Program Assistant Jobs in Tennessee

Position Summary:

The Program Assistant is part of the Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships (OSFA) within the division of University Enrollment Affairs. The person in this role is a key individual contributor responsible for providing administrative support and assistance with the planning and coordination of one or more events or programs/services as either an individual contributor or as a team member. Reporting to the Deputy Director, the Program Assistant interacts with students, parents, faculty, and internal/external stakeholders.

About the Work Unit: The OSFA is responsible for providing financial assistance to students whose economic circumstances are such that they could not otherwise afford to attend. In addition, we provide limited merit-based assistance to select undergraduate students who demonstrate exceptional accomplishment and intellectual promise.

Vanderbilt welcomes students who can benefit from and contribute to the community, regardless of their financial situation. The University is committed to reviewing applicants for admission without regard to their financial need, then assistance is awarded to any student who establishes eligibility for such need-based assistance on the basis of family financial criteria.

Key Functions and Expected Performance:

• Creates and disseminates communications to various constituents, as needed.
• Analyze and resolve operational problems.
• Develop reports and specifies required queries needed to verify data input.
• Ensure accurate input and output of data files within the system.
• Runs queries and processes to verify compliance with Vanderbilt and federal entities.
• Participate in National Merit scholarship review process.
• Assist in the institutional merit scholarship tracking and reporting process.
• Facilitates federal loan exit loan counseling communications.
• Provides assistance in the private student loan processes in PeopleSoft and ScholarNet.
• Communicate as required to internal and external customers.
• Evaluate and interpret data before data entry, scanning, and/or indexing.
• Coordinates the outside documentation into PeopleSoft financial aid and DocFinity imaging system.
• Reviews online forms and uploaded documentation from multiple sources.
• Produce notifications to scholarship applicants.
• Creates and maintains processing documentation for all assigned processes and/or tasks.
• Participates in all webinars and training sessions related to student financial aid operations.
• Perform duties individually or as a team member to meet goals, objectives, and timelines.
• Review and respond to general financial aid and scholarship emails.
• Other duties as assigned.

Supervisory Relationships:

This position does not have supervisory responsibility; this position reports administratively and functionally to the Deputy Director.

Education and Certifications:

A high school diploma or GED is necessary.

Experience and Skills:

• At least two years of related experience is necessary.
• Ability to perform simple accounting procedures is preferred.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing is preferred.
• Records maintenance skills are preferred.
• Ability to process computer data and to format and generate reports is preferred.
• Knowledge of customer service standards and procedures is preferred.
• Database management skills are preferred.
• Ability to make administrative/procedural decisions and judgments is preferred.
• Ability to complete moderately complex administrative paperwork is preferred.
• Knowledge of financial aid policies, procedures, and eligibility requirements is preferred.

Demonstrated ability working collaboratively in a team environment is necessary.