Financial Aid Representative

Financial Aid Counselor

Salary is competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience, while also considering internal equity.

Employees at this level serve as the initial contact for institutional financial aid inquiries. They counsel, advise, and direct inquiries for applicants and recipients of student financial aid. They work under the general supervision of a designated supervisor.

Examples of Duties

• 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, etc.);
• Ensures that financial aid support and information are being disseminated to prospective, incoming, and current students;
• Assists in reviewing all forms received and preparing necessary forms including assisting with the completion of the online financial aid application process;
• Interviews prospective, incoming, and current students regarding the need for and participation in student financial aid programs;
• Assists in or individually determines an applicant's basic eligibility for financial aid programs;
• Assists in the evaluation process for appeals;
• Identifies complex personal situations and suggests a further review by the Financial Aid department as appropriate (i.e. Income Appeal/computer purchase/cost of attendance appeal/satisfactory academic progress appeal);
• Assists with entering, updating, and processing award notifications;
• Performs administrative duties such as maintaining student accounts and/or records, receiving and forwarding correspondence, preparing and distributing forms, compiling data, etc;
• Assists with personnel functions such as training, supervising, and/or developing staff/student worker schedules, and assignments as 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 involving intake processing which may include answering a high-volume of phone 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) from the categories below:
• 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)
• Work experience performing office, business, or customer/relations activities.

Supplemental Information

Illinois Residency Requirement: Pursuant to the State Universities Civil Service System, out-of-state candidates must establish Illinois residency within 180 calendar days of the start date for this position. Tips for Completing a Civil Service Application: 1. To be eligible for the role, ensure that your application includes a complete and detailed employment history that highlights your relevant full-time and part-time work experience, including start and end dates of employment. 2. Relevant part-time work experience will count towards the qualifications for this position and will be converted to full-time equivalence to calculate the total length of experience. 3. Upload all official transcripts to meet the educational requirements. If the job description specifies a minimum number of college hours, transcripts are mandatory for the successful processing of your application. 4. Veterans who qualify for preference must provide proof of eligibility within ten (10) working days of submitting an application, unless the same proof has already been submitted in a previous application. The required proof of eligibility includes, at a minimum, a copy of the veteran's DD214/DD215 form (Department of Defense), NGB22 form (National Guard), or Discharge Orders or DD256 Discharge Certificate (Reserves). 5. After the position has closed, your application and supporting materials will be reviewed to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications, including any specialty factors associated with this position. Those who qualify will move forward for Civil Service Examination/Testing. 6. Please monitor your e-mail for further information regarding your application. Emails will be generated from View email address on click.appcast.io. 7. For more information on Civil Service classifications, please visit the SUCSS web site at sucss.illinois.gov About Civil Service Examination/Testing: The Civil Service examination for this classification is based on your application materials and responses to the supplemental questions. No participation other than submission of application materials is required from applicants that qualify to take the exam. If you meet the minimum required qualifications for this position, your application will move forward for examination/testing in which you will receive a score calculated based on your education and experience, and your name will be placed on the active employment register by exam score. This score will be emailed to the email address noted on your application. After the application deadline, the names within the top three scores will be referred to the department for interview.

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