Transparency on What Financial Aid Staff Does
Universities know they have a financial aid office, but do others on campus really understand what the financial aid office does to provide service for students, others on campus, or the community at large? If the financial aid office does not maintain compliance requirements, what are the implications? The resources below outline competencies that a financial aid administrator must possess to serve all of the audiences and complete tasks in the office, and a customizable fact sheet with numbers that can be shown to administration to justify why financial aid is so important.
What Financial Aid Does at Your Institution (Template)
Financial Aid Administrator Competencies
- Laws and Regulations
- Career Development
- Customer Service
- Technical Proficiency
- Business of Education
- Leadership Skills
Laws and Regulations
For Students and Family
- Know what aid is available, who qualifies for aid, how aid is equitably distributed, and renewal requirements for subsequent years.
- Verify eligibility for aid.
- Assist students by mitigating unusual circumstances that might otherwise hinder academic progress.
- Advocate for streamlining and simplifying the aid application process.
For the Institution
- Facilitate receipt of substantial sums of money to help students meet institutional costs.
- Ensure compliance with voluminous and detailed federal, state, and local regulations, and often coordinate campus-wide compliance records.
- Maintain membership and participation in professional associations, such as NASFAA, which provide opportunities for advocacy and professional development.
For the Community
-
Provide student employees for community service projects, literacy projects, and local businesses.
For You and Your Office
- Provide statistics related to aid applicants/recipients and funding increases/decreases.
- Advocate for adequate levels of student aid funding and reasonable eligibility criteria at the local, state, and national levels.
- Alert the school administration if grassroots support or opposition is needed in response to proposed legislation that would affect the institution or its students.
Career Development
For the Institution
- Provide student employment.
- Ensure compliance with voluminous and detailed federal, state, and local regulations, and often coordinate campus-wide compliance and reporting requirement efforts.
- Maintain membership and participation in professional associations, which provide opportunities for advocacy and professional development.
For the Community
- Provide student employees for community service projects, literacy projects, and local businesses.
- Act as a resource for high school counselors and community-based college access programs and initiatives.
- Speak at college nights or other events to explain budgeting, financial literacy, and financing an education beyond high school.
- Serve as a resource for working adults who may have an interest in attending or completing college.
Customer Service
For Students and Family
- Help students file applications accurately.
- Assist students by fostering financial literacy and debt management and by mitigating unusual circumstances that might otherwise hinder academic progress.
For the Institution
-
Help enroll and retain students; many students could not attend or remain in school without financial assistance.
For the Community
- Provide student employees for community service projects, literacy projects, and local businesses.
- Act as a resource for high school counselors and community-based college access programs and initiatives.
- Speak at college nights or other events to explain budgeting, financial literacy, and financing an education beyond high school.
- Serve as a resource for working adults who may have an interest in attending or completing college.
For You and Your Office
- Provide statistics related to aid applicants/recipients and funding increases/decreases.
Technical Proficiency
For Students and Family
-
Help students file applications accurately and verify their eligibility for aid.
For the Institution
- Facilitate receipt of substantial sums of money to help students meet institutional costs.
For You and Your Office
- Provide statistics related to aid applicants/recipients and funding increases/decreases.
- Help justify institutional budget requests to the state, school governing board, or board of trustees using data regarding student costs and federal aid received.
- Contribute information/data for public and community relations, and recruitment of students and staff.
Business of Education
For Students and Family
- Know what aid is available, who qualifies for aid, how aid is equitably distributed, and renewal requirements for subsequent years.
- Advocate for streamlining aid and simplifying the aid application process.
For the Institution
- Help enroll and retain students.
- Facilitate receipt of substantial sums of money to help students meet institutional costs.
- Provide student employment.
- Maintain membership and participation in professional associations, which provide opportunities for advocacy and professional development.
For the Community
-
Provide student employees for community service projects, literacy projects, and local businesses.
For You and Your Office
- Provide statistics related to aid applicants/recipients and funding increases/decreases.
- Help justify institutional budget requests to the state, school governing board, or board of trustees using data regarding student costs and federal aid received.
- Contribute information/data for public and community relations, and recruitment of students and staff.
- Advocate for adequate levels of student aid funding and reasonable eligibility criteria at the local, state, and national levels.
- Alert the school administration if grassroots support or opposition is needed in response to proposed legislation that would affect the institution or its students.
Leadership Skills
For Students and Family
-
Know what aid is available, who qualifies for aid, how aid is equitably distributed, and renewal requirements for subsequent years.
For the Institution
- Ensure compliance with voluminous and detailed federal, state, and local regulations, and often coordinate campus-wide compliance and reporting requirement efforts.
- Maintain membership and participation in professional associations, which provide opportunities for advocacy and professional development.
For the Community
-
Speak at college nights or other events to explain budgeting, financial literacy, and financing an education beyond high school.
For You and Your Office
- Help justify institutional budget requests to the state, school governing board, or board of trustees using data regarding student costs and federal aid received.
- Contribute information/data for public and community relations, and recruitment of students and staff.
- Advocate for adequate levels of student aid funding and reasonable eligibility criteria at the local, state, and national levels.
- Alert the school administration if grassroots support or opposition is needed in response to proposed legislation that would affect the institution or its students.
Additional Resources
- NASFAA Financial Aid Competency Framework (PDF)
- What Financial Aid Administrators Do (PDF)
- What Financial Aid Does at Your Institution (Template)
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