Job Postings
Financial Aid Advisor
| Position Title: | Financial Aid Advisor |
| Location: | Big Rapids (Main Campus) |
| Department: |
61300 - Financial Aid |
| Advertised Salary: | $45,000-$47,000. (Salary commensurate with education, experiences and other requirements.). |
| Benefits: |
Comprehensive benefits package (health care, vacation, etc.). Please see the following link for a list of benefits offered with this position. |
| FLSA: | Exempt |
| Temporary/Continuing: | Continuing |
| Part-Time/Full-Time: | Full-Time |
| Union Group: | N/A |
| Term of Position: | 12 Month |
| At Will/Just Cause: | Just Cause |
| Summary of Position: | • Provide expert financial aid counseling to students and parents, including appropriate information on aid eligibility, debt management, cost of attendance at Ferris State University and more. • Maintain high level of expertise concerning the regulatory governance of institutional, state and federal financial aid programs, with an ability to convey complex financial aid concepts to a diverse constituent base that includes; students, parents and families, faculty and staff, executive leadership and more. • Develop and manage policies and processes designed to ensure the effective distribution of financial resources, leveraging efficiencies that maximize utilization of funds and support student recruitment, retention and success. |
| Position Type: | Staff |
| Required Education: | • Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university. |
| Required Work Experience: | • Two years of full-time office experience in financial aid, customer relations (e.g. banking, lending, or business) and/or counseling (e.g., financial or educational). |
| Required Licenses and Certifications: | |
| Physical Demands: |
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| Additional Education/Experiences to be Considered: | • Demonstrated work experience in financial aid or customer service to students in a postsecondary education setting. • Experience with Banner. |
| Essential Duties/Responsibilities: | • Manage assigned financial aid programs at a high level that involves maintaining current knowledge and interpreting federal and state regulations, as well as maintaining institutional goals and objectives regarding financial aid. • Actively seek out and engage in training and professional development opportunities designed to maintain in-depth familiarity and understanding of the FSA handbook. • Leverage NASFAA membership and its available resources to remain familiar with current and future regulatory changes, trends, and best practices. • Develop and maintain comprehensive expertise across the spectrum of financial aid programs and funding types, including an awareness of the institutional policy, state, and federal regulations governing each. • Demonstrate an ability to translate complex financial aid regulations to a diverse constituency, including; students, parents, faculty, staff, and community members. • Providing professional guidance on all matters of financial aid, determining financial need and student eligibility for the issuance of all forms of aid, including; (but not limited to), scholarships, grants, loans, work study, and more. • The develop and update critical technical processes, policy and procedures, relative to new and existing financial aid programs; as well as the implementation of these processes, including; staff training, review and assessment of outcomes to ensure program compliance. • Participate in mission-critical recruitment and retention efforts. • Demonstrates an understanding of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, especially in working relationships with students, faculty, staff, and community members. • Support, promote, and develop university student enrollment and retention initiatives. • Provide expert counseling to students and parents regarding aid eligibility, application procedures, more through established, and emerging modes of communication that includes; (but not limited to), in-person/one-on-one, phone, email, virtual appointments and presentations, in-person/large group presentations, web-based content delivery, and more. • Present financial aid information programs, both on-and-off-campus, including evening and weekend presentations (e.g. recruiting events, financial aid nights, and orientation). • Participate in facilitating and to manage intradepartmental initiatives with key strategic partners across campus, including; (but not limited to), University Advancement & Marketing, Student Employment; Student Financial Services, Academic Colleges, Athletics, and more. • Participate in facilitating and to manage strategic planning, program oversigh,t and implementation. • Information exchange with state and federal agencies governing financial aid programs, such as, Michigan Scholarships and Grants portal (MiSSG) for the Michigan Tuition Incentive Program, the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, the Michigan Future Educators Fellowship, and more. • Perform regular audits of a continually-growing portfolio of donor scholarships to ensure the appropriate interpretation of donor intent in all application, award and gratitude processes, and state and federal aid programs to ensure that the University policies, processes, and aid distribution complies with regulatory governance and institutional aid processes and distribution. • Utilize financial aid expertise to propose, implement, oversee, and disseminate policies and processes that govern the distribution of aid to University leadership, Colleges, Departments, faculty, staff, and students. • Develop and implement processes and ongoing training initiatives for campus constituents, that includes internal office staff. • Ability to oversee, reconcile, and manage, in conjunction with pertinent offices and external agencies, accounts in excess of $1m, ensuring that funds are distributed in accordance with all institutional, state, and federal regulations. • Implement and manage university-wide systems, such as, the donor scholarship application portal or financial aid web page, including user training, troubleshooting, awareness and communication efforts to all relevant constituencies. • Provide appropriate reporting of account balances and spending, historical or forecasted trends, statistical analysis, and more to the highest levels of University leadership that includes; the Board of Trustees and Office of the President, in addition to relevant state or federal agencies. • Maintain confidentiality of sensitive records and information in accordance with FERPA. • Any other duties assigned within the position classification area. |
| Marginal Duties/Responsibilities: | • May supervise clerical and / or student employees. |
| Skills and Abilities: | • High level of comfort working with technical systems and software applications to investigate, troubleshoot, and resolve technical discrepancies in the issuance and distribution of aid. • Demonstrate the ability to engage in difficult and emotionally-tense conversations with students and their families, with a particular focus on de-escalation and expectation-setting. • Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with an ability to convey an appropriate amount of information to a diverse constituency of students, faculty, staff, executive leadership, and community members in a professional manner. • Exercise professional judgment, in accordance with federal, state, and institutional financial aid regulations, in an equitable and consistent matter as it relates to changing student’s cost of attendance, changing dependency status, or altering financial aid data due to special circumstances. • Demonstrate and ability to manage multiple deadlines simultaneously with a high level of organization and attention to detail. • Ability to apply analytical and problem-solving skills to a wide variety of financial situations. • Demonstrated commitment, experience and understanding for diversity, equity, and inclusion. • Perform various mathematical computations with accuracy. • Possess and maintain current, thorough knowledge of all aspects of federal, state, and institutional financial aid programs and operations, as well as, related policies and regulations that affect those programs. |
| Required Documents: |
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| Optional Documents: | |
| Special Instructions to Applicants: | • Transcript 1 (REQUIRED): Applicants must attach a copy of unofficial transcript of Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.. • Transcript must include: Institution name, applicant name, date degree attained, degree awarded. • Finalist will be required to submit an official transcript. |
| Initial Application Review Date: | March 3, 2025 |
| Open Until Position is Filled?: | Yes |
| Posting Close Date: | |
| EEO Statement: | Ferris State University, an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer, is committed to enhancing equity, inclusion, and diversity within its community. Ferris offers employment opportunities to qualified candidates seeking careers in a student-focused environment that values opportunity, collaboration, diversity and educational excellence. Learn more about the Ferris Mission and community at ferris.edu. The University actively seeks applications from women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, veterans, and other underrepresented groups. For more information on the University’s Policy on Non-Discrimination, visit: Ferris Non-Discrimination Statement. |
