Financial Aid Specialist (Customer Svcs Specialist Intermediate) - Temporary Full-Time

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities; Faribault (MN); On-site; USD 29,000 - 39,000; Full time

Job summary

Minnesota State Colleges & Universities seeks a Temporary Full-Time Financial Aid Specialist to provide exceptional customer service at the Faribault campus Welcome Center. This role supports scholarships, document processing, enrollment steps, and FAFSA completion, serving as a primary contact for students and staff.

The position implements office procedures, assists with financial aid inquiries, and helps maintain compliance in document handling and communication across channels.

Qualifications

• Two years of customer service experience in a fast-paced office setting or higher education.
• Customer service skills to provide prompt, courteous and accurate information in person, on the phone, and via email.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Provide high-quality, professional customer service at the front desk and Welcome Center.
• Answer calls and route inquiries to appropriate staff.
• Assist students with admissions, enrollment steps, financial aid processes, FAFSA completion, and loan counseling.
• Review student records and verify enrollment and financial aid information.
• Coordinate scholarships, document processing, scanning and correspondence through various channels.

Skills

Customer service

Communication

Organizational skills

Attention to detail

Education

Associate Degree

Tools

Microsoft Office 365

Job description

• Job ID: 98141
• Location: Faribault, MN
• Telework Eligible: No
• Full/Part Time: Full-Time
• Regular/Temporary: Temporary
• Who May Apply: Open to all qualified job seekers
• Date Posted: 10/31/2026
• Closing Date: 11/06/2026
• Hiring Agency/Seniority Unit: MN St Colleges & Universities / S Central TC-Mankato-AFSCME
• Division/Unit: MnSCU S Cntrl Mankato TC / MnSCU S Cntrl Mankato TC Class
• Appointment Type: Temporary, Full-time
• Work Shift/Work Hours: Day Shift 8:00am - 4:30pm
• Days of Work: Monday - Friday
• Travel Required: No
• Salary Range: $21.12 - $28.01 / hourly; $44,098 - $58,484 / annually
• Classified Status: Classified
• Bargaining Unit/Union: 206 - Clerical/AFSCME
• Work Area: Financial Aid, Faribault Campus
• Anticipated Start Date: 11/23/2026
• End Date: 11/23/2027
• FLSA Status: Nonexempt
• Designated in Connect 700 Program for Applicants with Disabilities: No

Job Class: Customer Service Specialist, Intermediate

Working Title: Financial Aid Specialist (Customer Svcs Specialist Intermediate) - Temporary Full-Time

Agency: Minnesota State

The work you'll do is more than just a job.

At the State of Minnesota, employees play a critical role in developing policies, providing essential services, and working to improve the well-being and quality of life for all Minnesotans. The State of Minnesota is committed to equity and inclusion, and invests in employees by providing benefits, support resources, and training and development opportunities.

Job Description

The Temporary Full-time Financial Aid Specialist provides high-quality, professional customer service to internal and external customers while covering the front desk at the Student Affairs Center at the Faribault campus. This position exists to serve as a key service point for internal and external customers as general reception for the college as well as to provide necessary financial aid information. This position will have specific responsibility for scholarships, document processing, scanning, office support, and correspondence through various channels of communication. This position will have a set work schedule and serve as administrative support to the Financial Aid department.

Responsibilities

• Provides customer service regarding inquiries.
• Provides excellent customer service at the Welcome Center front desk.
• Answers calls promptly and provide accurate information to callers or route calls appropriately.
• Determines needs and refers students to appropriate staff members.
• Assists students in navigating web sites for admission application and enrollment steps, course registration, entrance and exit loan counseling, loan applications, FAFSA completion, and completing other necessary processes on the web.
• Provides technical assistance to prospective, applicant and current students.
• Assist students with general information and issues regarding financial aid, admissions, policies and procedures to promote the understanding of college policy and procedures.
• Advise, investigate, problem solve and resolve questions and issues from prospective, current and previous students, parents, faculty, staff, other third parties and the public.
• Reviews students' records electronically using ISRS or other relevant software applications.
• Serve as the point of contact for the work study program at the Faribault Campus.
• Serve as the point of contact for the child care grant program at the Faribault Campus.
• This position will have specific responsibilities for the financial aid aspects of the customer service center team, including but not limited to:

Scholarships

• Promote and record all outside scholarships, establishing a data base.
• Promote and record all application for South Central Foundation Scholarships.
• Verify eligibility prior to payment, credits and GPA, and other eligibility requirements.
• Assist in the selection process for the Foundation Scholarships.

