Associate Director of Financial Aid Systems & Analytics

Chicago state university; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Chicago State University seeks an Associate Director of Financial Aid Systems & Analytics to lead the administration of Banner Financial Aid and related systems, ensuring data integrity, reporting, and compliance. The role focuses on analytics to support enrollment, student success, and informed decision-making, collaborating with IT, Registrar, Enrollment Management, and external agencies.

Responsibilities include developing dashboards and reports on FAFSA completion, packaging, awarding, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, communications, humanities, social sciences, or closely related field.
• 1 year (12 months) of professional experience in student services, financial aid/loans or related field in higher education or related agency.
• Master’s degree may substitute one year of experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead administration, testing, maintenance, and optimization of Banner Financial Aid and related systems.
• Coordinate annual setup, upgrades, integrations, and production processes with IT and external agencies.
• Develop dashboards and analyses to inform leadership decisions on enrollment and student outcomes.
• Ensure data integrity, compliance, and timely reporting across federal, state, and institutional programs.
• Provide training and act as a systems resource for campus offices and external agencies.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Stakeholder communication

Project coordination

Data interpretation

Documentation

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Master's degree preferred

Tools

Banner Financial Aid

SQL

Power BI

Tableau

Argos

EdConnect

Job description

Associate Director of Financial Aid Systems & Analytics

Working Title Associate Director of Financial Aid Systems & Analytics

Provides leadership for financial aid systems, data integrity, reporting, and analytics to support compliant operations, informed decision-making, enrollment, and student success.

Job Description

Financial Aid Systems and Operations

• Leads the functional administration, testing, maintenance, and optimization of Banner Financial Aid and related federal, state, and institutional systems.
• Coordinates annual setup, upgrades, integrations, interfaces, and production processes with Information Technology and external agencies.
• Monitors system jobs, controls, workflows, and data exchanges to support accuracy, compliance, continuity, and timely service.
• Manages interfaces and access for federal and state systems, including COD , SAIG , EdConnect, and other required platforms.
• Develops and maintains documentation, procedures, testing plans, cross-training materials, and business continuity processes.

Financial Aid Analytics and Reporting

• Develops dashboards, recurring reports, and analyses that help Financial Aid and Enrollment Management leaders understand operational performance and student outcomes.
• Analyzes FAFSA completion, verification, packaging, awarding, disbursement, unmet need, SAP , loan activity, scholarship utilization, and other key indicators.
• Interprets trends, identifies risks and opportunities, prepares projections, and presents findings to support leadership decisions; final operational and policy decisions remain with the appropriate functional leaders.
• Supports analysis of financial aid impact on enrollment, yield, melt, persistence, retention, and completion in collaboration with Enrollment Management and institutional partners.
• Responds to internal and external data requests and supports required federal, state, institutional, audit, and accreditation reporting.

Compliance, Reconciliation, and Data Integrity

• Supports the accurate awarding, disbursement, reconciliation, and auditing of federal, state, institutional, loan, and student employment funds.
• Reviews regulatory updates and evaluates their impact on financial aid systems, policies, procedures, and reporting.
• Monitors data quality, validates records across systems, supports reconciliations, and audits, and helps ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and institutional standards.
• Monitors financial aid budgets and program expenditures and provides analysis to support responsible use of funds.

Leadership, Training, and Continuous Improvement

• Partners with Financial Aid leadership, Enrollment Management, Institutional Effectiveness and Research, Information Technology, the Registrar, Student Accounts, and other campus offices.
• Leads training and professional development related to systems, data, reporting, and process consistency.
• Identifies process improvements, automation opportunities, and technology solutions that strengthen compliance, efficiency, customer service, and the student experience.
• Serves as a financial aid systems and analytics resources for university offices and external agencies.

Performs other related duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

CREDENTIALS TO BE VERIFIED BY PLACEMENT OFFICER

• Bachelor’s degree in business, communications, humanities, social sciences, or a closely related field to the position.
• One (1) year (12 months) of professional experience working in student services, financial aid/loans or a closely related field within higher education or a related agency.
• Based on position requirements, additional education, training, and/or work experience in the area of specialization inherent to the position, may be required.

NOTE : Master’s Degree in an area consistent with the duties of the position may be substituted for one (1) year (12 months) of work experience.

Preferred Qualifications

Master’s degree; supervisory or project leadership experience; experience with Banner Financial Aid, federal and state financial aid systems, SQL , Argos, Power BI, Tableau, or comparable reporting tools.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Knowledge of federal and state financial aid regulations, financial aid operations, and applicable compliance requirements.
• Knowledge of Banner Financial Aid and external systems such as COD , SAIG , and EdConnect.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret complex data and communicate findings clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Understanding of data governance, data definitions, data security, and responsible use of sensitive student information.
• Experience developing reports, dashboards, projections, and performance analyses.
• Demonstrated project management skills, including support for system implementations, conversions, upgrades, testing, and process improvement.
• Strong attention to data integrity, reconciliation, validation, documentation, and audit readiness.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, collaboration, training, and customer-service skills.
• Ability to work effectively with diverse stakeholders and support data-informed decision-making without assuming operational authority for functional areas.

Additional Applicant Information

Physical Requirement/ Demands

Posting Specific Questions

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