Profile
As a professional with over ** years of experience in customer service,
financial services and academic and financial aid advising, I have
experience at both the counselor and supervisory levels of Financial Aid.
My knowledge at both the private and state level colleges has given me an
advantage of understanding the financial needs of every type of student at
both levels. I am in search of a position that utilizes my education,
experience and skills and offers opportunity for advancement.
Experience
Assistant Director of Financial Assistance, Drew University, Madison, NJ
November 2012-June 2014
My current position as The Assistant Director of Financial Assistance
includes day-to-day responsibilities that consist of supervising the
counseling and support staff, counseling students and parents on the
various financial aid options available to them, completing verification, c-
code clearance and conflicting information resolution, making professional
judgment determination on dependency overrides and projected income
analysis. As the Assistant Director, I am responsible for supervising
three administrative staff members and two Financial Assistance Counselors.
I am also the Administrator of Named Awards and the Transfer Liaison. My
specific duties are as follows:
-Supervising the administrative assistants and counselors.
-Performing annual performance reviews.
-Counseling new and returning students and responding to email and phone
inquiries concerning their Financial Aid packages.
-Reviewing documents by way of BDMS (Banner Document Management System) for
accuracy in order to complete verification, clear c-codes and/or resolve
conflicting information.
-Working in conjunction with the University Office of Advancement to select
students to be the recipients of over 700 Named Awards, Stipends and
Fellowships.
-Ensuring that the office is compliant with all State and Federal
regulations.
-Ensuring that the Policies and Procedures manual is kept current and
periodically implementing new polices and/or procedures.
-Completing FISAP reporting
-Reconciling Named Award reports to ensure compliance with donor's award
requirements.
-Speaking at various Open Houses, Registration, Orientation and any other
University events.
Academic Specialist, Kean University, Union, NJ May 2012-November 2012
My former position as a Part-time specialist for Kean University's
Financial Aid Department required me to complete verification, c-code
clearance, and conflicting information resolution. The responsibilities of
this position included the following:
-Reviewing a weekly report of selected and c-coded students that have
submitted documents.
-Reviewing the documents for completion and accuracy.
-Completing verification and c-code clearance by way of Datatel
-Sending out requests for additional information and/or requesting written
explanations for conflicting information.
-Reviewing subsequent ISIRs after corrections are made to ensure that
updates are reflected and if so, updating Datatel appropriately.
-Making sure that all verified and C-coded files are ready for system
packaging once files are reviewed and all necessary corrections are made.
Sr. Financial Aid Counselor, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
January 2008-July 2011
My position as a Sr. Financial Aid Counselor at Rutgers University requires
that I perform processing duties as well as counsel families about
potential financial aid eligibility. More specifically, my day-to-day
responsibilities include the following:
-Supervising support staff members and work-study
-Reviewing weekly reports to ensure accurate awarding of aid
-Reviewing documents submitted to ensure consistency and accuracy of
information provided on the FAFSA
-Ensuring follow-up on submission of required documents is completed in a
timely manner
-Counseling students and their families on federal, state and private loan
options
-Made final determination of Professional Judgment cases and Dependency
Overrides in my alpha module
Financial Aid Counselor, Ross University, Edison, NJ September 2006-
January 2008
My position as a Financial Aid Counselor at Ross University consisted
mainly of processing of both FFELP and private loans. With the entire
student population located either abroad in Dominica and St. Kitts or
completing residency at various hospitals in the states, counselors rely on
email and telephone to conduct counseling of medical and veterinary
students. More specifically, my day-to-day responsibilities consisted of
the following:
-Processing and certifying federal, private and residency loan applications
-Counseling students on the various options of financing their tuition and
living expenses
-Consulting with lenders to resolve any outstanding issues in the
submission and certification of loan applications
-Contacting students to ensure that documents were received in a timely
manner in order to disburse funds
Asst. Director of Processing, Gibbs College, Montclair, NJ October 2001-
September 2006
My primary responsibility as Assistant Director of Processing at Gibbs
College was to supervise the performance and workflow of 6-8 counselors in
the area of processing and student systems management. In addition to my
primary responsibility as a manager, other responsibilities included the
following:
-Reconciling Pell and TAG rosters
-Working with Enrollment Management Team to devise strategies for a more
effective student enrollment process.
-Assisted in FISAP completion
-Handling student complaints and any other issues that elevated beyond the
counselors control
-Daily import/export of federal loans
-Made final determination on all Professional Judgment cases, including
Dependency Overrides
Education
Rutgers University, Newark, NJ
MALS 2011
Keller Graduate School of Management, New York, New York
MBA, 2006
Rutgers University, Newark, NJ
BA Economics, 2002
Skills
Over the years as a Financial Aid professional, I have acquired many skills
and worked with various financial aid systems and other computer programs.
A summary of these skills, systems and programs are listed below:
-Maintains current working knowledge of federal and state regulations
regarding financial aid and related topics.
-Maintains knowledge of SAP (Satisfactory Academic Progress)
-Maintains knowledge of budgetary policies and procedures
-Maintains current knowledge of computer-assisted work sites such as COD,
NSLDS, FAA Access, OpenNet, IFAP, ELM and HESAA
-Maintains current knowledge of Financial Aid Systems such as Banner,
CampusVue, Image Now, FAMS, PeopleSoft, Datatel Colleague, PowerFAIDS and
Banner Document Management
-Analytical ability
-Attention to detail
-Ability to multi-task
-Ability to prioritize
-Customer service
-Excellent communication skills
-Oral and written proficiency
-Proficiency in MS Word, Excel, Access, Powerpoint, Mac iWork
References:
Karen J. Struthers, M.S.
Managing Assistant Director II
Office of Financial Aid
Kean University
********@****.***
Cheryl Swan
Senior Financial Aid Counselor
Office of Financial Aid
Rutgers, The State University
******.****@*******.***
Danielle Barbee
Sr. Financial Aid Counselor
Office of Financial Aid
Rutgers, The State University
*******@***.*******.***