Financial Aid Counselor (3 Positions)

Job Description:

General Statement of Duties:

The Financial Aid Counselor will be responsible for supporting all aspects of financial aid processing. The FA counselor will manage a caseload of students and have a working knowledge of all financial aid policies and procedures relating to eligibility, awarding, and adjustments of student financial aid, both federal and state. The FA Counselor will also assist the front-line staff with client services and the Financial Aid Assistant with application processing.

Responsibilities:

• Counsel students and families on financial aid application requirements, eligibility, cost of attendance, award eligibility, loan process requirements, unusual circumstances, satisfactory academic progress, etc.;
• Manage budgets and awards (this includes monitoring over awards);
• Manage special circumstance requests and exercise professional judgment;
• Manage and monitor Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) and appeals;
• Manage special programs (i.e., outreach, financial literacy, student employment, nursing, clock hour programs, etc.);
• Manage consortium agreements;
• Support financial aid application (i.e., FAFSA/ISIR) review to determine EFC and manage conflicting information;
• Support federal verification processing;
• Support determination of student eligibility (i.e., managing C-Flags, C-Codes, database matches, etc.);
• Provide financial aid counseling at college recruitment events;
• Support Coordinators with federal and state aid processing, reconciliation, and reporting;
• Performs other duties as assigned.

For complete Union Specifications please click HERE .

Requirements:

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Accounting, Human Services, Sociology, or closely related field;
• Two (2) years experience and/or training involving financial aid operations, or loan processing; or
• An equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Data Utilization: Requires the ability to review, classify, categorize, prioritize, and/or analyze data. Includes exercising discretion in determining data classification, and in referencing such analysis to established standards for the purpose of recognizing actual or probable interactive effects and relationships.
• Human Interaction: Requires the ability to apply principles of persuasion and/or influence over others in coordinating activities of a project, program, or designated area of responsibility.
• Equipment, Machinery, Tools, and Materials Utilization: Requires the ability to operate, maneuver and/or control the actions of equipment, machinery, tools and/or materials used in performing essential functions.
• Verbal Aptitude: Requires the ability to utilize a wide variety of reference, descriptive, and/or advisory data and information.
• Mathematical Aptitude: Requires the ability to perform addition, subtraction, multiplication and division; ability to calculate decimals and percentages; may include ability to perform mathematical operations involving basic algebraic principles and formulas, and basic geometric principles and calculations.
• Functional Reasoning: Requires the ability to apply principles of influence systems, such as motivation, incentive, and leadership, and to exercise independent judgment to apply facts and principles for developing approaches and techniques to resolve problems.
• Situational Reasoning: Requires the ability to exercise judgment, decisiveness and creativity in situations involving evaluation of information against measurable or verifiable criteria.

Desired:

• Demonstrated ability to work independently and as a member of a team of highly motivated and experienced individuals,
• Strong communication, organizational, analytical and time management skills,
• Demonstrated commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an inclusive working and learning environment,
• Honesty, integrity and commitment to maintain high professional standards
• Previous experience in higher education preferably in a financial aid or student accounts setting.
• Experience with relevant software programs (Datatel/Banner, Microsoft Office) and knowledge of federal need analysis.

Equivalency Statement

Applicants who do not meet the qualifications as stated above are encouraged to provide a written statement indicating precisely how their background and experience have prepared them with the equivalent combination of education, training and experience required for the responsibilities of this position with their application material.

Additional Information:

Salary: $52,686-$89,802

Actual Salary determined by education, experience, and any applicable grant limitations per the collective bargaining agreement. Applicants should be aware it is very unlikely the salary will be at or near the top of the range.

Grade: 3
Employee Status: PSM
Benefits: Yes
Hours per Week: 37.5 *

*Schedule:

2 days a week 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
3 days a week 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Number of Weeks: 52

Mount Wachusett Community College is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnicity, sex, disability, religion, age, veteran status, genetic information, pregnancy or related conditions, gender identity, sex characteristics, sex stereotypes or sexual orientation in its programs and activities as required by Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and other applicable statutes and college policies. The College prohibits Sex-Based Harassment. Inquiries or complaints concerning discrimination, harassment, or retaliation shall be referred to the College's Affirmative Action Officer and/or Title IX Coordinator, the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission or the United States Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights.

Application Instructions:

Candidates for employment should be aware that although the COVID 19 Vaccination Requirement Policy is no longer in effect, all Community College students, faculty and staff are strongly encouraged to be up to date with vaccination against COVID-19. For additional information related to the status of the COVID19 Vaccination Requirement Policy, please visit: https://mwcc.edu/covid/

The following documents are required:
1. Resume
2. Cover Letter

Anticipated Effective Date: August 2024

Priority will be given to applications received prior to August 14,2024.

Applications will continue to be accepted until the position is filled.

Candidates may be subject to employment screening to include both a Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) request and a Sexual Offender Registry Information (SORI).