Financial Aid Program Specialist

Renton Technical College is seeking a Financial Aid Program Specialist! This role is responsible for providing direct services to students while also maintaining the operations and processes for institutional, federal, state, tribal, and other agency-funded financial aid programs.

Program Support

• Serve as the liaison for AmeriCorps, King County Promise, Early Achievers, the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) / Aerospace Career Enhancement (ACE) Childcare, and other agency-funded programs by coordinating program operations, processes, and services, while maintaining effective communication and collaboration with students, partners, and stakeholders.
• Provide administrative and technical support for Veteran Services operations by assisting with VA certifications and data entry, maintaining vouchers, records and documentation, responding to student inquiries, supporting outreach events, and ensuring compliance with audit and regulatory requirements.
• Provide support for student funding operations, including Work-Study, Renton Promise, and other funding programs and resources, by coordinating processes, assisting students, maintaining records, and ensuring timely communication and service delivery.
• Support operational processes by maintaining accurate financial aid records, resolving data discrepancies and potential fraud concerns, collaborating with campus departments, ensuring data integrity, and facilitating timely student communications and aid delivery.

Student Aid Processing

• Determine eligibility and award financial aid based on policies and regulatory requirements while adhering to federal and state regulations and institutional policies and compliance regulations. 
• Analyze student records in multiple databases, including Financial Aid, Enrollment Service, Student Academic, Student Financial, and other in-house, state, and federal databases.  
• Complete the financial aid verification process, which includes but is not limited to citizenship, residency, assets, federal IRS taxes, obtain documentation, resolve discrepancies, and make the necessary changes and adjustments.
• Conduct student federal aid identity verification and analyze fraudulent record process and collaborate with other departments and CTC colleges to maintain timely status updates and reporting requirements.    
• Work with the SBCTC ctcLink (PeopleSoft) support team, other departments, and institutions to maintain the system configuration/setup for Student Group/Attribute, Service Indicators, and Item Type to assure the integrity of program coding and school reporting requirements. 
• Package student aid, process award adjustments, authorization, disbursement, student refund, and repayment and maintain funding reconciliation. 
• Evaluate Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) and perform professional judgment independently for extenuating and change of circumstances that students/family encounter, audit students record and maintain institutional compliance and Risk-based survey duties.    
• Track, monitor, and process student records in accordance with program requirements and state and federal regulations, while supporting key financial aid functions such as BankMobile (BMX), ctcLink Service Indicators, Drop for Non-Payment (DNP), Suspend ISIR, Transfer Student Monitoring, and financial aid record updates.

Direct Student Service & Support

• Serve as a support resource for the departmental, Work-Study, Veterans, Agency Funding, and Renton Promise email accounts, monitoring inquiries and coordinating timely responses.
• Provide support to students by addressing funding-related issues by interpreting federal and state financial aid regulations, recommending solutions, facilitating completion of the funding application process, and facilitating warm handoffs to assigned faculty counselors and other student support resources to promote student success.
• Provide individualized student and public services via multiple platforms including but not limited to virtual, email, phone, and in-person, with excellent customer service skills focused on bringing racial equity and social justice equity lenses. 
• Serve as a departmental team member by demonstrating cultural competency and a commitment to equity, supporting students from diverse backgrounds, recognizing and helping mitigate systemic barriers, and providing inclusive, student-centered service.
• Maintain the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and respect the privacy/confidentiality of individuals. 

Campus & Community Outreach / Engagement

• Collaborate with staff across campus to provide enrollment support during new student intake and activities to promote and implement student retention initiatives that enhance persistence and completion. 
• Facilitate statewide FAFSA/WASFA completions and financial literacy workshops through campus-wide and community-centered outreach efforts and presentations. Demonstrated commitment to fostering and supporting a discussion, teaching, learning and working environment that promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).  
• Apply equitable tools and tactics learned from numerous training opportunities in your daily work. 
• Other duties as assigned to support the goals and objectives of the department and the college.

