The director provides strategic leadership of all student aid operations and oversight of approximately $110,000,000 in aid and institutional scholarships for the campus. The director oversees policies and procedures related to the development, implementation, packaging, and reporting of all federal, state, institutional, and external financial aid programs for which UMD students may be eligible at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels. Collaborating with colleagues on the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota, the director also develops and maintains business models allowing for equitable, consistent, accurate, and timely delivery of financial aid.

Reporting to the Associate Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management, the director serves as one of several leaders within the enrollment management division, which includes Financial Aid & Scholarships, Undergraduate Admissions, Bulldog Resource Center, Retention Marketing, and Institutional Research. The director collaborates with an understanding of the integral role of financial aid in supporting student enrollment, student success and student services and demonstrates an ability to adapt strategy as needed to achieve student and institutional enrollment goals. The director collaborates with all administrative and academic divisions to coordinate compliance within the various colleges and programs, acting as both educator in compliance issues and partner in ongoing program development.

Responsibilities:

Financial aid administration:

• Administer the distribution of federal, state, institutional, and private financial aid funds: Pell Grant, SEOG, State Grant, College Work-Study, Federal Direct Loans, PLUS Loans, Private Loans, University Trust Loans, Emergency Grants, UPromise Grants, University Merit Scholarships. Ensure available student funds are awarded and expended. Ensure accurate disbursement of private scholarships and loans to students.
• Oversee the refund/repayment process for federal, state and institutional aid.
• Supervise calculation of the Cost of Attendance budget annually for student awards.
• Hold administrative responsibility for the Satisfactory Academic Progress process required for financial aid recipients.
• Oversee financial aid processes for awarding student loans, grants and scholarships.
• Oversee UMD's financial aid packaging strategies to ensure effective use of financial aid funds.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of federal financial aid policies, procedures and programs and attend training/conferences, including ongoing use of resources provided through the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA).
• Serve on the University-wide Financial Aid Council.

Institutional scholarship administration:

• Oversee the selection process for recipients of general and named University scholarships ensuring coordination with students' financial aid awards.
• Support academic departments to ensure efficient processes in the selection of student scholarship awards.
• Serve as a member of the Recruitment Scholarship Advisory Council, which is responsible for recommending scholarship strategies that support student recruitment and retention.
• Collaborate with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions on the awarding of recruitment scholarships based on available resources.

Federal, state, and institutional compliance related to aid administration:

• Provide direct oversight of compliance with all federal, state, NCAA, and institutional financial aid regulations, policies, and procedures.
• Coordinate yearly federal and state financial audits.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and institutional policies.
• Complete federal, state, and institutional reports including applications for new federal and state funding.
• Ensure Family Educational Right and Privacy (FERPA) guidelines compliance within the processing of financial aid and scholarships.

Leadership and Management of the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships:

• Develop and maintain Policy/Procedure Manual using NASFAA's policy and procedure builder.
• Identify and prioritize new initiatives related to student financial aid and scholarships.
• Evaluate unit for effectiveness and productivity and make changes in business processes as needed.
• Develop and manage the unit's operational budget.
• Maintain performance measures reflecting office activity.
• Partner closely with the director of the Bulldog Resource Center to provide excellent customer service in the areas of financial aid and scholarships.
• Ensure One Stop website content for the unit is accurate and up-to-date.
• Work with the associate director and other financial aid staff to solve issues that arise.
• Serve on the Petition Appeal Committee for student withdrawals/refunds.

Staff Management:

• Serve as the hiring authority for the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships.
• Provide oversight of Financial Aid employees including the reward and discipline of employees, address staff complaints, and resolve work environment issues:
  • Serve as the direct supervisor to the associate director of Financial Aid, the business analyst, the scholarship administrator, and the direct loans and packaging program manager.
  • Oversee four additional Financial Aid professional staff reporting to the associate director and two staff reporting to the program manager.
• Lead staff meetings, promote the development of ideas for improved service and efficiency and encourage teamwork
• Oversee staff training to ensure compliance with federal, state and university regulations, and quality service to students, families and campus constituents.
• Instill a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration.
• Consult with department managers about staffing and resource needs.
• Actively mentor and coach staff.
• Conduct performance reviews of staff directly supervised.
• Assess, monitor, and improve measures of employee engagement.

HLC Federal Compliance Coordinator:

• Coordinate UMD's compliance with requirements as stipulated in the HLC Federal Compliance Program.
• Monitor and gather evidence of UMD's compliance with Title IV program responsibilities as well as expectations of specific regulations as stipulated in the HLC Federal Compliance Program.
• Work with campus partners that contribute to the HLC Federal Compliance Program to ensure compliance as well as to complete ongoing evidence collection.
• Provide an annual update of these activities each July to the UMD HLC Accreditation Liaison Officer and the AVC for Enrollment Management.

Enrollment Management Leadership Team:

• Participate in planning sessions and work groups with the Associate Vice Chancellor of Enrollment Management and other senior administrators in regard to design and implementing new University initiatives.
• Establish strong partnerships with internal stakeholders to attract and retain students.
• Serve on campus governance committees, as appointed by the EVC.
• Enhance services in response to student and University community needs.