Director of Student Financial Services

The Division of Administration and Finance is ultimately responsible for all financial and administrative activities of East Carolina University and its affiliated Foundations. The Division consists of Financial Services, Campus Operations, Information Technology and Computing Services, People Operations, Success and Opportunity, Environmental Health and Campus Safety, Auxiliary Services and various support activities related to the ECU affiliated Foundations. The Division is led by the Vice Chancellor of Administration and Finance. The Vice Chancellor is responsible for oversight of the policies, personnel, budgets, and administrative activities of all operations at East Carolina University and its affiliated Foundations. This division is a service provider in support of academic, research, and outreach missions of the University. Within the Division, Financial Services is responsible for financial activities of East Carolina University and its affiliated Foundations. The mission of Financial Services is: To provide for the financial needs of the University and its Foundations in a customer-oriented, friendly environment while assuring the proper stewardship of all fiscal resources.

Within the Financial Services Unit, Student Financial Services has three work units: the University Cashier’s Office, ECU Collections, and the Student Accounting Office. The Cashier’s Office is responsible for receipting deposits, processing payments in person, by lockbox, and on-line for all student obligations (tuition, fees, housing, dining, student health and other charges). The Cashier’s Office is also responsible for processing delinquent payments for past due accounts and non-enrolled students. ECU Collections is responsible for leading the collection process on past due accounts (excluding medical and dental patient billings) and institutional loans. Student Accounting is responsible for billing students & third party vendors, making adjustments to student accounts, and completing third-party balance sheet reconciliations, refund & escheat balance sheet account reconciliations, and financial aid reconciliations. All offices require strong internal controls and must adhere to IRS, State of NC and University policies and procedures. These transactions are continually subject to audit by Internal Audit, State auditors, Foundation auditors, and IRS auditors.

The Director of Student Financial Services reports directly to the University Controller and is responsible for all aspects of student accounting, collections, and cash receipt related operations, including; processes, internal controls, accounting, and tax compliance. This position is responsible for formulating and implementing relevant financial policies, and supports University leadership by providing the information and feedback necessary for informed decision-making. The position sets the overall direction for the student finance related processes of the University, ensuring that all financial operations, systems, transactions, policies, and procedures meet the objectives of the University and that they follow all oversight and regulatory entity standards & requirements. Additionally, evaluating the current services and adjusting operations as needed to meet the changing needs of our students is a major emphasis of this role.

The role of Director of Student Financial Services is critical to the University’s goal to provide excellent service to its students. This position approaches every situation professionally and ethically. This position provides outstanding customer service to students and parents; resolving escalated customer complaints, while at the same time learning from those experiences and focusing on developing and implementing new policies, procedures, and tools to improve customer service to the University’s current students and prospective students. The Director often serves as a key point of contact for customers attempting to resolve issues that may be registration, financial aid, academic, or purely financial in nature; thus, this position maintains a thorough understanding of all processes impacting student accounts directly and indirectly.

The Director also works closely with various administrative and academic units across the campus community to coordinate office operations, develop and refine policies, and operationalize the process improvements necessary to accomplish the goals of the University. Additionally, the reporting and reconciliation needs of Student Financial Services, as well as information requests from University leadership, often require working extensively with Information Technology and Computing Services (ITCS) staff to facilitate the system programming necessary to extract the information needed; therefore, cultivating and maintaining productive working relationships across the campus community is imperative for this position.

This position utilizes extensive knowledge of the various policies and regulations of the IRS, State of NC, University, and University-related foundations. The Director works closely with various campus units on student-related IRS regulations to ensure compliance, while still meeting customer service expectations. This position is also responsible for the preparation and oversight of accounts receivable reconciliations, balance sheet reconciliations and monthly cash reconciliations for various loan funds, as well as assisting with the preparation various loan and financial aid related reports throughout the year.

Job Duties:

-Managing operations for Cashier, Student Accounting, and ECU Collections.

The Director oversees the student finance related accounting functions and financial systems of the University, and ensures that all financial operations, systems, transactions, policies, and procedures meet the objectives of the University, while also maintaining compliance with oversight or regulatory entity standards and requirements. This position will supervise staff in cashiering, student accounting and collections operations; and provide technical assistance to staff involved with both student and non-student accounts. Personnel responsibilities include compliance with human resources policies and procedures, identifying work competencies and performance measures, and duties related to recruitment and selection, counseling, discipline, and performance management. This position is responsible for allocating available staff, assets, and resources in order to meet work goals.

Duties include:

 

-Managing reporting for Student Accounting, ECU Collections, and the University Cashier’s Offices, including mandatory tax reporting, assisting with the completion of other required State and Federal reports and overseeing the completion of student-finance related reconciliations.

The Director utilizes an extensive knowledge of the various policies and regulations of the IRS, State of NC, University, and University-related foundations to maintain compliance. Annual tax reporting responsibilities covered by this position on behalf of the University and its related foundations include IRS Form 1098-T, as well as ensuring that student accounts reflect the complete and accurate information necessary for completion of IRS Form 1042-S for Foreign National students. This position collaborates closely with the units impacted by IRS regulations to ensure compliance, while still meeting customer service expectations.

The Director is also responsible for reconciling financial aid expenditures. This process involves identifying and resolving discrepancies between expenditures posted in general ledger, awards posted in the student accounts receivable, awards posted in the financial aid system, and authorized amounts in related governmental systems. Additionally, this position ensures that policies and procedures are in compliance with federal financial aid guidelines.

Specific reports/reconciliations under the purview of this position include:

 

-Liaison to the greater campus community for Student Financial Services related matters.

The Director of Student Financial Services coordinates office operations with Accounting Services, Accounts Payable, Athletics, Brody School of Medicine, Continuing and Professional Education, Information Technology and Computing Services, Learner Operations, Office of Student Financial Aid, People Operations, Success, and Opportunity, Registrar, and School of Dental Medicine as needed to meet the goals of the unit. This position works closely with each of the various administrative and academic units noted above on policy development and refinement, as well as process improvements. As such, this position is responsible for maintaining excellent working relationships with University staff, Foundation staff, State and Federal agencies and other internal and external customers.

This position also serves on various committees to provide assistance in financial matters as needed and serves as a key contact for:

 

 

-Other duties as assigned.

Contingent upon availability of funds.

Bachelor’s degree in accounting, business, finance or other discipline related to the area of assignment with 12 credit hours of accounting coursework and three years of professional accounting experience, of which at least one is supervisory; or equivalent combination of training and experience. Some positions may require additional credit hours of accounting coursework. All degrees must be received from appropriately accredited institutions.

None.

A demonstrated history of experience with the cashier, collections, and/or student accounting related functions of a college or university is highly preferred, with leadership roles in these areas considered a plus.

Preference will also be given to those with substantial experience working with both advanced finance/ERP systems and advanced student information systems. Additionally, experience with integrated third-party billing and payment collection systems is considered favorable.

East Carolina University requires applicants to submit a candidate profile online in order to be considered for the position. Candidates must also submit a cover letter, resume, and a list of three references, including contact information, online.

Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis.