Office & Admin Spec Sr - Financial Aid Assistant

All Job Postings will close at 12:01 a.m. CT on the specified Closing Date (if designated).

Working Title:

Office & Admin Spec Sr - Financial Aid Assistant

Institution:

Bemidji State University

Classification Title:

Office & Admin Specialist Sr

Bargaining Unit / Union:

206: AFSCME - Clerical and Office

City:

Bemidji

FLSA:

Non Job Exempt

Full Time / Part Time:

Full time

Employment Condition:

Classified - Unlimited

Salary Range:

Job Description

Bemidji State University (BSU) invites qualified applicants to join our team as a Financial Aid Assistant. This position coordinates the awarding and revising financial aid packages for institutional and non- institutional scholarships and grants and reconciles these accounts monthly. The Financial Aid Assistant is also responsible for providing technical information regarding financial aid inquiries from students and families, reviewing financial aid offers for budget and accuracy, distributing the work utilization report 2-3 times per semester, and pulling in files from the federal databases. This position assists with the processing of Minnesota Office of Higher Education (OHE) programs as needed. This position also is responsible for receptionist duties when the position is vacant.

Responsibilities of the Financial Aid Assistant include:

• Processing and incorporating private scholarship and grant checks into student aid packages and depositing funds or preparing the check for disbursement as outlined in the “Procedures for Processing Outside Scholarships” document. Percent of Time: 30%

  • Receiving and entering scholarship and grant checks from non-institutional funding sources in ISRS. 

  • Receiving and processing tribal scholarships. Completing budget for tribal scholarship applications and working with tribal education offices on resolving issues. Completing month end reconciliation of tribal account.

  • Depositing checks on a daily basis and determining the distribution of outside scholarship and grant checks according to donor’s wishes and financial aid regulations.

  • Revising student awards to prevent over-awarding of State/Federal funds. This will require an understanding of various need-based vs non-need-based aid programs.

  • Updating the document screen and comment screen if necessary.

  • Analyzing if adjustments are needed by researching budget and need. Determining what aid programs require adjustment. Communicating changes/adjustments to financial aid funding for students as a result of receiving private scholarships/grants.

  • Verifying student enrollment status to funding agencies.

  • Initiating and returning balance of funds to outside funding agencies for students not attending or withdrawing from school. 

  • Reconciling on a monthly basis deposits and disbursements with the monthly accounting report.

• Processing and incorporating institutional and BSU Foundation scholarships, Faculty/Staff tuition waivers, and room and board scholarships into student aid packages. Percent of Time: 30%

  • Once scholarship notification has been received in the Financial Aid Office, the award will be entered on the campus shared spreadsheet the same day or within 5 days during peak scholarship awarding.

  • Running reports and making updates to student aid packages as needed (ex FA0280CB).

  • Updating the award maintenance screen with appropriate award number, term, sequence number, amount, credits and indicating award is accepted.

  • Revising student awards to prevent over-awarding of State/Federal funds if necessary. This will require an understanding of various need-based vs non-need-based aid programs.

  • Communicating changes in aid packages to students because of scholarships/waivers. Communicating with the BSU Foundation Office cancelled scholarship awards.

  • Updating the document screen and comment screen if necessary.

• Loading files daily for BSU & NTC, clearing discrepancies on CM1150, reviewing ISIR loads, researching and solving load errors, processing waivers and third-party authorizations, and assisting with processing of MN State programs. Percent of Time: 20%

  • Pulling in files from TG mailboxes for BSU & NTC. Reviewing, processing and disbursing files as needed.

  • Reviewing daily ISIR load and recalculating files. Reviewing NSLDS for changes, working to clear data discrepancies.

  • Reviewing CM1150UG and compl