Financial Aid Advisor

ACU is affiliated with the fellowship of the Church of Christ. This position requires the employee to be a professing Christian and to be willing to support the Christian mission of ACU.

About the Role

Responsible for student customer service, advising students on financial aid and accounts receivable processes. The role focuses on providing an optimal student experience related to financing their education. The position communicates with students regarding their options and ensures financial processes are complete in compliance with established guidelines.

Financial Aid Advisors (FAAs) are responsible for the verification of student aid eligibility, packaging of student aid, providing financial aid counseling, and facilitating problem-solving with students, student spouses, and parents. FAAs manage student accounts to ensure financial settlement/clearance is in place for all new, continuing, and returning students. FAAs also participate in university-wide retention and persistence efforts.

Responsibilities

• Packages and awards student financial aid in accordance with institutional and governmental policies and regulations.
• Maintains a thorough knowledge of federal, state, and institutional financial aid topics to counsel students and parents about receiving and maintaining eligibility for financial aid and scholarships at ACU.
• Assists in the support of new students through the onboarding process: conducting welcome calls, attending grad team meetings, reviewing students' accounts, and communicating clear next steps for the student and internal teams.
• Advises students regarding institutional financial policies, procedures, and payment options.
• Maintains ongoing communication with students, focusing most heavily on students lacking financial settlement/clearance, those with delinquent accounts, or financial holds.
• Assists students in making informed decisions by providing ethical, timely, accurate, and comprehensive financial information and student resources.
• Uses critical thinking and problem-solving skills to address and resolve student issues and ensure positive student experiences.
• Addresses potential and/or current student concerns and seeks appropriate resolution to problems.
• Performs appropriate follow-up and coordination with team members, including working with employees in a team environment and providing accurate student information and assistance to other team members in and/or outside of their functional area.
• Communicates effectively with potential and/or current students via telephone, email, video calls, and/or in-person.
• Ensures students are in compliance with financial policies and procedures.
• Pro-rates federal loan pre and post disbursement.
• Attends scheduled cross-departmental meetings with Admissions, Student Success, and Training/Development, as requested to manage the caseload.
• Monitors student participation and progress through their active enrollment to ensure alignment with University financial policies.
• Reviews, documents, and monitors student financial plan information on an ongoing basis to resolve issues and facilitate student success; reports any data integrity issues found.
• Maintains accurate and up-to-date performance metrics for student caseload.
• Communicates regularly with supervisor on feedback regarding any issues within the team relating to workflows, work volumes, operational issues/matters, IT issues/matters, training requirements, enhancement requests, etc.
• Collaborates frequently with other Student Financial Services team members (Dallas SFS, Abilene SFS, and Wildcat Central) for billing, needs analysis, verification, and other financial aid regulatory support.
• Attends and participates in professional training and mentorship.
• Monitors personal Key Performance Indicators and retention rate with a focus on continuous improvement.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Ability to travel; must possess a valid driver's license.
• Able to work flexible hours conducive to contacting students when available.
• Minimum of 2 years of Higher Education Experience. Financial aid advising experience preferred.

Skills

• Exceptional interpersonal communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Strong planning, organizational, and time management skills.
• Utilizes critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• High-level knowledge of higher education and student development theory.
• Computer literate and able to learn proprietary software applications including but not limited to: SalesForce, Banner, TalkDesk, Microsoft Suite.
• Goal-oriented and driven to assist people with meeting their educational goals.
• Self-motivated with the ability to successfully work independently or in a team environment.
• Student and advisor oriented with the ability to perform multiple tasks efficiently and effectively.
• Motivates others by creating a climate in which people can succeed.
• Collaborative within a team environment.
• Dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal and external stakeholders.
• Maintains professional appearance (i.e., neat and orderly attire) and work environment (i.e., clean and organized dedicated workspace with professional background).
• Ability to adapt in a fast-paced and dynamic environment.
• Supports and upholds all student-facing university policies.
• Demonstrates personal and professional integrity.
• Displays public support and pride in university initiatives and assists others in seeing the positive aspects of ACU.
• Complies with all ACU employee policies and procedures.

Physical Requirements

• Must be able to use a telephone or headset equipment.
• Work is performed in an office environment.
• May be required to manually operate general office equipment and lift up to 30 pounds.
• Limited travel may be required – locations vary and some overnight travel may be necessary.