Darylann D. Thomas

**** *. ******** *******, ************, GA 30677 adwbjd@r.postjobfree.com 706-***-**** Education:

Bachelor of Science University of Georgia, Athens, GA 1981 Therapeutic Recreation-Education

Summary of Experience:

Over 30 years of demonstrated experience in Student Financial Aid directly relating to financial aid counseling, eligibility determination, professional judgment, need analysis, verification, quality assurance and packaging of students’ Financial Aid. Possess Financial Aid administrative experience, strong communication skills, extensive knowledge of financial, Federal and State regulations and applied institutional policies and regulations.

Professional Experience:

Senior Consultant September 2020 - Present

Financial Aid Services, Atlanta, Ga.

Financial Aid Services, Inc. provides management consulting services with interim staffing, assessments, remote processing and compliance support. Financial Aid Services serves Student, Financial Aid and Business Office experience.

In my position as a senior consultant with FAS, I specialize in financial aid regulations, compliance, and assisting Colleges and universities in optimizing their overall financial aid delivery process. Emphasis is placed on managing operations, training staff, and ensuring compliance. Performs technical assessments, implements, and re-engineers the Ellucian Banner and Colleague modules with the delivery of defined instituted operational procedures.

In my tenure at FAS, I have been fortunate to complete dozens of successful Interim Staffing and Consulting engagements. I have been onsite for several institutions as their interim financial aid director for an extended period, ranging from six months to over two years. These have included community colleges, 4-year public institutions and 4-year private institutions. My passion is to help students reach their educational goals. The most effective method in helping students reach their educational goal is to define the institutional needs and work through improvements to maximize and remove barriers that prevent the students from obtaining their desired outcome. Experience with several financial aid software systems, including Ellucian Banner, Ellucian Colleague, Oracle PeopleSoft, PowerFaids and the U.S. Department of Education’s suite of applications and websites for administering federal student aid.

Director, Financial Aid, Veteran’s Services and WIOA October 2019 – Sep 2020 Athens Technical College, Athens, Georgia

Athens Technical College serves an enrollment that exceeds 10,000 students annually with students hailing from nearly 90 counties in Georgia, more than a dozen states throughout the United States, and over 10 different countries. Students can choose from more than 130 associate degree, diploma, and technical certificate programs offered by our Business and Education division; Life Sciences and Public Safety division; and Technology, Engineering, and Manufacturing division. As the Director of Financial Aid, Veterans Services and WIOA, I was responsible for ensuring all federal and state laws and regulations that pertain to the programs administered by the Financial Aid Office comply with all required reporting in an efficient and accurate manner. As a part of the Student Services division, I contributed to the accomplishment of enrollment management objectives by recommending data-driven financial aid strategies within the framework of federal and state regulations. My plan to develop a competent, productive and effective departmental staff includes group and one on one training, documenting, delegating and sound communication skills.

Director, Financial Aid July 2017-October 2019

Westmoreland County Community College, Youngwood, PA Westmoreland County Community College serves approximately 5,084 full and part-time students offering associate in arts, associate in fine arts, associate in applied sciences, and varied diplomas and certificate programs.

As the Director of Financial Aid, I am responsible for the strategic planning, policy development, leadership, management and oversight of all aspects of student financial aid including awarding, determining eligibility, preparing and disseminating awards and coordinating scholarship programs in accordance with regulatory requirements. I am highly motivated, organized, and a team-oriented manager who focuses on creating an encouraging progressive office where staff learn through hands-on training, webinars and are provided with opportunities to cross-train and perform independently. The Financial Aid Office promotes a positive customer service experience for our students and families, which aligns with the philosophy in support of the college’s enrollment and retention goals. Senior Consultant/Interim Financial Aid Director July 2004-July 2017 Financial Aid Services, Atlanta, GA

Financial Aid Services, Inc. provides interim staffing designed for the needs of their client. These services may include in-depth staffing analysis, identification of potential compliance liabilities, training staff, technical utilization of the most common software systems and financial aid management and delivery. My role was often to serve as the Interim Financial Aid Director for clients throughout the United States ranging in length of six months to two plus years. As a Senior Consultant I retained full responsibility for the leadership and training of the staff, management of all Federal, State and Institutional funding and to ensure compliance for the processing and delivery of all Federal Aid. The common software programs utilized on these locations include Ellucian Datatel and Banner, Alliant, People Soft, and PowerFaids. The goal for each office assignment has been to train and equip the staff for processing and/ or to automate procedures that meet daily compliance and improved financial aid functionality. Selected Achievements and Highlights:

• Extensive experience in reviews, compliance and audits for higher education organizations.

• Extensive software application (functional and technical); and experience with multiple operating systems, computer languages and scripts.

