Financial Aid Administrator - Verification

*POSTING EXTENSION - PREVIOUS APPLICANTS NEED NOT REAPPLY*

GENERAL STATEMENT OF JOB

The Financial Aid Administrator for Verification plays a critical role in ensuring the accuracy and integrity of financial aid awards at Middlesex College. This position is primarily responsible for managing the comprehensive federal, state, and institutional verification process, including the meticulous resolution of conflicting information to ensure compliance with all relevant regulations and institutional policies. The incumbent will be a primary resource for students and families navigating the verification process, providing expert guidance and support.

SPECIFIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Essential Functions:

1. Oversees the end-to-end verification process for students selected for Federal, State, and/or Institutional verification. This includes, but is not limited to, collecting, reviewing, and meticulously analyzing financial aid applications and all required supporting documentation (e.g., tax transcripts, W-2s, untaxed income statements, household information).
2. Proactively identifies and resolves all conflicting information discovered during the verification process, adhering strictly to federal and state regulations. Documents all actions and resolutions thoroughly.
3. Accurately processes required federal corrections through the FSA Partner Portal and state corrections through the NJ Higher Education Student Assistance Authority's (HESAA) NJFAMS portal, ensuring timely and compliant updates. Processes ISIR alert reports; compares and update ISIR transactions as needed.
4. Processes student files and prepare accurate financial aid award packages in strict accordance with Federal, State, and Institutional policies and regulations, after successful completion of verification.
5. Provides expert and empathetic counseling and advising to current and prospective students and their families (on and off-campus) regarding financial aid eligibility, application procedures, the intricacies of the verification process, and award packaging. 
6. Develops and delivers training to internal staff regarding federal and state verification requirements, institutional procedures, and best practices for managing and resolving verification issues, including conflicting information. Serves as an internal expert resource for verification-related inquiries.
7. Assist with the thorough processing and determination of Professional Judgment requests, including but not limited to Unusual Circumstances, Income Adjustments, and Homeless Determinations, ensuring all decisions are well-documented and compliant.
8. Maintains up-to-date knowledge of all federal and state financial aid regulations, policies, and procedures through regular professional development and review of official announcement and news.
9. Performs continuous quality assurance on verification processes using various resources such as running reports, daily monitoring of the verification queue, responding promptly to student inquiries related to verification, and sending out timely missing information correspondence.
10. Manages all confidential student financial and personal information in strict adherence to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and other relevant data security protocols.
11. Conducts engaging on-campus and off-campus presentations, workshops, and other forms of outreach to educate prospective and current students and families about financial aid and the verification process.
12. Performs other duties as assigned.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's Degree
• Four (4) years of financial aid experience
• Ability to work efficiently in a fast-paced work environment, with demonstrated multitasking and problem-solving skills
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills
• Ability to work independently and within a team-oriented setting, use discretion, and apply judgment                                                                                                                                

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience in a higher education setting
• Strong computer skills with knowledge of Microsoft Office, enterprise resource planning tools, and the FAFSA Partner Portal, COD, and NSLDS
• Thorough knowledge of Federal and New Jersey State financial aid policies 
• Knowledge of Colleague (Ellucian) computer system or a similar platform, experience in the use of technology, query software, and financial aid databases and tools

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

The work is sedentary work which requires exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or negligible amount of force frequently or constantly. Additionally, the following physical abilities are required: 

• Fingering: Picking, pinching, typing, or otherwise working, primarily with fingers rather than with the whole hand as in handling.
• Hearing 1: Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction. Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and to make the discrimination in sound. 
• Speaking: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word including the ability to convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately and concisely.
• Talking 1: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word including those activities in which they must convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately, loudly, or quickly.
• Visual Acuity 1: Have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; and/or extensive reading.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

SCHEDULE: Monday - Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with occasional evenings and weekends

                    Must be willing to travel.