Endowed Scholarship and Department Award Specialist

About ACU

ACU is affiliated with the fellowship of the Church of Christ. All applicants must be professing Christians and willing to support the Christian mission and purpose of Abilene Christian University while employed by the university.

Title of Position Endowed Scholarship and Department Award Specialist Posting Location Abilene Department Financial Services Employee Class Nonexempt Full-time Basic Responsibilities

• Manage the awarding function of Endowed Scholarships through the use of the Award Spring program.

• Award, track and reconcile scholarship funds in the University's mainframe system (Banner).

• Work with the Director of SFS to set and document policies and procedures for the Endowment Scholarship philosophy and process.

• Partner with campus peers including Wildcat Central and the Financial Aid Appeals Committee to determine which scholarships to use to help meet student need, and help meet our retention and persistence goals.

• Support the Stewardship Office through the efficient use of the Award Spring program by assuring accurate and up-to-date scholarship information and collection of post-acceptance thank you responses.

• Insure clear and consistent communications with students through the Award Spring program as well as with campus partners.

• Develop and provide training programs for departments as well as communication strategies built to improve utilization of the Award Spring award management program and in turn improve efficiencies and awarding transparency.

• Provide additional support to the financial aid processing team as needed.

Essential Duties

A. Manage the awarding function of Endowed Scholarships through Award Spring:

• Learn the program and utilize it to its fullest potential through research and technical support.
• Ensure that the program is built and being utilized accurately and efficiently each year.
• Become very familiar with the details regarding our Endowed Scholarships to be able to support and determine their best possible use.
• Enter new scholarships into the system through communication with the Stewardship Office on the proper language as well as getting detail and fund codes setup with SFS and the Finance Office.
• Work with ACIMCO (Abilene Christian Investment Company) and the ACU Finance Office in a timely way to get available scholarship level balances (including estimates) updated in the program.

B. Award, track and reconcile scholarship funds in the University's mainframe system (Banner).

• Learn and maintain skills in awarding funds in the Banner computer system.
• Understand the rules associated with various federal, state and institutional aid programs to ensure proper administration of our scholarships with respect to other aid requirements.

C. Work with the Director of SFS to set and document policies and procedures for awarding Endowed Scholarships:

• Develop a clear philosophy of Endowed Scholarship awarding and goals to best utilize the funds while supporting the students and meeting University objectives.
• Determine a plan to move toward a more upfront awarding structure to help reduce confusion related to replacement awarding.
• Clearly document this philosophy as well as policies and procedures related to awarding Endowed Scholarships as well as the most effective uses and practices within Award Spring.

D. Partner with Wildcat Central and the Financial Aid Appeals committee:

• Understand the financial aid strategies and how packages are built including the requirements related to need-based aid and scholarships.
• Work with the SFS team to meet the financial and informational needs of students as they come to light and in organizing specific scholarships set aside to meet special student needs as they arise.
• Support Wildcat Central and the Financial Aid Appeals Committee by understanding the needs that students have as it relates to additional financial aid and working to develop a clear strategy to meet those needs.

E. Support the Stewardship Office through the efficient use of the Award Spring award management program:

• Understand the flow of information within Award Spring that supports the stewardship module and for keeping donors up to date with the most current and useful information.
• Understand the communication structure for students within Award Spring and develop a clear plan to support the needs of Stewardship to gather thank you responses from the students.
• Provide information and support of the scholarships to Stewardship as needed.
• Assist in the coordination of communication with students and donor stewardship events.

F. Insure clear and consistent communications with students through Award Spring:

• Award Spring has the ability to communicate clear and timely information with students related to their scholarships and their next steps. This position should be able to understand the need to communicate clearly and precisely to students and the importance of this communication.
• Develop a communication strategy with input from the Director, Wildcat Central and Stewardship.
• Ensure accuracy of this communication as templates can be made for scholarships that can be treated in the same manner, but others may need more specific communications.

G. Develop and provide training programs for departments as well as communication strategies:

• Build training modules to help end users (students and Departments) better utilize the program.
• Offer and train departments on the reviewing function and use of the program to offer the best possible information in their award decisions.
• Develop communication strategies with the departments to encourage more student participation and applications within the program.

H. Provide additional support to the financial aid awarding team as needed:

1. As endowment duties slow, this position will be able to provide assistance to the awarding team with other packaging needs or special duties as required.

Professional Development Requirements

A. Skills

• Organizational and multi-tasking skills
• Attention to detail.
• Strong communication and presentation skills.
• Ability to build clear and effective policies and procedures.

B. Training Modules Required

• Computer operations (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Ellucian's Banner Systems, Blackbaud Award Management
• Financial aid and endowment training programs, conferences, etc.
• Basic financial aid and awarding courses.

Qualifications

A. Professional

• Bachelor's Degree in an appropriate field of study preferred.
• Financial aid experience preferred.
• Ability to learn computer systems and improve efficiencies.
• Strong team working relationships.

B. Personal

• Self-motivated, resourceful, creative.
• Professional image.
• Strong communication skills.
• Ability to effectively interact with all levels of students, staff, faculty and administration.

Physical Demands

A. Ability to work long hours when necessary (weekends on occasion).

B. Ability to perform computer operations for extended periods of time.

C. Some lifting required.

Additional Information

ACU does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, sex, disability, genetic information, national or ethnic origin in employment opportunities, in keeping with applicable state and federal law.

ACU is committed to maintaining a safe and secure campus environment and protecting the university's financial and physical assets. Therefore, Abilene Christian University conducts background checks on all candidates for employment in security sensitive positions.