Associate Director, Financial Aid & Academic Advising

The experience expected from applicants, as well as additional skills and qualifications needed for this job are listed below.

Department : Harris School Academic and Financial Aid Advising Sub Group

About the Department : Why policy? For a better world. Why Harris Public Policy? Because when it comes to better policymaking, evidence matters.

We work at the frontiers of data collection and analysis, using the latest technology and social science methods to design policies that work for society.

We conduct rigorous inquiry in an environment of innovation and risk-taking, fearlessly questioning the status quo. We collaborate across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, adopting new methodologies to drive better solutions.

We engage with our city, our world, and our leaders every day to evaluate and test our ideas. And we lead with our passion for driving social change, knowing that passion alone does not equal impact.

With passion and precision, we figure out what’s best for society and get it done. This is Harris Public Policy : Social impact, down to a science.

Job Summary : The Harris School of Public Policy is known for its outstanding student support. This role oversees financial aid administration for the school and serves as an academic advisor to graduate students in public policy.

This is a managerial role with oversight of one full-time staff person. Reporting to the Associate Dean of Students for Academic Services & Advising, the Associate Director of Financial Aid & Academic Advising will be responsible for advising a caseload of public policy master’s students and supervising one Assistant Director of Academic Advising & Financial Aid.

This position works within a team of academic advisors in the Harris Public Policy Dean of Students’ team and will manage financial aid operations for the Dean of Students office.

Academic advisors are key to the student experience, serving as a central point of contact for advisees’ questions on nearly all elements of their academic experience.

In addition to the key work of assisting with course selection and tracking students’ progress toward the degree, Harris advisors also provide support to students facing personal challenges that impact their academic progress and create programs and systems to help students get the most out of their graduate school experience and become maximally impactful policy leaders.

The Associate Director of Financial Aid & Academic Advising is integral in helping students to achieve their academic and personal goals and will contribute significantly to initiatives that enhance the overall student experience at Harris.

They will work on a highly collaborative, high-performing, and student-focused team.

Responsibilities :

• Coordinate the submission and monitoring of merit scholarships and other award funds for incoming and current masters and PhD students, including adjustments for leaves of absence, reduced course loads, unapplied aid, or other irregular enrollments.
• Collaborate with the Admissions team on the final decision regarding aid / awards to facilitate effective recruitment.
• Coordinate Harris Finance Working Group meetings to oversee the awarding of merit and restricted scholarships to incoming students, encourage collaboration, and troubleshoot complex financial aid issues.
• Participate in Harris TA Working Group meetings to coordinate fellowship stipend and Teaching Assistantship obligation disbursements for PhD students.
• Coordinate with academic advisors to maintain updated enrollment notes in a database / CRM system (Salesforce).
• Maintain accurate scholarship information in a database / CRM system (Salesforce).
• Report updated scholarship projections monthly.
• Conduct quarterly reconciliation with Finance team.
• Assist students in understanding their tuition bill, acting as a liaison to the Bursar’s Office as necessary.
• Represent Harris in cross-campus student financial aid working groups and committees.
• Create strong working relationships with administrative and academic units who share financial aid responsibilities (e.

g., Graduate Financial Aid, Bursar, UChicagoGRAD, etc.).

• Oversee the Harris Emergency Scholarship Application process, ensuring that applications are reviewed in a fair and consistent manner with an eye to overall budget limitations.
• Disseminate information about merit award policies and programs to currently enrolled students.
• Serve as academic advisor to 100-150 master’s students.
• Serve as first point of contact for all needs for assigned advisees. Learn essentials of registration and campus services to best assist students.
• Conduct intake advising meetings with all advisees at the beginning of the year.
• Keep accurate advising notes and enrollment projections in a database / CRM system (Salesforce).
• Monitor each student’s progress toward degree completion, intervening appropriately as needed.
• Conduct accurate graduation degree audits for all advisees.
• Gain expertise about Harris curriculum and courses in other divisions at the University to best guide student course selection.
• Collaborate with other student-facing offices to best understand programmatic and career opportunities which enhance the student experience.
• Identify and communicate student needs and interests to Harris Administration to help shape curriculum and co-curricular offerings.
• Create official letters and other necessary documentation for students’ scholarship providers and other sponsors as needed.
• Monitor all advisees’ enrollments and update tuition projections each month.
• Serve as a support for Harris’ large international student population, including assisting advisees with CPT and OPT paperwork and acting as a liaison to the Office of International Affairs (OIA).
• Coordinate the creation of resources for all advisors to share information.
• Collaborate extensively with the Harris academic advising team to ensure alignment in practices and give students the best possible service.
• Collaborate with the Associate Dean of Students or Dean of Students on leaves of absence and other complex student cases.
• Supervise and manage one Assistant Director of Academic Advising & Financial Aid in their professional development to ensure that students receive excellent advising service.
• Hold regular one-on-one meetings with staffer, ensuring effective progress toward projects and timely completion of tasks.
• Conduct annual performance reviews for staffer.
• Assist students with a range of complex enrollment and billing problems by analyzing possible solutions using standard procedures.
• Coordinate the financial aid award process for a designated group of students by coordinating the cycle of awards and reviewing and revising aid application materials.

Has full authority in reviewing and packaging financial aid awards.

Perform other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education : Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience : Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Certifications : None required.

Preferred Qualifications

Education :

• Bachelor’s degree.
• Master’s degree.
• Degree in public policy, student development, student affairs, higher education, counseling, or similar.

Experience :

• 7 years of work experience : Academic advising and / or financial aid experience.
• Experience working with international students.
• Familiarity with academic information systems and database systems.
• Familiarity with higher education environment.

Preferred Competencies :

• Interest in working in a student-facing, high touch environment.
• Student-centered approach and willingness to go the extra mile for students.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong organization and project management skills.
• Detail-oriented.
• Professional demeanor, including tact, discretion, and a customer-service oriented approach to the job.
• Ability to effectively delegate tasks and monitor staff member’s progress on projects and initiatives.
• Ability to quickly garner credibility with students.
• Ability to problem-solve with minimal supervision, exercise good judgment, prioritize, and work under pressure during high volume times.
• Demonstrated ability to review and prioritize work in order to take appropriate actions without advanced approval, ensuring close attention to detail.
• Ability to work collegially and collaboratively in a team setting.
• Ability to work in an open office environment.
• Knowledge of and eagerness to root work in student development theory and best practices.
• Experience updating websites.
• Ability to operate Microsoft Word, Excel, the internet, and email at the intermediate level.

Working Conditions : Hybrid work schedule.

Application Documents :

• Resume (required)
• Cover Letter (required)

When applying, the document(s) MUST be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.

Job Family : Student Affairs & Services

Role Impact : Individual Contributor

FLSA Status : Exempt

Pay Frequency : Monthly

Scheduled Weekly Hours : 37.5

Benefits Eligible : Yes

Drug Test Required : No

Health Screen Required : No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required : No

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Staff job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

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