Description
SUMMARY DESCRIPTION Under direction of assigned manager, administers federal, state, and District financial aid program funds; maintains accountability for financial aid funding; provides program accountability for all sources of financial aid including to represent the office during audits; serves as a technical expert regarding area of assignment; and relieves assigned manager of a variety of administrative details including to serve as lead over office staff and activities. Technical advisor for updating, troubleshooting and maintaining the Financial Aid Banner Module and all peripheral programs used at Sierra College by Financial Aid.
DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS The Senior Financial Aid Specialist is a paraprofessional classification performing a wide range of analytical duties for the Financial Aid Programs. This classification is distinguished from the Financial Aid Specialist or Technician by Assuming responsibility for making financial aid award decision and development of financial aid packages to meet student educational needs and authorizing the downloading of federal, state, and district funds for all eligible financial aid students.
Need Help With Your Online Account? - Use the online Help Guide or contact the NEOED Applicants Support Line at 855-524-5627 if you need assistance with your online applicant account.
- Applicant Support is available between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. Pacific Time, Monday through Friday.
Examples Of Functions and Tasks
REPRESENTATIVE DUTIES - The following duties are typical for this classification. Incumbents may not perform all of the listed duties and/or may be required to perform additional or different duties from those set forth below to address business needs and changing business practices.
Ensures that timelines are met for District, state, and federal requirements relating to the duties of the Financial Aid Office.Performs a variety of duties related to funds eligibility and disbursement; analyzes applications and verifies eligibility in compliance with applicable local, state, and federal regulations and guidelines; verifies that all preliminary work done on student files is correct and meets all regulations; generates student financial aid packages; monitors attendance and academic progress of all students who have accepted federal and state financial aid; using a variety of tools, corrects amounts, returns checks, and requests stop payment/reissue of checks to ensure students receive the amounts they are eligible for; accounts for proper expenditures of financial aid funds; coordinates with Business Services Office to resolve problems; prepares various reports.Determines and assigns each student a budget and cost of attendance; makes adjustments as necessary; calculates student’s financial need figure and sets actual family contribution; determines and assigns packaging group; determines which funds the student is eligible for; determines each student’s Federal Workstudy eligibility; sets-up packaging parameters for Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant; determines eligibility for various grants/programs; makes initial determination of subsidized/unsubsidized loan eligibility; oversees the preparation of award letters. Participates in the Financial Aid Advisory Committee (FAAC); gathers information from students to justify special petitions for the FAAC; processes files appropriately after petition determination.Prepares and transmits Common Origination and Disbursement files to the US Department of Education for each eligible student. Identifies and clears any errors, rejects or discrepancies prior to authorizing payment to each student.Plans, organizes, and directs the District’s Scholarship Program; compiles and publishes booklet and applications; advertises and disburses information about the program; develops and oversees on-campus scholarship bulletin board postings; oversees evaluation of scholarship applications to determine eligibility; establishes committee to read and score applications; provides support to the scholarship committee; notifies scholarship winners; notifies scholarship donor and request funds be sent to the District; directs the release of scholarship checks.Reconciles federal funds monthly with the U.S. Department of Education. Performs a variety of funds management and reconciliation duties; ensures that proper procedures/ policies/rules/regulations are applied to all federal/state programs; analyzes and calculates financial aid funding needed from various federal and state programs; monitors federal and state accounts to ensure that financial aid monies are accurately drawn and deposited into correct District accounts; coordinates with internal and external auditors to guarantee program fund accountability and integrity; completes federal payment documents; oversees and verifies federal and state grant and loan accounts; monitors federal authorization of funding; monitors status of program fund account ledgers with District’s Business Services staff and the Placer County Office of Education accounting systems; monitors repayments; balances fund accounts; reconciles assigned accounts.Performs a variety of research and reporting duties; gathers, interprets, and analyzes a variety of data; completes and prepares a variety of records and reports; develops and creates reconciled data files in order for information to be transmitted to other agencies; gathers data and information to complete surveys and reports including those for other agencies and institutions.Gathers, interprets and analyzes District financial aid data for the Fiscal Operations Report and Application to Participate (FISAP). Compiles and complete the FISAP, used to determine and maintain the Districts funding allocations and participation in all Federal Financial Aid Programs.Coordinates and administers the Return of title IV finding (RT24). Determines Sierra College’s liability and returns to the correct program funds to the U.S. Department of Education. Determines what portion the student must repay. Federally mandated dates must be adhered to.Participates in the development/design of financial aid software reporting tools; establishes and maintains financial aid processing rules within the software; installs network software and updates; modifies and inputs data elements to comply with regulatory changes; coordinates with representatives from state and federal agencies to troubleshoot problems with specialized software and data base integrity; designs reports to provide information to applicable agencies. Participates with setting up and managing financial aid processing rules within Banner, configuring and maintaining the Banner systems and has primary responsibility for interacting with the campus IIT tech support. Creates Banner queries using SQL for needed population selections for grouping students for numerous reports. Creates and updates all Banner parameters that are needed to calculate financial need for students.Trains permanent staff on Banner or regulatory changes and reviews assigned work as needed to ensure compliance with the awarding of aid.Performs a variety of customer service and marketing duties; serves as point of contact with students regarding office services; represents the District at activities with local area high schools and other external agencies/organizations; interacts with other District organizational units to provide students with a comprehensive financial aid package; conducts financial aid workshops; explains programs to students and assist them with completing applications; coordinates award activities with internal and external contacts.Performs a full range of clerical and administrative duties in support of program operations; relieves manager of administrative details including to research and resolve problems; assembles files and duplicates materials; composes and prepares office correspondence, materials, reports, forms, brochures, presentations, handbooks, manuals, and consumer information; answers phones, refers callers, and takes messages; maintains and orders supplies.Maintains current knowledge and learn new state and federal laws, rules, and regulations pertaining to financial aid; reviews updated or new technical instructions or references; attends seminars, conferences, workshops, and other training sessions; participates in the development of new/revised procedures to accommodate changes; assists in providing training and direction to others regarding changes and new regulations including to create and disseminate new instructions.Trains and provides work direction to assigned student workers and temporary help as assigned.Performs related duties as required.
