Financial Aid Specialist II

Department:

Location:

Belknap Campus

Time Type:

Full time

Worker Type:

Regular

Job Req ID:

R107972

Minimum Requirements:

Bachelor's degree in a related field and two (2) years of relevant experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Grade 4 (Salaried)

Position Description:

The University of Louisville is seeking a Financial Aid Specialist II. The primary functions of the Financial Aid Specialist II is the overall management and oversight of the Federal Direct Loan Program and providing analytical, technological, and system support to programs and duties associated with the operations of the Disbursement and Information Management Team within the Student Financial Aid Office. The specialist will be responsible for daily creation and administration of federal data files applicable to the Federal Direct Loan Program to be sent to the U.S. Department of Education’s Common and Disbursement system, and for the loading and processing of response files received into PeopleSoft Campus Solutions. This position is responsible for the resolution of all Federal Direct Loan origination and disbursement errors/rejects and for the successful reconciliation of all issues applicable to the program, through the utilization of system processes, reports, and queries, while maximizing the use of existing software tools to maintain compliance. In addition, this position assists the Associate Director for Disbursement and Information Management with various tasks to ensure compliance with federal financial aid regulations and must maintain a working knowledge of all applicable regulations. The position will adhere to standards that ensure quality, efficiency, compliance, and service related to the responsibilities of the team and the office. This specialist provides guidance, resources, and training to the Student Financial Aid Office regarding all aspects of Federal Direct Loan processing, and counsels students, parents and other pertinent parties regarding application and eligibility requirements for federal, state, private, and institutional aid.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Oversee all aspects of the Federal Direct Loan Program, ensuring timely reporting, reconciliation of data, and adherence to all applicable federal financial aid regulations.

• Utilize the U.S. Department of Education’s Common Origination and Disbursement system and PeopleSoft Campus Solutions to view, compare, troubleshoot, and resolve all Federal Direct Loan issues, including but not limited to identifying and resolving loan validation errors, origination errors, rejected data, data transmission errors, and loan holds.

• Reconcile Federal Direct Loan data between PeopleSoft Campus Solutions and the U.S. Department of Education’s Common Origination and Disbursement system, and complete tasks to ensure successfully closeout of the applicable award year’s Federal Direct Loan Program.

• Provide analytical, technological, and system support to the Disbursement and Information Management Team and to the Student Financial Aid Office.

• Test regulatory releases, enhancements, and software changes applicable to processing of Federal Direct Loans and assist with system testing for other areas under the Disbursement and Information Team.

• Maximize the use of existing software tools to adhere to federal, state, and institutional financial aid requirements and the needs of the office related to processing under the Disbursement and Information Management Team.

• Coordinate email communications to students pertaining to loan processing deadlines and cancel awards for students who do not meet communicated deadlines established.

• Complete necessary set-up for Federal Direct Loan processing, including the necessary annual set-up for both manual and batch processing for the administration of the program.

• Carryout all aspects of the Federal Direct Parent PLUS application processing, including but not limited to the needed annual set-up, processing approved applications, managing Federal Direct PLUS Denial exemption appeal requests, processing additional Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan requests for PLUS denials, and ensuring all applications are reviewed and processed accurately.

• Review Cost of Attendance data for students and add and/or remove loan fees accordingly.

• Ensure Ability to Benefit codes are updated accurately for students within the PeopleSoft Campus Solutions system and are successfully reported to the U.S. Department of Education.  

• Research and review federal regulations, specifically related to but not limited to items applicable to the Federal Direct Loan Program, and recommend process improvements to ensure compliance.

• Prov