Financial Aid Counselor

Furman University; Travelers Rest (SC); On-site; USD 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

Furman University in Greenville, SC is seeking a Financial Aid Counselor to provide counseling to prospective and current students and families, guiding them through the financial aid process from application to award.

You will administer federal loans and grants, assist with FAFSA verification, and support outreach programs across the Greenville-Spartanburg area, working closely with the Enrollment Management team.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in higher education administration or related field.
• Willingness and availability to work outside of normal business hours when workload requires.
• Ability to communicate effectively with others, including grammar and mechanics.
• Ability to work as a team with inter-office personnel to accomplish goals.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a member of the financial aid counseling staff. Appointment with students and parents and reviewing award packages.
• Administer federal loans, federal grants, and alternative loan programs and report to the Department of Education.
• Serve as the Federal Work Study liaison with Enrollment Services and reconcile expenditures.
• Outreach to current and prospective students and parents via campus events and social media.
• Assist with FAFSA verification and analysis of income information.
• Review Special Financial Circumstance forms submitted by students and monitor over-award.
• Present financial aid workshops on campus and in the Greenville-Spartanburg area, including evenings and weekends.
• Participate in state and regional financial aid associations as approved.

Skills

Communication

Teamwork

Organizational skills

Attention to detail

Public speaking

Education

Bachelor's degree in higher education administration

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

If you have any questions or need additional assistance, please contact the Office of Human Resources via email at [e-mail] or by calling864-294-3103.

Job Title

Financial Aid Counselor

Job Family

Professionals

Full-Time/Part-Time

Full time

Pay Type

Salary

Department

Financial Aid-2

Job Summary

The Financial Aid Counselor, under the direction of the AssociateDirector of Financial Aid, will provide financial aid counseling toprospective students, their parents, and to our current studentsand their parents. This includes providing timely and accurateinformation about the processes for applying for financial aid atFurman, the timing of our decisions, the resources available tofinance the costs of education, the role of borrowing and working,and how the "financial fit" of an institution pertains to choosingto apply to and enrolling at Furman. This position works withinFurman's Enrollment Management Department, a holistic"applicant-to-graduate" unit that has the strategic and operationalresponsibility for meeting the institution's enrollmentgoals.

Job Description

Position Responsibilities

• Serve as a member of the financial aid counseling staff. Thisinvolves appointments with students and parents (both prospectiveand currently enrolled), reviewing and/or revising award packages,speaking to those calling in for information, assisting EnrollmentServices "front line" personnel with financial aid-relatedquestions, etc.

• Administer the federal loans, federal grant, and alternativeloan programs including all reporting to the Department ofEducation. Administration of these programs includes the monthlyreconciliation of funds awarded to students, reported to thefederal entities, disbursed to the students' accounts, and postedto Furman's general ledger.

• Serve as the Federal Work Study liaison with EnrollmentServices, requiring a thorough knowledge of Federal Work Studyregulations and performing monthly reconciliations of Federal WorkStudy expenditures.

• Assume creative outreach responsibilities to currently enrolledand prospective students and their parents, when appropriate. Theseefforts may include social media, campus announcements, etc. Allwork is done via standards set by the University.

• Assist with Title IV requirements for verification of the datasubmitted by parents and students on the Free Application forFederal Student Aid (FAFSA).

• Read FAFSA information and analyze income tax returns,particularly those of business owners. Make appropriate adjustmentsto reported income based on tax information.

• Perform appropriate review of Special Financial CircumstanceForms submitted by students.

• Assist with over-award monitoring throughout the year.

• Present financial aid workshops on campus and in high schoolsin the Greenville-Spartanburg area, some that occur at nights andon weekends.

• Participate in state and regional financial aid professionalassociations as approved by the Senior Director of FinancialAid.

Perform other duties as required

• The intent of this job classification description is to providea representative summary of the types of duties andresponsibilities that will be required of positions in thisclassification and shall not be construed as a declaration of thespecific duties and responsibilities of any position. Employees maybe requested to perform job-related tasks other than thosespecifically present in this description, and some of those tasksmay require night and/or weekend work.

Relationships

• Continuous contact with members of own work unit and immediatesupervisor to exchange factual information and explanation ofrules, regulations, practices and/or functions.
• Frequent contact with students, parents, other departments,student workers, and general public to exchange factual informationand explanation of rules, regulations, practices and/orfunctions.

Responsibility for Final Decisions

• Responsible for own work, and must assume responsibility forerrors and corrective action(s).

• May assist or instruct others doing similar work, includingstudent workers.

• Some tasks are well defined and repetitive, followingprescribed steps, methods and/or procedures, though much work isupon own initiative and creativity.

• Errors are readily detected in the normal course of work bystandard check or crosscheck.

• Work is performed independently on routine work; non-routineissues or questions are referred to and/or handled in consultationwith supervisor or Executive Director of Financial Aid as well asthe associate director(s) of financial aid.

Reports to/ Supervisor

• Reports to the Associate Director of Financial Aid

Required Education, Skills, and Training

• Bachelor's degree and experience in higher educationadministration.
• Willingness and availability to work outside of normal businesshours when workload requires such.
• Ability to communicate effectively with others, including theappropriate use of grammar and mechanics.
• Ability to work as a team with inter-office and intra-officepersonnel to accomplish office goals and responsibilities.
• Must have excellent organizational skills and attention todetail.

• Experience in common office software, particularly MicrosoftWord, Excel, and PowerPoint.

• Experience with social networking a plus.

Work Conditions

• Work is performed under usual office conditions.

Education Requirements

Bachelors (Required)

Furman is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to increasingthe diversity of its faculty and staff. The University aspires tocreate a community of people representing a multiplicity ofidentities including gender, race, religion, spiritual belief,sexual orientation, geographic origin, socioeconomic background,ideology, world view, and varied abilities. Domestic partners ofemployees are eligible for comprehensive benefits.