Online and Berklee Summer Programs but supports all areas of POPP as needed.

Requirements

Strong interpersonal skills and professionalism needed to deliver exemplary customer service to students, parents, faculty, administrative and support staff via phone, email, chat, and videoconferencing.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills and ability to clearly articulate complex information to a variety of audiences.
Strong organizational skills and ability to operate independently and set priorities amongst multiple task assignments with frequent interruptions.
Ability to function well under pressure and maintain a pleasant customer service attitude.
Flexibility and adaptability; ability to work in ambiguous situations.
Must be detail-oriented with strong analytical skills.
Proven ability to work effectively in a highly diverse campus community.
College degree required.
Minimum two years successful customer service experience in higher education, as a bank teller, cashier, sales support, or equivalent.
Highly solution-oriented, flexible, and reliable.
Demonstrated willingness to accept accountability and responsibility.
Demonstrated capacity to develop and maintain effective working relationships with individuals and organizations reflecting a broad range of identities, perspectives, and experiences.

Nice To Haves

Experience with: Excel, Google Sheets, Gmail, Workday, Colleague, and Salesforce a plus.
Previous experience in college business, student accounts, or financial aid office is a plus.

Responsibilities

Handles incoming phone and email communications from students, families, prospects, and alumni.
Understands and clearly communicates Berklee Online and Summer Programs policies.
Discloses information in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
Responds to inbound calls and emails on the day they are received, or on the following business day if received after 3pm, managing increased volume during heavy enrollment periods.
Logs all incoming and outgoing calls, and posts information to case and contact notes.
Assists students with questions regarding tuition statements, payments, balances, payment plans, financial holds, outstanding balances, refunds, and education tax forms.
Assists with identifying students who have unresolved student account balances and proactively communicates with them about payment options and outstanding financial aid requirements to support enrollment targets.
Assists with tuition payment plan administration, adjusting plan budgets throughout the enrollment cycle, and following up about returned payments and terminated plan agreements.
Assists with past-due account reports, account hold management, and communication with delinquent account holders.
Assists with credit balance outreach, updating credit balance and unreconciled refund reports, and following up with students who need to update their refund information.
Creates, innovates, and identifies ways to improve the student experience.
Categorizes and quantifies ongoing questions from students.
Audits and analyzes student accounts to verify the information is current and accurate.
Processes checks, wire, and credit card payments, posting in the student account and accounting systems.
Processes charge adjustments and payment transfers while adhering to federal requirements.
Assists with 1098-T and TL11 student tax form preparation.
Performs general student service functions including assisting students with registration process questions, add/drop procedures, refund policies, and financial aid policies and procedures.
Assists with assigning tasks and projects, monitoring workflow, and ensuring accuracy and completion of student employees on assigned tasks/projects.
Ensures students receive refunds and aids in the escheatment process once the property is determined abandoned within state and DOE guidelines.
Maintains and updates Student Finance business process documentation as requested.
Supports the Military Affairs, Financial Analytics, Summer Programs, and other POPP teams as needed.
Other duties as assigned.
Must be able to change/alter priorities to match given circumstances.