Financial Aid Counselor-Loan Coordinator

Bellarmine University; Louisville (KY); On-site; USD 42,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

Bellarmine University in Louisville is seeking a Financial Aid Counselor responsible for providing comprehensive financial aid counseling and support to prospective and continuing students.

Reporting to the Assistant Director of Financial Aid, the role handles eligibility analysis, packaging, and communication with students and families to help them navigate federal, state, and institutional aid programs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• One year of financial aid experience in a school setting.
• Knowledge of federal financial aid rules, aid programs, and cost of attendance.

Responsibilities

• Provide high-quality customer service to prospective and continuing students regarding eligibility and processes for financial aid.
• Analyze federal financial aid applications to determine students' needs.
• Prepare and award financial aid packages and perform related duties.
• Interact professionally with students and parents to resolve aid-related issues.
• Utilize and update databases and process applications for financial aid.

Skills

Customer service

Communication

Analytical thinking

Financial aid knowledge

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

ECSI

Job description

About Bellarmine University:

BellarmineUniversity is a dynamic, growing university with a strongliberal arts focus in the Catholic higher education tradition and abold vision for the future. Bellarmine has undergraduate andgraduate enrollment of approximately 3,200 students and continuesto add new academic programs while maintaining small class sizesand personal attention to students. Bellarmine is listed in thePrinceton Review's Best 387 Colleges and is recognized as a topU.S. university in rankings published by U.S. News & WorldReport and Forbes. In a survey by The Princeton Review, studentspraised Bellarmine as a place that is "welcoming to every singleperson and makes an effort to include everyone." Bellarminestudents, faculty and staff engage in more than 25,000 cumulativehours of service each year, in Louisville and around the nation andworld.

SmartAsset ranked Louisville among the top 25 U.S. cities for bestwork-life balance, while workplace insights platform kununu.comnamed Louisville one of the top five U.S. cities for happyemployees. Glassdoor recently recognized Louisville as one of thetop 15 cities for jobs, based on hiring opportunity, cost of livingand job satisfaction. ZipRecruiter calls Louisville a top 10 cityfor job seekers, thanks in part to its central location and lowunemployment. Louisville is within a day's drive of two-thirds ofthe U.S. population.

Deeply embedded in the heart of Louisville, Bellarmine is anengaged partner expanding learning opportunities, enhancing careernetworks and economic growth, and advancing equity and quality oflife for its neighboring communities. By connecting the campus, thecommunity, and the curriculum through engaged scholarship andaction, we enhance social and civic engagement, including faculty,staff, and student-led, asset-based initiatives.

Bellarmine is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employerand encourages applicants with diverse backgrounds to apply.

Job Description:

Reporting to the Assistant Director of Financial Aid, the FinancialAid Counselor is responsible for providing comprehensive financialaid counseling and support to prospective and continuingstudents.

Responsibilities include:

• Provide high-quality customer service to prospective andcontinuing students regarding financial aid eligibility andprocesses


• Analyze federal financial aid applications to determinestudents' financial need


• Prepare and award financial aid packages and perform all dutiesrelated to the financial aid process


• Interact professionally with students and parents, including inchallenging situations, to resolve financial aid?relatedissues


• Utilize and update databases and process applications forfinancial aid received from students


• Collect and analyze student financial data to determine aideligibility and make awards in accordance with federal, donor, andinstitutional guidelines


• Evaluate documentation related to unusual or mitigatingcircumstances submitted by students


• Exercise professional judgment by adjusting cost of attendance,contribution, or dependency status, as appropriate


• Assist in the preparation and presentation of informationrelated to federal financial aid, scholarships, employment, andgrants, for various campus groups, as well as high school studentsand parents at meetings, workshops, group discussions, andrecruitment events


• Plan, organize, and administer loan programs, including FederalDirect Loans, Parent PLUS Loans, Graduate PLUS Loans, andalternative loan programs


• Resolve any issues with direct loans by reviewing the commentcodes on the FAFSA form.


• Process and monitor budgets for institutional loans, createMaster Promissory Notes on ECSI (third-party partner)


• Analyze system-generated reports (e.g., grades, enrollmentstatus, award status) to ensure continued compliance with federaland institutional eligibility requirements


• Notify students of changes in award eligibility and provideguidance on available options


• Respond to questions, inquiries, and requests from students,parents, and guardians in person and in writing regarding financialaid programs and eligibility

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree


• One year of financial aid experience in a school, college, oruniversity setting


• Knowledge of financial aid eligibility requirements,application procedures, aid programs, cost of attendance, studentindebtedness, responsible money management, and financialplanning