Financial Aid Advisor

About
ACU

ACU is affiliated with the fellowship of the Church of Christ. All applicants must be professing Christians and willing to
support the Christian mission and purpose of Abilene Christian University while employed by the university.

Department:
ACU Dallas Student Success

Employee Class: Nonexempt Full-time

Basic Responsibilities

• Financial Settlement/Clearance
• Caseload Management
• Department Operations

Essential
Duties
Financial Settlement/Clearance

• 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.
• Advise students regarding institutional financial policies,
  procedures, and payment options
• Maintain ongoing communication with students, focusing most heavily on students lacking financial
  settlement/clearance, those with delinquent accounts, or financial holds.
• Assist students in making informed decisions by providing
  ethical, timely, accurate, and comprehensive financial information and student resources
• Use critical thinking and problem-solving
  skills to address and resolve student issues and ensure positive student experiences. Address potential and/or current student concerns and
  seek appropriate resolution to problems
• Assist students by performing appropriate follow-up and coordination with team members.
  This includes 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
• Communicate effectively with potential and/or current students via telephone, email,
  video calls, and/or in-person.
• Ensure students are in compliance with financial policies and procedures

Caseload
Management

• Attend scheduled cross-departmental meetings with Admissions, Student Success, and Training/Development, as requested to
  manage the caseload
• Monitor student participation and progress through their active enrollment to ensure that students are in
  alignment with University financial policies
• Review, document, and monitor student financial plan information on an ongoing basis
  to resolve issues and facilitate student success; report any data integrity issues found
• Maintain accurate and up to date
  performance metrics for student caseload

Department Operations

• Communicate regularly with supervisor on feedback
  regarding any issues within the team relating to (but not confined to) workflows, work volumes, operational issues/matters, IT
  issues/matters, training requirements, enhancement requests, etc.
• Collaborate 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.
• Attend and participate in professional training and mentorship
• Monitor personal Key Performance Indicators and
  retention rate with a focus on continuous improvement

Professional Development Requirements

Skills

• Exceptional interpersonal communication skills, both verbal and written
• Strong planning, organizational, and time management
  skills
• Utilizes critical thinking and problem-solving skills

Training

• High-level knowledge of the higher
  education and student development theory
• Computer literate and able to learn proprietary software applications including but not
  limited to:
  • Sales Force
  • Banner
  • Talk Desk
  • Microsoft Suite
  
  

Qualifications

Professional

• 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

Personal

• 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
• Must be student and advisor oriented and have the ability to perform multiple tasks efficiently and effectively
• Motivating others by creating a climate in which people can succeed
• Collaborative within a team environment
• Is
  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 procedure

Physical
Demands

• Must be able to use a telephone or headset equipment and able to perform work at a computer in a cubicle. Work is
  performed in an office environment; must have the ability to sit for long periods of time – 6- 8 hours
• May be required to the
  manual operation of general office equipment and lift up to 30 pounds
• Limited travel may be required – locations vary and some
  overnight travel may be necessary

Additional Information

ACU does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of
race, color, age, sex, disability, genetic information, national or ethnic origin in employment opportunities, in keeping with applicable
state and federal law.

ACU is committed to maintaining a safe and secure campus environment and protecting the university’s financial
and physical assets. Therefore, Abilene Christian University conducts background checks on all candidates for employment in security
sensitive positions.