Customer Service Management

PROFILE

I am a results-driven professional with *3 years of combined experience in enrollment management in highly diverse educational environments with a strong orientation for customer service. As a Financial Aid Director, I understand that the complexity of the aid awarding process can be overwhelming so my philosophy is that my department serves as a translator to help students and their families negotiate the application process while keeping the institution in compliance with all federal, state and institutional regulations. I am a strong believer that a successful director not only is responsible for the well being of their students and staff but also for supporting institutional enrollment and net tuition revenue goals by applying five key principles: personalized attention to customers, integral teamwork, fact-based management, effective communication and continuous process improvement.

QUALIFICATIONS

Master of Business Administration

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

Currently pursuing an Enrollment Management Certification towards PhD degree.

Excellent goal management, communication and leadership skills.

10 years of in-depth knowledge and training on federal and state regulations.

Member of OASFAA since 2000

12+ years of combined experienced with MS Windows, MS Office, Datatel, Powerfaids and Oracle Applications.

RELATED EXPERIENCE

April 2011 – Present

Financial Aid Director Union Institute & University Cincinnati, OH

• Create reconciliation procedures for Direct Loan disbursements to COD and business office

• Develop a Policy and Procedures Manual per NASFAA guidelines

• Maintain the financial aid website and create new forms and information for prospective and current students

• Revised all Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Policies per the Department of Education guidelines

• Create accountability standards within the department towards zero audit findings

• Hold trainings for non-financial aid staff for accountability and responsibility throughout the university

• Conduct study of student bottom line costs versus the per student refund towards default prevention

March 2009 – April 2011 ITT Technical Institute Dayton, OH

Director of Finance

Leadership

Led four Financial Aid Coordinators and supervised 15 Federal Work Study Students and Manager in Training.

Took the financial aid department from 90th position among 110+ campuses in 2009 to the 1st position by the end of 2010 in the complete packaging rate ranking nationwide.

Reduced the number of student complaints from eight per month in 2009 to one per month in 2010 by providing FA staff with coaching sessions and training based on student feedback and daily employee observations.

Responsible for overseeing campus operation during the campus director absence. Actively contributed in the campus budget preparation process.

Integrity

Processed over awards and credit balances of title IV funding and other financial aid programs on a daily basis to remain in compliance with federal and state regulations.

Developed and delivered periodically financial aid workshops to current and re-entry students to achieve retention and attrition objectives.

Reduced campus accounts receivables per student from ~$1800 in 2009 to ~$305 in 2011 to ensure institutional profitability goals.

Compliance

Ensured successful on-site internal and external audits and program reviews. Led department from 14 audit findings in 2009 to 1 audit finding in 2010.

Recorded statistical data for federal, state and other financial aid reports as needed

Maintained above standard policies according to company and school accreditations.

Improvement

Enhanced the auditing process of student files by creating an electronic spreadsheet which reduced the number of audit findings by 13 in less than one year.

Actively participated as a member of the institution's leadership team in the creation and deployment of strategies to improvement student retention rates.

Trained both marketing and financial aid departments on internal and external communications utilizing various team-building techniques.

EDUCATION

October 2009 - Present Capella University Minneapolis, MN (Online)

Post Masters Certificate in Enrollment Management

GPA 4.00

May 2003 University of Dayton Dayton, OH

Master of Business Administration

May 1994 University of Dayton Dayton, OH

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

Team lead for winning marketing capstone project.

Concentration in Marketing.

OTHER RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

Sep 2008 – Mar 2009 ITT Technical Institute Dayton, OH

Financial Aid Coordinator

Counseled current and prospective students on special circumstances, FAFSA and loan repayment.

Created communication task force to enhance efficiency between departments.

Acted as Ohio Board of Regents liaison requesting funds and refunds for OIG and OCOG.

Reviewed ISIRs and took appropriate actions to resolve rejects.

Created departmental process manual for Financial Aid Coordinators.

Mar 2007 – Sep 2008 LexisNexis Miamisburg, OH

Customer Support Research Associate

Provided high quality research support and problem resolution to 40+ customers daily.

Utilized research skills from certified training of company reports and financials, marketing and industry, and medical and science information databases.

May 1999 - Feb 2007 University of Dayton Dayton, OH

Senior Financial Aid Counselor

Led and presented FAFSA workshops at local high schools to both students and counselors.

Crossed trained with Admission to interview prospective students for admission and scholarship.

Chair of community and campus outreach committee.

Counseled current traditional and nontraditional undergraduate and graduate students.

Assist in design, proof and printing of departmental publications.

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