Unit: Office of Strategic Enrollment Management
Department: Financial Aid
Department Summary: The Office of Financial Aid and
Scholarships in the Division of Strategic Enrollment Management and
Global Initiatives is recruiting for an Operations Specialist to
support student enrollment, retention, and success at VCU.
Reporting to the Assistant Director of Compliance, the Operations
Specialist performs activities related to the effective operations
of VCU financial aid programs with an emphasis on Course Program of
Study (CPoS).
If you are looking for a change in job or career path, this
position may be the right one for you! We provide training to all
new employees, so no experience is required. This position is a
hybrid position where remote work is optional up to 40% of the
week.
Duties & Responsibilities:
Financial Aid Operations – Award and Risk Management (20%):
- Complete verification review and processing steps, review and
respond to students experiencing extenuating circumstances
impacting aid needs, adjust awards based on changes in Student Aid
Index.
Troubleshoots inquiries with third-party verification
servicer.
Responds timely to counselor requests for pending items such as
updating student award packages and verification material.
Completes related reports on a daily, weekly, or as-needed
basis including, but not limited to: Subsequent ISIR, Residency
Mismatch, Level Mismatch, C-Flag, Disbursement Error, Counselor
Request Form. Refund Exception, Overaward, Unusual Enrollment
History, Housing Error, Pell History, Loan History, and Loan
Extract and Reject Error Logs or Private Loan Error Logs.
Keeps financial management system (Banner) updated with
accurate document requirements to reflect current status after
processing forms.
Communicates with students via email regarding document
deficiency or loan status.
Review applications and request forms for completeness and
accuracy.
Track incomplete forms and communicate with students and staff
to resolve issues.
Assists with awarding of financial aid packages for the fall,
spring, and summer semesters.
Originates federal Direct Loans, including PLUS loans.
Certifies private alternative loans and communicates with
lenders to resolve issues.
Corresponds with external stakeholders and lenders in a concise
and professional manner.
Handles sensitive and confidential information with
discretion.
Monitors accounts for over-awards or overlapping loan periods
and completes related outreach.
Identifies students who can be offered a prorated loan for the
final term of study.
Ensures loans are correctly posted in the financial management
system (Banner) under the correct SAY code, BBAY code, budget
group, and packaging group.
Remains current on collaborative dashboards for PLUS loan or
private loans and is actively transparent with updating the account
with a comment.
Participates in the annual Agency Risk Management and Internal
Control Standards evaluation process.
Collaborates with spot-checking and testing in Banner during
new year setup.
Course Program of Study (45%):
- Perform outreach to student success teams (SFMC) for students
who may have aid recalculated as a result of CPoS results.
- Review and monitor reports for CPoS compliance and student
eligibility.
- Perform aid recalculations based on degree audit results and
CPoS overrides.
- Review and resolve overawards and perform COA adjustments.
- Ensure accurate financial aid awarding, revisions, and
disbursements occur in accordance with federal, state and
institutional regulations.
- Support ongoing Banner system testing and updates for
CPoS.
- Recommend improvements to workflows that enhance accuracy,
efficiency, and compliance.
- Participate in internal audits and compliance assessments, as
needed.
- Review and analyze data to identify patterns impacting
enrollment, time to degree, and compliance.
- Prepare data summarizing trends, as well as exception type and
volume.
Culture of Care and Collaboration (10%):
- Listens to and anticipates staff and student needs.
- Responds to inquiries from colleagues in an accurate and timely
manner.
- Maintains a solutions-driven outlook to resolve an inquiry,
knowing that it impacts a student’s enrollment, retention, and
success.
- Works with other departments or areas outside of Student
Financial Services as needed to support the financial aid
operational needs of the University.
WorkFlow Management (15%):
- Independently plans, organizes, and prioritizes work to meet
scheduled deadlines.
- Informs supervisor when assigned reports are complete.
- Ensures accuracy and timely processing of all applications and
student requests.
- Manages documents in the ImageNow workflow queue.
Other Duties (10%):
- Serves on department committees (e.g. Satisfactory Academic
Progress, Professional Judgment) and workgroups as necessary.
- Maintains up-to-date knowledge of federal, state, and
institutional regulations and policies. Supplements formal office
training by seeking information independently.
- Attends NASFAA, VASFAA, or Department of Education training as
assigned, in addition to staff training.
- Processes special projects and reports including, but not
limited to: Secondary citizenship checks with DHS, Emergency relief
fund applications, Study abroad/consortium agreements, Co-op
processing, and Computer expense/budget adjustment requests.
- Provides support in other areas during peak season, such as
scholarship processing, application review, or loan processing to
meet the needs of the department.
- Prepares outgoing mailings as required.
- Other duties as required by Financial Aid and Scholarships
leadership.
Other Position Details:
- This position is a hybrid position with remote options, up to
40% of the time.
Qualifications:
Minimum Qualifications
- High school diploma or GED.
- Strong organization and time management skills.
- Displays a strong attention to detail.
- Experience in a high-volume, customer-oriented
environment.
- Self-motivated individual with the ability to excel within a
complex, high-volume operation with a high degree of accuracy.
- Ability to work cooperatively with a wide range of diverse
constituents and colleagues.
- Ability to communicate effectively, in writing and verbally,
with constituents of the University.
- Ability to understand the relationship between the Student
Financial Services units.
- Demonstrated ability to work in and foster an environment of
respect, professionalism and civility with a population of faculty,
staff, and students from all backgrounds and experiences, or a
commitment to do so as a staff member at VCU.
Preferred Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in progress or completed.
- Experience with major areas of higher education financial aid
business process and operations.
- Experience using student information systems such as Banner,
FPP, COD, NSLDS, ElmSelect software, and Perceptive Content.
- Demonstrated experience supporting office projects toward
successful and timely resolutions to drive student enrollment,
retention, and success.
Salary Range: Up to $40,000
Benefits : All full-time university staff are eligible for
VCU’s robust
benefits
package that includes comprehensive health benefits, paid annual
and holiday leave, generous tuition benefits, retirement planning
and savings options, tax-deferred annuity and cash match programs,
employee discounts, well-being resources, abundant opportunities
for career development and advancement, and more.
FLSA Exemption Status: Non-Exempt
Hours per Week: 40
Restricted Position: No
ORP Eligible: No
Flexible Work Arrangement: Hybrid
University Job Title: 35011N - Technician SS 1
Posting Closes: 9/14/2026 at 11:55PM