Verification of Enrollment

• Maintain contact with servicers to inform them of address changes and last dates of attendance.
• Complete county and housing requests for financial aid and enrollment information forms.
• With the business office, support work to reduce accounts on the accounts receivable list.

Document Intake Tracking

• Review required forms to complete the financial aid verification/application process.
• Assists students with completing forms, reviews forms for accuracy and completeness, and forwards forms to the appropriate area for additional processing.
• Initiate tracking letter correspondence to request additional information from the student.
• Code receipt of financial aid documents being submitted for processing into the MnSCU ISRS system and scan documents into the Image Now electronic document storage system to assure compliance with the federal, state and local regulations concerning confidentiality and document storage. Assist in maintenance and updating of lmageNow system file folders and creation of work flows for document processing.

Outreach

• In collaboration with other financial aid staff, prepares materials for workshops including applications, workshop handouts and presentation materials. Schedules seminars and workshops; assigns dates, facilities and presenters; assists students and evaluates financial aid applicant results.
• Perform other duties as assigned to ensure the smooth functioning of the department, Student Affairs and the South Central College.
• Provides support to both campuses when needed.
• Perform administrative support to the Director and department to ensure the smooth functioning of the department.
• Provide general office management and supervision of work study students.
• Coordinate information dissemination in the Welcome Center.
• Perform other duties as assigned to support the department, Student Affairs and the College.

Minimum Qualifications

• Two years of customer service skills in a fast-paced office setting or at an institution of higher education.
• Customer service skills sufficient to provide prompt, courteous, accurate and easy to understand information to customers in person, on the phone, through email and other written correspondence.
• Skilled in identifying customer needs quickly and determining appropriate next steps, even when information is initially incomplete.
• Organizational skills and ability to prioritize work and manage several work projects at one time.
• Experience accurately entering data and attention to detail for purposes of processing scholarship awards, etc.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office 365 including Word, Excel, etc.

Preferred Qualification

• Associate Degree from an accredited college or university.
• Knowledge of student services processes, such as admissions, enrollment, financial aid, and campus resources typically accessed at a front desk.
• Knowledge of financial aid office operations or equivalent higher education experience.
• Knowledge of current student information system (such as, Integrated Student Record System) and ImageNow for archiving.

Other Requirements

• South Central College is unable to sponsor applicants for work visas. All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the U.S.
• Please attach a resume with your application, as this is a requirement to be considered.
• In accordance with the Minnesota State Colleges & Universities (Minnesota State) Vehicle Fleet Safety Program, employees driving on college/university business who use a rental or state vehicle shall be required to conform to Minnesota State’s Vehicle use criteria and consent to Motor Vehicle Records check.

Work Shift (Hours / Days of work)

8:00am - 4:30pm / Monday - Friday

Telework (Yes/No)

No. This is an in-person position on the Faribault Campus.

Salary

$21.12 - $28.01 per hour.

Application Deadline

Please apply prior to the 11/06/2026 close date to be considered for this opportunity.

About Minnesota State

South Central College is a comprehensive community and technical college that is part of the Minnesota State system, with campuses in Faribault and North Mankato. To meet the educational needs of students and our communities, SCC provides lifelong learning opportunities.

SCC is committed to fostering a campus environment of inclusion, knowledge, and understanding in which faculty, staff, and students learn to value diversity and to respect individual differences that enrich our college community.

Programs, resources and benefits eligibility varies

based on type of employment, agency, funding availability, union/collective bargaining agreement, location, and length of service with the State of Minnesota.

Other Information

Employment information for this position can be found in its collective bargaining agreement or its plan document at http://mn.gov/mmb/employee-relations/labor-relations/Labor/.

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Minnesota State is an equal opportunity employer/educator committed to the principles of diversity. We prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their race, sex, color, creed, religion, age, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or membership in a local commission as defined by law. As an affirmative action employer, we actively seek and encourage applications from women, minorities, persons with disabilities, and individuals with protected veteran status.