Director of Student Accounts (Bursar)

Missouri Arts Council; Missouri; On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Webster University in Webster Groves, MO seeks an experienced Bursar/Student Accounts leader to oversee student accounts, billing, AR, and related financial operations. The role requires strong experience in higher education financial services, leadership, and compliance with federal regulations.

The position leads strategies for collections, payment processing, and reconciliation, partnering with Finance, IT, and Audit teams to ensure accurate reporting and robust internal controls.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or related field.
• Seven years of higher-education student financial services experience with major responsibility for student accounts, billing, receivables, refunds, and reconciliations.
• Three years of leadership experience in Bursar or equivalent role with broad responsibility.
• Three years of supervisory/management experience.
• Experience with student information systems, ERP/financial systems, and digital payment platforms.
• Experience leading process improvement and system optimization.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for student accounts, billing, AR, cashiering, and related processes.
• Ensure accurate processing and reporting of student financial transactions and GL reconciliations.
• Develop AR and collections strategies, monitor aging and performance, manage bad debt risk.
• Oversee payment arrangements, holds, write-offs, and external collection relationships.
• Establish internal controls, approvals, reconciliations, and audit trails.
• Ensure compliance with FERPA, PCI-DSS, and other regulations.
• Lead coordination with Finance, Auditors, and IT on systems implementations and optimization.
• Identify and mitigate financial, compliance, and operational risks.

Skills

Financial leadership

Internal controls

Regulatory compliance

Staff supervision

Accounts receivable

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration

Master’s degree (preferred)

Tools

Ellucian ERP

SIS/ERP systems

Electronic payment platforms

Job description

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for the University’s student accounts, billing, accounts receivable, cashiering, payment processing, refunds, collections, and reconciliation functions.
• Ensure accurate and timely assessment, processing, posting, reconciliation, and reporting of student financial transactions, including reconciliation of student accounts to the general ledger.
• Develop and execute the University’s accounts receivable and collections strategy, including monitoring aging, delinquency, collection performance, and overall financial exposure.
• Oversee payment arrangements, account holds, write-offs, promissory notes, third-party billing, and external collection-agency relationships in accordance with University policy.
• Establish and maintain effective internal financial controls, including segregation of duties, approval authorities, reconciliations, documentation, cash controls, and appropriate audit trails.
• Ensure compliance with applicable federal and state requirements, Department of Education regulations, FERPA, PCI-DSS, University policies, and other requirements governing student financial operations.
• Partner with Finance and internal/external auditors on financial reviews, audit activities, year-end processes, corrective actions, and resolution of identified control or compliance issues.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate financial, operational, compliance, and control risks associated with Bursar operations.
• Lead, supervise, develop, and evaluate Bursar/Student Accounts staff; establish clear performance expectations, accountability, service standards, cross-training, and appropriate backup coverage.
• Serve as the functional leader for Bursar-related student information, accounts receivable, payment, and financial systems, partnering with Finance and IT on implementations, integrations, testing, upgrades, and optimization.
• Establish and monitor key performance indicators for receivables, aging, collections, billing and transaction accuracy, refunds, reconciliations, service performance, and other critical Bursar operations.
• Lead continuous improvement, automation, standardization, and process redesign initiatives to strengthen financial controls, operational efficiency, service delivery, and business continuity.
• Provide leadership and resolution for complex or escalated student financial matters, ensuring policies are applied consistently and students and families receive accurate, timely, and professional service.
• Partner with Financial Aid, Registrar, Enrollment Management, Finance, Academic Affairs, IT, and other University stakeholders to address systemic issues and ensure effective coordination across the student financial lifecycle.
• Provide University leadership with financial analysis, operational insights, risk assessments, and recommendations related to student receivables, financial operations, policy, systems, and opportunities for improvement.

Location

Webster Groves Campus-WEBG

Minimum Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a closely related field.

Experience

• Minimum seven years of progressively responsible higher-education student financial services experience, including significant responsibility for student accounts, accounts receivable, billing, collections, refunds, and reconciliations.
• Minimum three years of demonstrated leadership experience in a Bursar, Deputy Bursar, Assistant Bursar, or comparable position with broad responsibility for student accounts, billing, receivables, collections, refunds, reconciliations, financial controls, compliance, and staff leadership.
• Minimum three years of direct supervisory/management experience, including responsibility for staff performance, development, and operational outcomes.
• Demonstrated experience managing the full student accounts lifecycle, rather than a single specialized component of Bursar operations.
• Demonstrated experience with financial controls, audit readiness, regulatory compliance, and operational risk management.
• Demonstrated experience analyzing accounts receivable aging and collection performance and implementing improvement strategies.
• Experience with student information systems, ERP/financial systems, electronic payment platforms, and related financial technology.
• Demonstrated experience leading significant process improvement, systems optimization, or operational change.

Comparable titles may be considered when the candidate demonstrates equivalent breadth of responsibility, leadership accountability, decision authority, and Bursar-level operational experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Higher Education Administration, or related field.
• Experience within a complex, multi-campus, global, private, or similarly situated higher-education institution.
• Experience leading an SIS/ERP implementation, conversion, or significant financial-systems transformation.
• Experience with Ellucian ERP systems is a plus but not mandatory.
• Experience developing financial dashboards, receivables analytics, KPIs, and executive-level reporting.

Physical Demands

Within the range of a normal office environment.

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