Financial Aid Specialist -Wilmington College Prison Education Program

The Financial Aid Specialist - Wilmington College Prison Education Program is primarily responsible for providing a wide range of counseling, processing, and support services to students who are seeking financial aid assistance while incarcerated in an Ohio correctional facility and who are enrolled in Wilmington College's Prison Education Program. This position interprets and enforces institutional, state, and federal policies and regulations.

This position will be officially located at Wilmington College in Wilmington, Ohio, but will also work inside one of the 3 prisons in which Wilmington College will be delivering its educational programs to incarcerated students (Lebanon Correctional Institution, Warren Correctional Institution, and Dayton Correctional Institution). The Wilmington College Prison Program Manager will be the direct supervisor for this position, but the Financial Aid Specialist will also be working closely with the Wilmington College Office of Financial Aid. The successful applicant may be asked to assist with supervising classes as needed as on-site administrator at one or more of the three correctional sites and may provide secondary support services for students' success as directed by the Wilmington College Prison Program Manager.

Primary Responsibilities

Provides financial aid counseling to incarcerated students and manages the completion of the FAFSA at Lebanon Correctional Institution, Warren Correctional Institution, and Dayton Correctional Institution.

Operates the U.S. Department of Education's Electronic Data Exchange (EDE) software system to import FAFSA data files.

Extracts Pell Grant and Loan History Reports from the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) as well as COD borrowing reports for the awarding of financial aid funds.

Determines financial aid eligibility, reviews supporting documentation, uploads documents into students' financial aid portal, and awards federal, state, and institutional aid funds to students in accordance with federal, state, and institutional policies.

Performs federal verification of student aid application data and resolves C-code flags and conflicting information discrepancies in accordance with federal, state, and institutional policies.

Monitors financial aid awards for compliance and adjusts awards as necessary to prevent over awards.

Runs Billing Batch Export on financial aid funds that need posted to student accounts.Generates financial aid offer notifications, College Financing Plans, information request notifications, and FAFSA application reminders to students.

Manages the Federal Pell Grant Program, including verification of eligibility, biweekly submission of origination and disbursement records, problem solving errors and other delays with reporting, releasing funds for disbursement, biweekly reconciliation of funds between Jenzabar JFA, COD, and with the Business Office, and verifying the completion of the annual closeout process in compliance with federal regulations.

Evaluates the legitimacy of financial aid appeals due to special circumstances.

Monitors each student to ensure financial aid satisfactory academic progress standards are being met.

Completes all Return to Title IV (R2T4) calculations in a timely manner, ensuring the return of unearned funding, and sending required communication to students and Student Accounts staff.

Assists with testing the accuracy of the annual financial aid packaging policy and table setup needed to award financial aid.

Evaluates, establishes, implements, and documents policies and procedures that reflect institutional or regulatory changes related to areas of responsibility.

Produces reports as needed.

Attends annual conferences and/or webinars to stay current with the rules and regulations of financial aid.

Ensures that all regulations and policies of ED, ODHE, the Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, and Wilmington College are followed.

Works with State of Ohio aid programs if they are relevant to the prison program.

Provides secondary support services for students' success as directed by the Wilmington College Prison Program Manager.

Qualifications

Minimum of a Bachelor's Degree required, plus two years related experience. Related experience may include education, social work, corrections, law enforcement, and similar fields.

Ability to exercise collaborative skills in the unique and complex environment of a correctional facility required.

Ability to work well with diverse constituents, including college faculty, staff, and administrators as well as incarcerated students and staff in correctional facilities required.

Professionalism, good judgment, and high ethical standards required.

Professional communication skills to include but not limited to oral and written skills required.

Current working knowledge of Microsoft Office and ability to learn necessary college related databases required.

Ability to work on multiple tasks simultaneously while providing great attention to detail and meeting deadlines required.

Ability to manage data - both reporting and interpreting of financial aid information required.

Ability to manage resources and operations effectively and efficiently required.

Ability to pass an Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections background check required.

Ability to work in the evenings and on weekends required.Understanding of Financial Aid and Admissions processes in higher education preferred.

Experience with Jenzabar JFA software platform preferred.

Submit a letter of interest, current resume, and the names and contact information of at least three professional references.