The Student Financial Services Assistant provides customer services for the Office of Student Financial Services via telephone, emails, and office visits. This position includes the organization and flow of the reception area. The Student Financial Services Assistant is responsible for managing incoming documents, maintaining office inventory, and ordering supplies. The position also includes the hiring, scheduling, and training of student workers, accepting payments, corresponding with students and verification for federal aid recipients. The Student Financial Services Assistant is also responsible for gathering student financial aid and account information for reporting, student notifications, grant requests, and exception processing. The Student Financial Services Assistant processes and maintains student financial aid records. This includes the importing and exporting Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) information with the Department of Education and the Banner Financial Aid Software. It also includes creation of financial aid award letters.
Job Responsibilities:
Answer incoming phone calls, take messages, schedule appointments, provide customer service, direct calls as needed, manage incoming documents, and distribute checks. (50%)
Load and process Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) data from the Department of Education using the EdConnect software into Banner Financial Aid software. This involves loading new records, processing correction files, matching suspended records, running processes to place students in groups (budget, tracking, packaging), resolving rejected records and reviewing and identifying possible processing errors. Prepare and generate packaging worksheets for all returning undergraduate and graduate students to distribute to Financial Aid counselors for packaging. (15%)
Perform Title IV Aid Verification and process other received documents (10%)
Generate and send student letter and email correspondence and notifications (outstanding requirements, account reminders, consumer information, refund notifications, etc.) This includes preparing and generate file(s) to print and mail, email, or transfer file to a third party for initial award letters and non-filer letters to new freshmen, transfers, and graduate students. This requires a quality review to ensure that awards are in alignment with defined strategies and that students are not over-awarded. Prepare and generate e-mail notifications for returning students and award letter revisions. (15%)
Hire, supervise, and train student workers to assist in clerical duties. (5%)
Maintaining office inventory, order supplies and publications. (1%)
Participate and contribute to the New Year set up process and testing. Review, evaluate and test processing procedures. (1%)
Additional office duties as assigned (e.g. manage SFS electronic mailbox, process payments, collection and outstanding requirements calls) (3%)
Education / Experience:
Associate degree or a minimum of 3 years of office experience required. Familiarity with federal tax return forms a plus. Financial Aid/Student Accounts experience strongly preferred.
Competencies / Skills:
The Student Financial Services Assistant will be reliable, professional, possess strong analytical skills, be self-directed, detail-oriented, and have excellent written and verbal communication skills. This position requires PC proficiency, accuracy, teamwork, and high productivity in a busy office environment with many interruptions. Experience using Ellucian Banner is highly desirable.
Supervision of Employees:
Work study students: Hire, train and work with student workers on various projects, mailings, and receptionist responsibilities (answering telephone calls, copying, scanning, etc.).
Physical and Mental Demands:
Physical Demands:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Normal sitting, standing, and walking throughout the course of the day.
Periods of extended computer usage.
Requires dexterity and data entry skills.
Noise level – busy office work environment.
Frequent phone answering.
Mental Demands:
Ability to think through clearly amid changing priorities and circumstances.
Maintain professional attitude and demeanor in difficult situations.
Ability to multitask in a very busy work environment.
Exercise sound judgment.
Maintain high level of confidentiality.
Maintain high level of accuracy.
Work Hours:
non-exempt position 37.5 hours/week
EEO Statement:
It is the policy of St. John Fisher College to provide Equal Employment Opportunity to all employees and applicants for employment in accordance with the applicable federal, state, and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in each locality in which the College has employees.
The College does not discriminate against applicants or employees in hiring, promotion, termination or the terms and conditions of employment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, marital status, military status, veteran status, predisposing genetic, characteristics or genetic information, arrest or conviction record, status as a victim of domestic violence, or any other characteristic protected by law.
St. John Fisher College is an independent, liberal arts institution in the Catholic tradition of American higher education. The College emphasizes liberal learning for students in traditional academic disciplines, as well as for those in more directly career-oriented fields. We are committed to enriching the work, teaching and life experiences for all faculty and staff, in support of the College’s mission. Human Resources is dedicated to providing high quality service with a true sense of personal value for all faculty, staff and their families and consistently meeting or exceeding expectations in all human capital disciplines. Mission: St. John Fisher College is a collaborative community dedicated to teaching, learning, and scholarship in a student-centered educational environment. The College is guided by its liberal arts tradition and its Catholic heritage, as expressed in the motto of its founders, the Basilian Fathers: “teach me goodness, discipline, and knowledge.” Fisher engages individuals in lives of intellectual inquiry, professional integrity, and civic responsibility, where diversity and service to others are valued and practiced.