Financial Aid Representative

Southern Illinois University at Carbondale; Carbondale (IL); On-site; USD 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Southern Illinois University Carbondale is seeking a Financial Aid Counselor to serve as the first contact for inquiries and to advise applicants and recipients while directing questions to appropriate university resources. You will work under a supervisor to support student financial aid processes.

The role includes reviewing forms, assisting with online applications, interviewing students, updating records, and helping staff with scheduling and training as needed in a high-volume environment.

Qualifications

• Two years of combined education or work experience as described in the categories below (educational coursework and/or employment).
• Experience performing office, business, or customer/relations activities.

Responsibilities

• Counsels and advises on financial aid programs, processes, requirements, policies and procedures.
• Directs correspondences and/or individuals to university-wide resources as appropriate (billing, scholarship, student employment, housing).
• Ensures that financial aid information is disseminated to prospective, incoming, and current students.
• Assists in reviewing forms and preparing necessary documents including online financial aid application support.
• Interviews prospective, incoming, and current students regarding needs and participation in financial aid programs.
• Assists in determining basic eligibility for financial aid programs.
• Assists in evaluation processes for appeals.

Skills

Office administration

Customer relations

Education

College coursework / degree equivalence

Job description

Description

Salary is competitive and commensurate with qualifications andexperience, while also considering internal equity. Employees at this level serve as the initial contact forinstitutional financial aid inquiries. They counsel, advise, anddirect inquiries for applicants and recipients of student financialaid. They work under the general supervision of a designatedsupervisor.

Examples of Duties

• Counsels and advises on financial aid programs, processes,requirements, policies and procedures;


• directs correspondences and/or individuals to university-wideresources as appropriate (billing, scholarship, student employment,housing, etc.);


• ensures that financial aid support and information are beingdisseminated to prospective, incoming, and current students;


• assists in reviewing all forms received and preparing necessaryforms including assisting with the completion of the onlinefinancial aid application process;


• interviews prospective, incoming, and current students regardingthe need for and participation in student financial aidprograms;


• assists in or individually determines an applicant's basiceligibility for financial aid programs;


• assists in the evaluation process for appeals;


• identifies complex personal situations and suggests a furtherreview by the Financial Aid department as appropriate (i.e. IncomeAppeal/computer purchase/cost of attendance appeal/satisfactoryacademic progress appeal);


• assists with entering, updating, and processing awardnotifications;


• performs administrative duties such as maintaining student accountsand/or records, receiving and forwarding correspondence, preparingand distributing forms, compiling data, etc;


• assists with personnel functions such as training, supervising,and/or developing staff/student worker schedules, and assignmentsas needed;


• participates in advisory committees and workshops;


• represents the department at on and off-campus events;


• performs assigned tasks in a high-volume call center involvingintake processing which may include answering a high-volume ofphone calls and email inquiries from students and parents;


• performs other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

1. Any one or combination totaling two (2) years (24 months) fromthe categories below:
   
   
   
   1. College coursework in any discipline, as measured by the following conversion table or its proportional equivalent:
      
      
      
      • 30 semester hours equals one (1) year (12 months)
      
      
      • Associate's Degree (60 semester hours) equals eighteen months(18 months)
      
      
      • 90 semester hours equals two (2) years (24 months)
      
      
      • Bachelor's Degree (120 semester hours) equals three (3) years(36 months)
      
      
      
      
   
   
   2. Work experience performing office, business, orcustomer/relations activities.
   
   
   
   

Supplemental Information

Illinois Residency Requirement

Pursuant to the StateUniversities Civil Service System, out-of-state candidates mustestablish Illinois residency within 180 calendar days of the startdate for this position.

Tips for Completing a Civil Service Application:

1. To be eligible for the role, ensure that your applicationincludes a complete and detailed employment history that highlightsyour relevant full-time and part-time work experience, includingstart and end dates of employment.


2. Relevant part-time work experience will count towards thequalifications for this position and will be converted to full-timeequivalence to calculate the total length of experience.


3. Upload all official transcripts to meet the educationalrequirements. If the job description specifies a minimum number ofcollege hours, transcripts are mandatory for the successfulprocessing of your application.


4. Veterans who qualify for preference must provide proof ofeligibility within ten (10) working days of submitting anapplication, unless the same proof has already been submitted in aprevious application. The required proof of eligibility includes,at a minimum, a copy of the veteran's DD214/DD215 form (Departmentof Defense), NGB22 form (National Guard), or Discharge Orders orDD256 Discharge Certificate (Reserves).


5. After the position has closed, your application and supportingmaterials will be reviewed to determine if you meet the minimumqualifications, including any specialty factors associated withthis position. Those who qualify will move forward for CivilService Examination/Testing.


6. Please monitor your e-mail for further information regardingyour application. Emails will be generated [e-mail].


7. For more information on Civil Service classifications, pleasevisit the SUCSS web site at sucss.illinois.gov

About Civil Service Examination/Testing:

About Civil Service Examination/Testing: The Civil Serviceexamination for this classification is based on your applicationmaterials and responses to the supplemental questions. Noparticipation other than submission of application materials isrequired from applicants that qualify to take the exam. If you meetthe minimum required qualifications for this position, yourapplication will move forward for examination/testing in which youwill receive a score calculated based on your education andexperience, and your name will be placed on the active employmentregister by exam score. This score will be emailed to the emailaddress noted on your application. After the application deadline,the names within the top three scores will be referred to thedepartment for interview.

Sponsorship for work authorization is not available. For moreinformation visit https://policies.siu.edu/policies/employment-non-us-citizens.php