• Experience with persons from diverse backgrounds such as sexual orientation, racial, ethnic, religious, linguistic, gender, age, socio-economic, physical and learning abilities, and a commitment to an inclusive and equitable working / learning environment.
• Two years of experience in financial aid, student funding and/or other related transferable skills.
• Associate degree required. Bachelor's degree is preferred or equivalent education and relevant professional experience / credentials. 
• Ability to demonstrate high skill levels in extracting and analyzing data, generating reports, and applying fund reconciliation and basic accounting principles.
• Knowledge of PeopleSoft, BankMobile (BMTX), Washington Student Achievements Council (WSAC) portal, Common Origination and Disbursements (COD), National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), Federal Aid Administrator Access (FAA Access) to Central Processing System (CPS Online), and other similar programs.
• Strong organizational skills, the ability to work independently and prioritize multiple tasks, the ability to work under pressure, meet deadlines, and handle multiple interruptions while completing multiple tasks.
• Knowledge of computers and software, especially Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, Booking, Forms etc.), Zoom and other software and application programs.
• Demonstrated ability to promote universal design and accessibility. Proficiency in (or ability to learn within 6 month of hire) the production of accessible content, whether print or electronic.
• Ability to represent the college in a positive and professional manner, while using tact, discretion and courtesy.
• Ability to speak a regionally top spoken language other than English is preferred (Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Somali, Spanish and Vietnamese).

• Must not be in default on any student loans 

Working hours are generally aligned to business hours, Monday – Friday. Occasional evening and weekend work is required. Work is mostly sedentary in nature, performed in an office environment. Frequent use of a computer and exposure to terminal screens is required. Work and meetings may take place across campus. May drive/travel to trainings, conferences, and/or college events. This is mostly an in-person/on-campus position; remote work may occur as business permits.

In the interest of providing a healthy, safe and secure educational and work environment, and in order to meet the requirements of federal legislation, it is the policy of Renton Technical College to maintain an alcohol and drug-free workplace for our employees and students.

The person hired is required to provide authorization for employment in the United States. All offers of employment are contingent to background checks, including employment and required degree/credential verification. Information from the background check will not necessarily preclude employment but will be considered in determining the applicant's suitability and competence to perform successfully in the position. Finalists are required to complete the Sexual Misconduct Disclosure form as required under RCW 288.112.080. Post offer, pre-employment criminal background checks are also required.

For questions regarding this position contact recruiting@rtc.edu.

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EEO STATEMENT: Renton Technical College provides equal opportunity in education and employment and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color national origin, age, perceived or actual physical or mental disability, pregnancy, genetic information, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, creed, religion, honorably discharged veterans or military status, or use of a trained guide dog or service animal, as required by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act and ADA Amendment Act, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, the Violence Against Women Re-authorization Act and Washington State Law Against Discrimination, Chapter 49.60 RCW and their implementing regulations. The following college official has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies: Title IX / EEO Coordinator, Lesley Hogan, Vice President of Human Resources 3000 NE 4th Street Renton, WA 98056 (425)235-7873, titleix@rtc.edu.     

Jeanne Clery statement: Notice of Availability of Annual Security and Fire Safety Report: In compliance with Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act of 1998, and as a part of the College's commitment to safety and security on campus, Renton Technical College reports the mandate information about current campus policies concerning safety and security issues, the required statistics, and other related information for the past three (3) calendar years. Renton Technical College's Annual Safety and Fire Report is available online at: https://rtc.edu/about-rtc/campus-resources/campus-security/annual-security-report.php. For information on how to access the RTC Daily Crime Log follow this link:https://rtc.edu/about-rtc/campus-resources/campus-security/daily-crime-log.php

We acknowledge that RTC sits uninvited on the ancestral land of the Puget Salish people, including the Duwamish, Suquamish, Snoqualmie, Tulalip, and Muckleshoot Nations.  We are grateful to the original inhabitants of this land, upon which we gather and dialogue. We also acknowledge our increasingly virtual world, in which RTC’s work is done across multiple indigenous lands, in some cases, away from Puget Salish territories. We thank the original caretakers of our local lands and waters, who are still here.      

Beyond acknowledgment, we each have an obligation to learn about and support our local tribes. Find out how on our resources page, which includes scholarships for Indigenous students. 

Salary : $67,572 - $86,932