Temporary Financial Aid Specialist

About Dickinson

Dickinson College is a premier four-year residential liberal arts institution chartered in 1783 and widely recognized as a leader in global and sustainability education. Dickinson College is located in Carlisle, named a “most livable city” by Forbes and is minutes from the state capital of Harrisburg. The campus is connected to a vibrant downtown that offers eclectic dining, shopping and entertainment options. Within a two-hour drive are Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.; New York City is three hours away.

Dickinson College offers full-time employees a broad range of benefits, including a comprehensive medical insurance plan, life insurance, flexible spending accounts, generous time off, parental leave, homebuyer assistance, and tuition benefits for eligible employees and dependent children under the age of 24. Upon eligibility, the College contributes 8% of an employee’s base salary to a retirement account with an additional .5% matching contribution; all money paid by the college into the employee’s retirement plan is immediately and fully vested in the employee.

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Position Department

Financial Aid

Position Details

This is a temporary, full-time position for a one-year term, with a possibility of extension.

Summary

The Financial Aid Specialist will be responsible for reviewing institutional and federal financial aid applications, determining financial aid eligibility, and creating financial aid offers, using Dickinson’s financial aid system, PowerFAIDS. This person will be responsible for Senior Associate and Director level work. Serves as a professional resource for staff/system given knowledge and expertise in PowerFAIDS. May conduct Q/A sessions as learn new system. Based on past experience, may contribute insights to practices and new system. This role also entails supporting the Loan Specialist with Federal Direct Loan and private/alternative loan certification. This individual will ensure compliance with federal, state, and institutional financial aid policies.

Essential Functions

• Review financial aid applications, resolve conflicting information, and package prospective and returning student financial aid to ensure affordability while meeting the college's enrollment, retention, and financial goals.
• Verify student eligibility for institutional, federal, and state financial aid by reconciliation of differences between the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and CSS profile and confirming eligibility after thorough verification of documents including parent and student tax return, W-2 forms and other required verification worksheets.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and institutional policies, and participation in training opportunities and webinars to stay current on regulation changes.
• Review and process Federal Direct Loan and private/alternative loan application as needed.

Other Duties and Responsibilities

• Resolve over awards.
• Meet virtually with students regarding financial aid questions.
• Assist in clean up reports.
• Other duties as determined or assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Not responsible for supervising others.

Requirements

• Associate's degree, required.
• Bachelor's degree, preferred
• Prior experience with financial aid packaging in PowerFAIDS
• Demonstrated knowledge of financial aid application process
• Prior experience with College's Board CSS Profile and institutional methodology
• Ability to comply with all federal, state, and institutional policies
• Ability to work independently, take initiative, and follow through on tasks with minimal supervision
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, organization and time-management skills
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines, professional judgement, discretion, and a collaborative approach to working across departments, strong partnerships, with a service orientation and genuine interest in institutional mission

Work Experience

• 3-5 years

Independence of Action

• Results are defined and existing practices are used as guidelines to determine specific work methods and carries out work activities independently; supervisor/manager is available to resolve problems.

Equipment Used

• Standard office equipment

Physical/Environmental Demands

• Office environment
• No specific or unusual physical demands

EEO/Diversity Statement    

The College is committed to building a representative and diverse faculty, staff, and student body. We encourage applications from all qualified persons.