Clinical Financial Aid Counselor

The Clinical Financial Aid Counselor incorporates the full range of financial aid responsibilities; including assisting graduate level students in the application process, resolving eligibility issues, packaging loans and/or scholarships, certifying federal loans and providing information on loan repayment. The Clinical Financial Aid Counselor must abide by a complex set of rules and regulations that only pertain to clinical students due to the nonstandard nature of the clinical terms. They are tasked with monitoring and awarding every individual clinical aid applicant within a floating academic year with limited applicability to batch processing due to nonstandard nature of students’ rotation schedules. The Clinical Financial Aid Counselor reports to the Associate Director of Financial Aid. This position also works closely with the Director, Senior Associate Director and Assistant Director of Financial Aid.

Due to each student’s individualized rotation schedule, eligibility and compliance are at a greater risk, making attention to detail and constant assessment of all student activity crucial. The tasks assigned to the Clinical Financial Aid Counselor require a high level of skill in identifying processing anomalies and seasoned problem-solving skills.

Each Counselor is assigned to work with approximately 900 students.

Responsibilities

• Monitor and assess federal loan eligibility student by student

• Mastery of understanding the complex regulations around awarding federal loans to applicants with student specific terms

• Analyze student individual rotation schedules to assess loan eligibility and how any changes to their schedule impacts compliance

• Determine eligibility for multiple Unsubsidized Stafford loan awards within same award year (borrower-based loan awards)

• Review loan histories on federal database to ensure awards do not exceed aggregate limits

• In depth individualized student counseling to ensure understanding of timing of student’s loan disbursements and budgeting of respective refund for living expenses

• Award clinical student loans manually or by batch process according to their individual schedules

• Monitor and follow upon pending and/or denied GPLUS loan applications

• Evaluate unusual circumstance documentation or information provided by the student to determine additional eligibility

• Review and execute budget increase requests as a result of Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) process

• Verify enrollment in student rotations and assign appropriate loan period for certification process

• Analyze various reports to determine accuracy of disbursement dates, start dates, eligibility for certification and outstanding application requirements

• Profession Judgement Debt Management

• Attend training seminars and maintain knowledge of the financial aid regulations and rules

• Provide administrative support along with other tasks as assigned.

• Present Financial Aid information to large groups

• Other duties as assigned by the Associate Director, Financial Aid Advisement and/or Financial Aid Leadership Team

  Essential Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Excellent organizational, interpersonal, counseling, and written/verbal communication skills

• Manage large volume of materials efficiently and apply complex guidelines accurately

• Demonstrated quantitative skills

• Ability to multi-task and work cooperatively with others

• High level of problem identification, problem solving and critical thinking skills

• Detail oriented

• Committed to a high level of quality customer service

  Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and at least three years of financial aid experience preferred

• Knowledge of Banner, COD, NSLDS and Office 365 preferred

Work Environment/Physical Demands

• This job is performed at a workstation environment that may sometimes become quite noisy

• This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets.

• The ability to maintain good concentration while dealing with interruptions.

Hours and Travel

• A typical work week is 37.5 hours, Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm.

• Flexibility and willingness to work evening hours and weekends in support of peak-time initiatives. Flexibility to work hours outside of normal business hours to accommodate students throughout various time zones.

  The anticipated salary range for Clinical Financial Aid Counselor is $55,250 to $65,000. The final salary offered may vary and will be determined based on factors such as the job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and education of the successful candidate. This information is provided per NYS local law.

  We Are

  · Student Centric: We approach every task with a focus on supporting our students to achieve their lifelong learning goals in a safe, vibrant and welcoming environment.

  · A Global Community: We are one team with an international outlook welcoming the strength in our diversity and the value each of us brings to what we do.

  · Accountable: We take responsibility for our actions by being responsive, resourceful and respectful in delivering on our commitments with integrity and the highest ethical standards.

  · Collaborative: We support and empower one another through open communications, cooperation, sharing knowledge and taking time to always listen and show we care.

  · Committed to Excellence: We take pride in our ongoing pursuit for continuous improvement through creativity, rigor and best practices to produce meaningful outcomes.

  About University Support Services, LLC

University Support Services LLC (USS) is an affiliate of St. George's University (SGU), a leading provider of international medical education. SGU students and faculty come from 151 countries to the island of Grenada, located in the West Indies. Our purpose is to support SGU to deliver best in class education for all SGU students. We put a special focus on the growing global need for diverse high-quality medical and healthcare professionals. USS is pivotal in positioning SGU as a premiere medical degree institute through its student-facing as well as functional support teams.

USS is an equal opportunity employer. As such, it is company policy to fill positions with qualified candidates regardless of race, color, sex (including sexual orientation and gender presentation), age, religion, ancestry, national origin, citizenship status, pregnancy, marital status, medical condition, genetic information, disability, status in the Uniformed Services of the United States (including veteran status) or status as a victim of domestic violence, except where there is a bona fide occupational qualification. This policy protects applicants and employees from discrimination in the hiring process.