Lead Counselor- Campus Partnership & Outreach

As a UW employee, you have a unique opportunity to change lives on our campuses, in our state and around the world. UW employees offer their boundless energy, creative problem-solving skills and dedication to build stronger minds and a healthier world.

UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities and unique resources in an environment noted for diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty.

The Lead Counselor for Campus Partnerships and Outreach significantly contributes to the overall mission and daily operations of the Office of Student Financial Aid. The Lead Counselor for Campus Partnerships and Outreach provides support to the Associate Director for Counseling Services by performing administrative functions and operational oversight of programs associated with various academic and student affairs units across campus and highly specialized student aid programs.

Responsibilities involve participation in departmental liaison work, outreach (including design, scheduling and delivery), policy analysis and recommendations, process and workflow improvements, compliance related activities, and training and guidance to Counselor and Senior Counselors assigned to programs. The Lead Counselor also has many of the same responsibilities of the Counselor and Senior Counselor positions.

The financial aid field is one that requires a thorough understanding of the federal, state, and institutional rules governing the various forms of financial aid. Federal law is reauthorized every 5 to 6 years with regulatory changes and new legislation inserted within those spans.

State aid can change annually with each session of the legislature. Institutional costs and processes may change even more often in response to improvements and limitations of technology, approval and revisions of budget priorities, and structural organizations. Every counselor will track these changes and the effects on student awards at the University.

A more experienced counselor will be able to explain how these issues reflect changes in institutional, state, and federal guidelines and explain why each change was required and implemented. A Lead Counselor will not only be able to explain these changes, why and how they were implemented, but also be a resource to students, fellow counselors, and others in the profession. The counselor must successfully keep abreast of technical applications of regulatory and institutional changes and utilize competent and increasingly complex computer system skills to meet their job requirements. Specific assigned programs may be exceptionally complex and require specialized training or skills.

Beyond the technical and counseling skills required for evaluation and verification of financial aid eligibility, Lead Counselors must use significant and broad professional judgment and discretion in the awarding of available financial aid. Changes in a family's financial strength, exceptions to the standard cost of attendance for unusual educational costs, and satisfactory academic progress appeals to financial aid eligibility requirements due to unique and special circumstances of the student are some examples of issues that require the use of professional judgment.

These situations require careful review based on a thorough understanding of regulatory as well as personal issues involved. In many cases, the issues involved may be complex and require involved discussions and excellent analytical skills to arrive at a decision that is justified and as fair as possible. All exceptions must be fully documented and made within the limitations of statute.

Our student service structure calls upon counselors to explain, sometimes to defend, professional judgment decisions made by other counselors. Because of the shared workload and working styles of a large group of individuals, successful counselors must be excellent communicators, good negotiators, team players and excellent colleagues who share the goals and the hard work necessary to achieve them.

The Lead Counselor will be able to advise less experienced counselors, providing guidance on various program operations, the use of professional judgment and the use of the University's complex financial aid computer system.

Bridging the gap between the expectations of students and parents and the reality of what financial aid will provide can be stressful. Counselors deal continuously with the dissonance between a family's perceived need and the help available to the student.

In this position, they may be the "bearer of bad news" sometimes accused of telling students they "cannot" attend the University. They must be able to deal effectively with the dejection that some students feel when confronted with limited resources to make their educational dreams come true as well as parents and students who may become adversarial in attempts to improve their treatment. To resolve these situations without assistance, counselors are knowledgeable and authoritative while remaining supportive, calm and professional even under highly charged circumstances. Counselors must also be effective and knowledgeable in communications to diverse groups and larger audiences regarding the financial aid process and requirements, and willing to contribute wherever possible or needed to outreach activities.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

34% Advising and Counseling

Provide advising and counseling for students, parents, and others seeking information and assistance with all aspects of the financial aid process. General counseling requires a thorough knowledge of financial aid procedures and eligibility rules. It also requires the ability to listen analytically to concerns of students and parents, communicate effectively with clients from diverse backgrounds and explain the possible outcomes and consequences of each action or decision.

In more intensive advising and counseling sessions involving complex or difficult situations, Lead Counselors must also ask questions necessary to gather data sufficient to provide helpful and complete answers, analyze the student's circumstances in the context of financial aid eligibility rules, weighing the effects of sometimes conflicting federal, state and institutional rules, and the student's interests.

Lead Counselors make an assessment whether standard procedures will adequately resolve the situation and, if the situation appears to be exceptional and may benefit from use of professional judgment, advise and assist student in preparing the documentation needed to proceed. If standard procedures appear inadequate to address the special needs of the student in a critical situation, advocate for the student for exceptions to policy within the office or with process partners. When recommending exceptional treatment, utilize critical problem solving abilities, weighing the advantages and potential liability for each alternative suggested.

In addition to in-person advising, Lead Counselors also advise and assist students and others over the phone, by e-mail and written correspondence, addressing issues with tact,accuracy, and with a concern for maintaining student privacy.

34% Document and Special Circumstance Review

Review documents submitted by student and/or parents to verify general financial aid application data elements and eligibility. Verify or correct application data, track corrections transmitted between the student database and the federal central processor or enter data directly into the federal system through CPS On-line. Award and revise financial aid as a result of updates or corrections in accordance with federal, state, and institutional regulations and guidelines.

