Director of Financial Aid and Compliance

About the role

Supervises and manages daily operations and staff within the Financial Aid department. Provides financial aid educational workshops and counseling to proactively mitigate misunderstandings of current financial aid regulations. Keeps current with all federal and state guidelines for financial aid. Ensures effective use of financial aid technology in all office procedures.

Responsibilities

• Monitors regulatory and administrative requirements for Title IV federal student aid programs; identifies regulatory changes and systematic problems and briefs department administration on recently adopted regulations; proposes solutions and develops plans, recommendations, and timetables for implementing changes appropriately for compliance and administrative effectiveness.
• Creates and coordinates an internal policies and procedures manual for each function within the Financial Aid Department; updates and communicates changes to ensure compliance with federal and state aid program requirements.
• Works with department administration to ensure the Ellucian Colleague system is configured in a manner compliant with federal, state, and institutional regulations.
• Conducts audits of data and systems to ensure the integrity of information.
• Serves as the central contact for troubleshooting technology and operational issues that hinder the flow of applicants through the financial aid process.
• Establishes monitoring and reviewing controls to ensure staff adherence to the code of federal regulations regarding Title IV federal student aid and state regulations regarding state financial aid programs.
• Develops and ensures federal and state compliant content for the financial aid website; coordinates the relevancy, usefulness, and accuracy of information on College websites related to financial aid and ensures overall compliance with federal consumer protection and disclosure requirements.
• Provides staff with professional development opportunities and training on state and federal financial aid regulations.
• Resolves reporting discrepancies, analyzes data sets, and provides analytical/operational reports to improve efficiencies.
• Assists with developing, implementing, and maintaining proactive internal quality control mechanisms to ensure compliance with all federal, state, and institutional policies and/or regulations; develops action plans to remedy any violations or deficiencies noted.
• Ensures effective setup and use of external and auxiliary systems used by financial aid in the administration of aid (e.g., COD, CPS, SAIG, NSLDS, ELM online services).
• Participates in professional organizations and collaborates with state affinity groups, regional and national organizations to stay abreast of regulatory changes.
• Ensures student concerns pertaining to the Financial Aid Office are promptly and fully addressed and documented; ensures staff adheres to proper use of technology when communicating with students and documenting student interactions.
• Engages in continuous assessment and improvement of services provided by the Financial Aid Office.
• Ensures timely and accurate packaging and disbursement of student aid; effective flow of information and documentation throughout the process; full implementation of all institutional aid programs.
• Counsels students and parents regarding college financial aid opportunities; participates in workshops and open houses to promote financial aid materials and information.
• Educates students on required information for completing financial aid applications and assists with accurate data input as required by federal and state financial aid websites.
• Performs federal need analysis, verification, and determines student award eligibility for Title IV, state, and/or institutional aid programs in compliance with relevant regulations and policies.
• Calculates and processes Return of Title IV funds for all students.
• Assists in the development and execution of the College’s default prevention program.
• Develops a set of core outcomes for the unit and measures and tracks annual performance against objectives.
• Prepares and monitors the annual departmental budget, including technological needs, personnel expenditures, professional development needs, and administrative expenses.
• Gathers and analyzes data and produces reports as needed for FISAP and other mandatory state reports; participates in data gathering and coordination for annual financial aid audits and may serve as the lead representative for FAQs during reviews.
• Establishes and maintains communication and cooperative working relationships with college administrators, faculty, staff, students, government and private agencies to accomplish the objectives of the section supervised.
• Acts as performance manager for all direct reports, including managing day-to-day performance, scheduling, producing and communicating written performance evaluations, approving time off, and ensuring compliance with HR rules, regulations, and unit collective bargaining agreements.
• Subject to senior management review and final board approval, has the responsibility, power, and authority to hire, fire, discipline, and promote full- and part-time employees.
• Represents the office on college committees and professional meetings as appropriate.

Requirements

• Master’s degree or higher in business administration, higher education, finance, counseling, or related areas.
• Minimum of five years of progressively managerial experience within an institution of higher education.

Qualifications

• Full knowledge and understanding of FERPA.
• Full understanding of and ability to apply state and federal guidelines/regulations and institutional financial aid programs.
• Understanding of the community college mission and open door access policy.
• Excellent customer service skills and a pleasant professional demeanor at all times.
• Demonstrates expertise in the use of technology through financial aid software applications.
• Basic proficiency in the use of the Microsoft Office suite.

Skills

• Leadership
• Managing People
• Communication
• Customer and Student Focus
• Building Relationships
• Organizing
• Planning

Benefits

• NJ Educator's Health Plan with Free Dental and Vision.
• NJ State Pension Plan.

Pay

Annual Salary: $120,000–$125,000

Schedule

• 23 vacation days
• 16 sick days
• 5 personal days
• 2 floating holidays
• 5 partial sick days
• All designated holidays and 5 non-designated holidays per year