Financial Aid Counselor / Student Eligibility (SAL 6)

Summary:

The Financial Aid Counselor will provide financial aid counseling, oversee FAFSA initiatives, review special project applications,

do statistical reporting, and resolve issues related to student financial aid eligibility, including C-codes, special and unusual

circumstances, Satisfactory Academic Progress, and verification.

Minimum Qualifications Required:

Education required to ensure success in this position:

• Bachelor’s degree
• Master’s degree preferred
  
  

Experience required to ensure success in this position:

• A minimum of two years of experience in a financial aid office, finance office, or bank
• Show progression in responsibilities of job(s) prior to Berea position
  
  

Special skills, knowledge and abilities:

• Experience with Word and Excel
• Experience with a higher education administrative software; Ellucian BANNER administrative software is preferred
• Experience in federal income tax filing is preferred
• Knowledge of federal and state financial aid regulations
  
  

License, certification, or registration necessary:

• Have several NASFAA credentials
  
  

Physical requirements:

• Must be able lift 10 pounds
• Must be able to work in a high-traffic office environment and not lose composure
  
  

Environmental conditions:

• none
  
  

Ability to operate the following equipment:

• Fax machine, copier, and/or scanning and indexing of documents,
  
  

Travel expectation:

• Must be willing to travel for training conferences (approximately 5% of position)
  
  

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed

below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Regular and predictable attendance is essential.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

FINANCIAL AID COUNSELING:

• Review and process Special and Unusual Circumstance submission for students as allowed by Federal financial aid policies
  
  

and communicate results to students

• Review student applications for Special Project funds and award aid as per Federal, State, and institutional policies
• Review requests for additional aid for educational expenses to determine if more aid can be awarded per Federal, state, and
  
  

institutional policies

• Work with students on medical/dental/optical procedures, including funding sources
• Will counsel with students on financial aid; will award grants/scholarships, and loans as needed, per Federal, State, and institutional
  
  

policies

RESOLUTION OF STUDENT ELIGBILITY ISSUES:

• Process verification for those students selected as set forth in the Department of Education’s Federal Policies; requires specific
  
  

knowledge of the IRS tax code

• Review and resolve C-Code issues
• Review and resolve Satisfactory Academic Progress issues
• Review and resolve issues related to unofficial FAFSAs
  
  

TRAINING:

• Must complete some, if not all 17, of the NASFAA credentials, through study and testing
• Participate in professional trainings at the federal, national, regional, and state conferences at the discretion of the Director or Assistant
  
  

Director.

• Must complete tax training each year
• Must be able to understand and appropriately use the Financial Aid Handbook (federal financial aid policies) of the Department of
  
  

Education in awarding aid.

• Must be able to interpret federal policies as related to Berea’s Financial and Labor Programs
• Be aware of possible changes in policies related to position from news reporting and list-serves
  
  

OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Planning and executing FAFSA initiatives throughout campus to help ensure a high percent of students complete FAFSA’s
  
  

by the priority deadline in order to receive Kentucky State grants.

• Process Professional Judgement Appeals
• Must maintain electronic policies and procedures (P&P) related to their work in the office’s P&P electronic folder
  
  

Other roles/duties will be assigned as necessary to assist the College in the attainment of the goals set forth and the enhancement of a positive, respectful learning environment for all staff, faculty and students.

Founded in 1855, Berea College achieved national distinction as the first coeducational and interracial college in the South. Berea has a longstanding commitment to interracial education and is one of the most racially diverse private liberal arts colleges in the United States. With an emphasis on service to Appalachia and beyond, Berea enrolls 1,600 students from 43 states and U.S. territories and more than 70 countries. Berea College admits students who are unable to afford tuition and provides all of them a no-tuition promise, valued at more than $178,000. Berea’s students excel in the College’s supportive yet demanding academic environment, and many are the first in their families to attend college. As one of only nine federally recognized Work Colleges, all Berea students are expected to work in various positions across campus. Berea College was again named one of the nation’s “Best Institutions for Undergraduates to Earn their College Degree” in the 2022 edition of The Princeton Review’s book, The Best 387 Colleges. Berea also appeared on four other lists within the publication: Best Colleges in the Southeast; Best Value Colleges; Best Green Colleges; and Tuition Free Schools. Berea College is ranked #148 by The Princeton Review – the highest-ranked Kentucky college, and the #3 “Best Value College” in the nation. Berea is one of only two private institutions ranked in the Top 10 for Value in the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education (THE) 2022 College Rankings. The Washington Monthly ranks Berea College #13 among the nation’s liberal arts colleges, recognizing Berea for maintaining “consistently high rankings thanks to their economic diversity, relatively strong graduation rates, and commitment to meeting students’ financial need.” U.S. News and World Report Rankings lists Berea as #30 among National Liberal Arts Colleges, including ranking Berea #1 in Service Learning, #2 for Most Innovative Schools, #3 in Co-ops/Internships, #4 in First-year Experiences, and tied for #13 in Best Undergraduate Teaching.

Located where the Bluegrass Region meets the Cumberland Mountains, the town of Berea (pop. 16,000) lies forty miles south of Lexington and is approximately two hours from Cincinnati, Louisville, and Knoxville. More information about Berea College is available at www.berea.edu.

Berea College, in light of its mission in the tradition of impartial love and social equality, welcomes all people of the earth to learn and work here.

Berea College is always looking for talented, self-motivated individuals to join our team. If you think you are ready to be a part of an exciting team, then we encourage you to continue with this applicant friendly, online job application!

Berea College is an Equal Opportunity Employer that recruits and hires qualified candidates without regard to race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, disability, or veteran status.

Note to Prospective Employees:

Each year, Berea College Public Safety publishes an annual report to the campus to make public crime statistics, policies, and procedures for Berea College. This Annual Security Report, required by the Jeane Clery Act, Minger Act, and the Student Right To Know Act is now available for review. For a full, printable version of the ASR, you can click here: https://www.berea.edu/public-safety/annual-security-report-2019/

For a policy-by-policy version that is easier to read and browse, please visit Public Safety’s website here: https://www.berea.edu/public-safety/annual-security-report-2019/