In addition to acting on student and/or parent-initiated requests, Lead Counselors must determine on a case-by-case basis whether the federal analysis of the financial data elements fairly and accurately portrays the financial strength of the student's family. They use the authority granted them in federal law to make a "professional judgment" to change data values to data elements that more accurately portray the family situation.

Review documentation of special circumstances presented by the student and/or parents in-person or by written request. Special circumstances frequently involve unique family circumstances, financial changes, legal or medical/disability concerns, classroom situations, exceptional program costs, and academic issues.

Examine circumstances in light of state, federal and institutional requirements and determine whether an adjustment is legal and appropriate. Make revisions to student and/or parent need analysis data elements, cost of attendance or financial aid to accommodate special circumstance where appropriate.

Lead Counselors apply judgment in situations that benefit the student as well as situations that reduce the student's eligibility. In applying ·professional judgment, lead counselors must document professional judgments and corrections justifying actions that will withstand review by audit and notify the student of the change in eligibility and the reason for the change.

32% Campus Partnerships and Outreach

Campus Partnerships include, for example, such units as Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity, Housing and Food Services, Health and Wellness, Disability Resources for Students, Undergraduate Affairs and Advising, Study Abroad, Graduate/ Professional Schools and the Continuum College.

The responsibilities associated with these various units typically, although not inclusive, involve acting as a point of contact for staff, developing a thorough understanding of the unit and keeping OSFA staff informed of changes, especially as it pertains to financial aid. The Lead Counselor will keep campus units and respective staff informed of pertinent financial aid policies that may impact the campus unit.

Often, our campus partners require information on individual student cases, such as calculated financial need, financial aid and scholarship coordination, aggregate loan indebtedness for their respective students and general institutional data points about financial aid on the UW campus. Units/programs may also require manual monitoring and review of lists of students to ensure financial aid eligibility requirements are met, such as Study Abroad participants. The Lead Counselor will be able to provide information and coordinate our office's response.

Additional responsibilities include collaboration on sensitive student cases that often involve in-depth conversations regarding the student's situation, options for resolution and reasonableness of the student's success. The Lead Counselor will ensure that the students satisfactory academic progress requirements are adjusted as needed, along with appropriately adjusting the student's financial aid award/eligibility. The Lead Counselor will also provide and/or coordinate outreach in the form of presentations, both large and small group, for students and staff, as related to the financial aid application and delivery processes.

The Lead Counselor will perform daily operational and liaison tasks of assigned programs and/or a program cluster and will also collaborate with the Associate Director to coordinate assignments of programmatic tasks to counselors and senior counselors (grades 6 and 7) as needed, and monitor progress to completion of tasks.

Provide in-depth counseling and advising (in person, phone, or email) to student populations in the program. This may involve appointments outside of our normal student service hours or in a different location.

The Lead Counselor will be able to work toward resolution of sensitive and unique student cases that require counseling, professional judgment and collaboration across campus. Establish and promote effective working relationships with campus partners, improving the student experience and ensuring compliance for the program.

Ensure policies and procedures are documented and updated annually (or as needed) and communicate to campus partners regulatory or policy changes. Recommend process improvements to improve workflows between campus partners.

Provide guidance and support to OSFA counselors regarding the complexities of the program, provide training, keep staff and management team informed of updates and changes to processes and/or recommended changes to procedures and policies.

The Lead Counselor will also coordinate outreach activities that pertain to their program assignment. Determine if a standard presentation is appropriate or if special material should be prepared.

Research, design, and prepare program and tailoring content to the perspective audience. Coordinate presentations with sponsoring group and other presenters, determining in advance the appropriate equipment needed and handouts and materials to be provided. At the presentation, Lead Counselors must be prepared to advise and counsel on general as well as specific family circumstances requiring a thorough knowledge of financial aid processes, eligibility rules, and the how special circumstances are addressed.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

• A bachelor's degree from an accredited institution or equivalent experience.

• Four years of professional work experience with demonstrated expertise in financial aid.

Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Demonstrated ability to work well with people from diverse backgrounds -clients, coworkers, and other parties.

• Proficiency with computers and common office PC-based software products.

• Proficiency in providing written and oral communication.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Master's degree in student personnel services or related field.

• Additional years of more experience in financial aid counseling/ administration that may include different school setting.

• Specialized training or experience in programs administered at the University of Washington, such as Work Study, State Need Grant, Federal Quality Assurance, Experimental Site, COD etc.

• Excellent oral and written communication skills.

• Background in financial aid related fields, operations, loan processing, etc.

• Student service experience at a large, urban university.

• Familiarity with the UW Student Database and proficiency in the use of the Financial Aid modules.

WORKING CONDITIONS

The Office of Student Financial Aid is located in room 105 of Schmitz Hall. The standard work schedule is 8am-5pm, Monday through Friday.

Alternative/hybrid work schedules may be approved providing service and commitment to students is not impacted. Many of the activities in the financial aid office are cyclical with heavy processing during late spring and summer months. Occasional hours beyond the agreed upon schedule may be required depending on work load priorities, deadlines and outreach events.

Other Comments

Lead Counselors work under continuous pressure to meet self-imposed, department-imposed and student-imposed deadlines while maintaining extreme attention to detail and accuracy. Errors may result in significant liability for students as well as the institution. Lead Counselors must successfully balance the pressures to complete assigned tasks, attend professional and developmental workshops, meetings and training opportunities.

Application Process: The application process may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process.

These assessments may include Work Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others. Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select "Apply to this position". Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment, you will be prompted to do so the next time you log into your "My Jobs" page. If you choose to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.