Minimum Qualifications
Education and Experience Guidelines - Any combination of education and experience that would likely provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying. Examples of ways to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be :
- Education/Training: Equivalent to completion of the twelfth grade supplemented by college level course work in business administration, accounting, or a related field.
- Experience: Two years of increasingly responsible technical and program support experience in a financial aid office comparable to a Financial Aid Technician with Sierra College.
- License or Certificate: Ability to obtain specialized certifications as required.
QUALIFICATIONS - The following generally describes the knowledge and ability required to enter the job and/or be learned within a short period of time in order to successfully perform the assigned duties.
Knowledge of: - In-depth knowledge of state and federal student financial aid processes and procedures including federal and state laws and regulations regarding the various duties of the Financial Aid Office.
- Human relations skills, methods, and techniques to conduct interviews, convey technical information, resolve conflicts, and to facilitate problem resolution.
- General accounting and bookkeeping practices and techniques used in ledger recordkeeping.
- State and federal tax returns, schedules, and attachments.
- Needs analysis methodology.
- Office procedures, methods, and equipment including computers and applicable software applications such as word processing, spreadsheets, and databases.
- Financial aid management systems and a variety of specialized off-campus software applications.
- Mathematical principles and practices.
- English usage, spelling, grammar and punctuation.
- Principles and procedures of record keeping and filing.
- Principles of business letter writing and basic report preparation.
- Pertinent federal, state, and local laws, codes, and regulations including state and federal labor law as it applies to the employment of students and DHS employment requirements and documentation.
- Supervisory principles.
Ability to: - Provides a full range of specialized support to District’s financial aid programs and functions.
- Function as a technical expert in assigned areas of financial aid processing.
- Learn and understand in-depth student financial aid processes and procedures including laws, regulations, and District policies and procedures.
- Perform arithmetic calculations of average to above average difficulty.
- Make oral presentations to groups.
- Operate office equipment including computers and supporting word processing, spreadsheet, and database applications.
- Adapt to changing technologies and learn functionality of new equipment and systems.
- Type or enter data at a speed necessary for successful job performance.
- Maintain close attention to detail.
- Properly handle difficult, sensitive, and confidential situations and materials.
- Plan, organize and prioritize work in order to meet schedules and timelines.
- Maintain current, accurate and confidential records and files including financial records.
- Conduct technical research and prepare a variety of comprehensive and statistical reports.
- Independently prepare routine correspondence and memoranda.
- Work independently and collaboratively.
- Supervise student and/or other temporary help.
- Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
- Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORKING ENVIRONMENT - The conditions herein are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions.
- Environment: Work is performed primarily in a standard office setting.
- Physical: Primary functions require sufficient physical ability and mobility to work in an office setting; to stand or sit for prolonged periods of time; to occasionally walk, stoop, bend, kneel, crouch, reach, and twist; to lift, carry, push, and/or pull light to moderate amounts of weight; to operate office equipment requiring repetitive hand movement and fine coordination including use of a computer keyboard; and to verbally communicate to exchange information.
- Vision: See in the normal visual range with or without correction; vision sufficient to read computer screens and printed documents; and to operate assigned equipment.
- Hearing: Hear in the normal audio range with or without correction.
Supplemental Information
WHY SIERRA? - One of Aspen Institute’s Top 150 Community Colleges in the nation
- The Accrediting Commission recognized Sierra “for its exemplary practice of providing personnel with opportunities for continued professional development in order to meet its mission.” This includes providing students and employees with a robust set of programs, events, and conferences related to equity-mindedness and supporting the success of our students, etc.