• Oversaw the implementation of three campus-wide one-stop enrollment centers.

• Plan and implement system updates, testing and remediation to streamline processes.

• Proven strong communication, maximizing effectiveness in diverse groups of students, colleagues and within the community.

• Create and implement all documents required for the Financial Aid Office and evaluate processes to improve office workflow and better serve students.

• Administer and train staff with knowledge of guidelines and regulations related to financial aid.

• Updated several academic philosophies and procedures to ensure maximized financial eligibility.

Financial Aid Business Analyst December 1998-July 2004 Georgia Board of Regents, Athens, GA

The Georgia Board of Regents – Information and Technology Services serves as a valuable asset for the release of Ellucian technical and functional data. The USG’s Information Technology Services (ITS) represents the University System to the federal, state and local government entities, higher education, private industry and others on security-related matters.

Maintained thorough knowledge of Federal regulations pertaining to all aspects of financial aid programs. Assisted in the development of Financial Aid policies and oversaw the delivery of specific program procedures, requirements and budgets. Prepared and distributed descriptive announcements of release documents regarding Financial Aid programs, software developments and policies. Evaluated and reviews submitted Financial Aid problems and defects. Conducted Financial Aid workshops, seminars and training sessions.

Selected Achievements and Highlights:

• Successfully developed, tested, and released specific Georgia modifications (SAP, and the HOPE scholarship program) to all USG institutions.

• Successfully monitored Federal, State and institutional programs to ensure compliance with regulations and policies.

• Maintained and strengthened the Georgia Board of Regents’ relationship with all USG institutions.

• Focused on the Georgia Board of Regents’ service offerings, the needs of each university and continued to provide products and services that benefited the clients with the many changes in the Department of Education.

• Organized and documented the Banner SCT and GaMod Financial Aid delivery of the latest releases and provided helpful training tools for all USG institutions. Financial Aid Coordinator January 1989 - December 1998 University of Georgia, Athens, GA

The University of Georgia, a land-grant and sea-grant university with state-wide commitments and responsibilities is the state’s oldest, most comprehensive, and most diversified institution of higher education. University of Georgia’s total 2015 enrollment is 36,130 with an undergraduate population of 26,882. Responsibilities included counseling students, evaluating student loan eligibility, processing loans, loan counseling, corresponding and communicating with Lenders and Guarantee agencies for FFELP and Direct Student Loans. Transmitted loan information to the Federal Direct Loan Operation Center, and disbursed loans to the students’ accounts. Developed and conducted Financial Aid presentations for prospective students and parents. Assisted in monitoring Satisfactory Academic Progress and assisted in tasks needed to comply with Quality Assurance Program.

Selected Achievements and Highlights:

• Oversees the coordination of student loan processing between students, federal government and the institution.

• Oversees the complex regulatory compliance for Title IV refunds and repayments, including U.S. Department of Education and the National Student Loan Data System.

• Participated in the implementation of an institutional conversion to a Quality Assurance Program for the management of financial aid processing.

• Monitors borrowing levels to help manage student loan debt and financial literacy.

• Counsels and advises students and parents regarding financial aid eligibility and relevant policies and procedures. Addresses complaints, remediation for student, lender and institution. Worked closely with FFELP and Direct Loan Servicers.

Department of Education Training:

• Extensive training in Ellucian Datatel and Banner Software Module including Oracle PL, SQL – “Super” End User

• Transfer Delivery Client Software: (FSA Download) for EdExpress, TDClient, and EdConnect

• Dept. of Education Common Origination and Disbursement for Direct Loans and Pell Grant Processing

• NASFAA training for SAP, Verification, R2T4, Clock-Hour Conversion FISAP, IPEDS and Audit Findings

• Oracle PeopleSoft Applications

• PowerFAIDS Financial Aid Software

Professional Organizations:

NASFAA – National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators 1992 - Present EASFAA – Eastern Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators 1992 - 2020 SASFAA – Southern Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators 1992 - 2020 GASFAA - Georgia Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators 1992 - Present NJASFAA – New Jersey Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators 2011 – 2017 PASFAA – Pennsylvania Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators 2015 – Present Community Involvement:

Active Alumnae member of Zeta Tau Alpha

Volunteer Breast Cancer Awareness

Member First Baptist Church of Athens

Ellucian Training:

Communications Management

Financial Aid Usage Audit

IPEDS – Financial Aid

Business Objects/Informer

Training Manuals:

Customer Service

Datatel 101 – Guide to Enrollment Service

Procedural Guides

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Return to Title IV

Rules, Tables and Forms

Withdrawal Procedures

Scholarship Procedures

VA Procedures

Importing and Exporting – Ellucian Banner and Ellucian Datatel

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