Financial Aid Specialist I

Southern New Hampshire University is a team of innovators. World changers. Individuals who believe in progress with purpose. Since 1932, our people-centered strategy has defined us - and helped us grow a team that now serves over 180,000 learners worldwide.

Our mission to transform lives is made possible by talented people who bring diverse industry experience, backgrounds and skills to the university. And today, we're ready to expand our reach. All we need is you.

This position will be partially based in the following office location:

For hybrid roles, employees must be able to commute to Manchester, NH on a regular basis.

The opportunity

The Financial Aid Specialist I role is a technical position with the Financial Aid Operations team which requires processing knowledge of the financial aid life cycle. You must be familiar with financial aid transactional work and conducting procedures so that loans/grants/scholarships are originated, recalculated, disbursed, returned and reconciled. We ask that you trouble-shoot complex student eligibility evaluation and in-eligibility situations. This is all performed within the prescribed regulations and compliance requirements of the institution and federal and state governments. You will follow SNHU's set of main support behaviors and be dedicated to meeting the requirements of the University's needs and mission.

This is a Dual-Place position reporting to the Associate Director of Financial Aid.

In this role:

• You will need to have a complete understanding of the financial aid cycle, regulations and compliance aspects, and processes fluently.
• You will review files for eligibility of federal and private loans, institutional, state and federal grants and institutional 3rd party scholarships to be recalculated and disbursed to students or returned to lender efficiently and accurately.
• You will evaluate unusual/mitigating circumstance documentation/information and exercise judgment by making adjustments or revisions to award(s).
• You will be responsible but not limited to performing Return to Title IV Funds calculations (all populations), Return to Lender calculations, Tuition Assistance Calculations, and Deregistration Support.
• You will perform Pell Recalculation, Originating/Certifying Loans, Disbursements and Reconciliations.
• You will generate and analyze system-generated data such as grades and enrollment status or award status to verify continued compliance and eligibility of students receiving aid under federal, state and institutional guidelines; notify students of changes in eligibility of awards and alternatives to amend the situation.
• You will troubleshoot processing problems and technical issues with regard to the COD system and Colleague software and apply corrective action.
• You will identify missing, incomplete, or incorrect student information and resolve through communication and apply corrective action.
• You will serve an important role in the Business Process Redesign and process improvement initiatives to build efficiencies and automation of processes within Student Financial Services. You will leverage the full potential of the COD system, NSLDS information, University Reports (ARGOS), Perceptive Content, UNIFY and Colleague/Banner functionality.
• You will be responsible for electronic communication with the Department of Education Title IV Wide Area Network, including download and upload of applications, corrections, NSLDS and PELL grant data in and out of both the Department of Education and the Ellucian systems.
• You will interpret ISIR import data and research items to resolve conflict
• You will process all Federal loans, and all of the eligibility requirements, reconciliation of award budget dollars, all calculations, consideration to regulations and compliance factors, and institutional policies and procedures.
• You will have other responsibilities or activities may be assigned at any time.

What we're Looking For:

• Bachelor's degree plus 1 plus years experience in a processing or financial aid environment or equivalent education and experience
• Exposure to integrated computer systems with complex multi-level structures and software.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, Excel (can maintain complex spreadsheets), PowerPoint, and Visio.
• Oral and written communication skills.
• Must demonstrate a strong attention to detail.
• Solid comprehension of mathematical concepts and equations.
• Employment is dependent upon successful access to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), which requires all federal loans to be in good standing and not in default; and a credit check to review that student loans are not in default.

We believe real innovation comes from inclusion - where different experiences, perspectives and talents are celebrated. So if you're wondering whether SNHU is right for you, take the leap and apply. You might be just the person we're looking for.

Compensation

Exceptional benefits (because you're exceptional)

You're the whole package. Your benefits should be, too. As a full-time employee at SNHU, you'll get:

• High-quality, low-deductible medical insurance

• Low to no-cost dental and vision plans

• 5 weeks of paid time off (plus almost a dozen paid holidays)

• Employer-funded retirement

• Free tuition program

• Parental leave

• Mental health and wellbeing resources