- Public Employee’s Retirement System (PERS)
- 17 paid holidays (including extended time off during the winter break)
- 12 accrued paid vacation days per year (vacation accrual increases over time)
- Competitive benefits package
- Flexible work schedules may be available
- Currently during summers, some employee groups participate in 4x10 schedules
Sierra College is a Community College located near Sacramento, California where a heavy emphasis is placed on academic excellence and student success. Since its founding in 1936, Sierra College has focused on quality instruction and meeting the evolving needs of the students and communities that it serves. The Sierra Community College District covers more than 3,200 square miles and serves the Northern California foothill counties of Placer and Nevada, as well as parts of El Dorado and Sacramento. We serve over 16,000 students throughout the region in both on-ground and online courses, including students at our main Rocklin Campus as well as at three centers located in Grass Valley, Tahoe/Truckee, and Roseville. Our District prides itself on academic excellence.
Sierra College has a strong commitment to the achievement of equity and inclusion among its faculty, staff, and students and values the rich, diverse backgrounds that make up the campus community. A strong candidate for this position must demonstrate a profound understanding of and experience with successfully supporting individuals with varying backgrounds. This includes persons with disabilities, various gender identities and sexual orientations, as well as individuals from historically underrepresented communities and other groups. Our District is committed to providing strategies for success and proactive student-centered practices and policies focused on eliminating equity gaps to ensure the District provides an inclusive educational and employment environment focused on strategies for success and equitable outcomes for all.
As an institution, Sierra College is committed to eliminating the equity gap in all student populations with dynamic, learner-centered practices and policies that fully engage the college community. The ideal candidate will share the College’s commitment to helping its racially and socioeconomically diverse students succeed in their degree and career objectives. Currently, Sierra College enrolls 16,500 students per term, where approximately: 24% of Sierra College’s students are Latin(o)(a)(x)(e), 3% are African-American, 2% are Filipino, 6% are Asian-American, 7% are multiracial and 55% are White.
The successful candidate will join a College dedicated to the use of culturally responsive strategies and methods that meet the varying needs of our students, faculty, staff, and surrounding community. Sierra College demonstrates its commitment to equity by supporting ongoing professional development for students, faculty, and staff. These opportunities include trainings and workshops on equity and inclusion, active Academic Senate standing committees concerned with student success and equity, a Presidential Equity Advisory Committee (PEAC), culturally responsive student engagement centers, support for our undocumented and AB540 students, campus-wide equity summits, a robust set of programs, events, and conferences related to equity-mindedness and supporting the success of our diverse students.
Need Help With Your Online Account? - Use the online Help Guide or contact the NEOED Applicants Support Line at 855-524-5627 if you need assistance with your online applicant account.
- Applicant Support is available between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. Pacific Time, Monday through Friday.
Helpful Tip: Please note that as described above a strong candidate for this position must demonstrate a profound understanding of and experience with successfully supporting individuals with varying backgrounds; and therefore, hiring committees assess candidates for these knowledge, skills, and abilities.
Applicants may want to consider incorporating culturally-inclusive/equity-minded strategies practiced and/or evidence of the responsiveness to and understanding of the racial, socioeconomic, and cultural diversity of community college student populations throughout their application materials (including application and documents uploaded, if any).
Please see the Sierra College website for additional helpful tips and tools for prospective applicants .
Travel expenses may be partially reimbursed for candidates traveling beyond a 150 mile radius for second round interviews. All other travel expenses will be borne by the candidate (if in person interviews). Terms and Conditions of Employment: Other terms and conditions of employment are specified in the applicable collective bargaining agreements on file in the District Human Resources Department. Position description of record on file in the Human Resources Department.
*Sierra Community College District currently operates campuses in Rocklin, Roseville, Truckee and Grass Valley. In its management of a multi-campus environment, the District reserves right of assignment including the right to change assignment locations and shift assignments based on District need. Although this position may currently reside at the Rocklin campus, the assignment location may be subject to change as needed. Additionally, the district reserves the right to cancel, revise or re-announce this position as well as any and all positions at any time.
EEO / TITLE IX EMPLOYER Sierra College is an equal employment opportunity employer committed to nondiscrimination and the achievement of diversity and equity among its faculty, staff, and students. Persons with inquiries about the application of Title IX and/or EEO may contact the Director of Diversity, EEO & Title IX (Title IX Coordinator) at the address below, at (916) 660-7006 or via email at EEOT9@sierracollege.edu .
Persons with questions regarding reasonable accommodation of physical and other disabilities should contact the Sierra College Human Resources Department at (916) 660-7105.
If you have limitations hearing or speaking, the State of California offers a specially-trained Communications Assistant (CA) that can relay telephone conversations for all of your calls. Dial 711 to reach the California Relay Service (CRS). Dialing 711 is for everyone, not just those who have difficulty hearing on a standard phone. If you prefer having your calls immediately answered in your mode of communication, dial one of the toll-free modality and language-specific numbers below. The call will be routed to the CRS provider.
TTY/VCO/HCO to Voice English 1-800-735-2929
Spanish 1-800-855-3000
Voice to TTY/VCO/HCO English 1-800-735-2922
Spanish 1-800-855-3000
From or to Speech-to- Speech English & Spanish 1-800-854-7784
Sierra Community College offers benefit packages to full-time employees including: family coverage health, dental and vision insurance, Public Employee's Retirement System (PERS) OR State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) retirement, income protection, life insurance, sick leave, vacation, and holidays as provided according to District policy.
Closing Date/Time: Continuous
