The Enrollment Management Division at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is seeking its next Deputy Director for Student Services within the Office of University Financial Aid. NES is assisting CWRU in this search. CWRU seeks a seasoned financial aid professional to complement the skills of their talented Director of University Financial Aid and join their office of experienced staff in providing excellent service and access to CWRU students.
The Deputy Director serves in a financial aid leadership role in the Division of Enrollment Management and is responsible for providing standards and guidance that support the strategic goals of Case Western Reserve University and specifically the Office of University Financial Aid. Supervising six direct reports, the Deputy Director will also function as office supervisor in the absence of the Director of University Financial Aid. The Office of University Financial Aid employs seventeen staff (including the Director and Deputy Director). The Deputy Director will lead a complex, highly regulated and audited function that is critically important to the university in attracting a strong and diverse student population. The Deputy Director will model best practices within all facets of financial aid.
Enrollment Management Division and University Financial Aid
Case Western Reserve University enrolls 6,000 undergraduates and 6,200 graduate and professional students. Under the leadership and guidance of the Vice President for Enrollment Management, the enrollment management division’s senior team is composed of four senior directors, including the Director of University Financial Aid, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions, Director of Enrollment Management Operations, and Director of Recruitment and Strategic Initiatives (Enrollment Marketing).
Utilizing all forms of federal, state, institutional and outside financial aid sources for undergraduate students, financial need is determined using the FAFSA and the CSS Profile. The University Financial Aid team processes over 20,000 first year financial aid applications annually. CWRU meets the full demonstrated need for all admitted undergraduate students, including international students, using institutional methodology. CWRU also supports a significant merit scholarship program. Institutional financial aid is provided for international students. Graduate students are awarded grants and scholarships by the academic departments, then combined with federal direct student loan eligibility by the University Financial Aid Office.
The Position
Reporting to the Director of University Financial Aid, the deputy director has responsibility for four major areas: 1) oversight of all student services staff and their work structures; 2) timely administration of federal, state and institutional student aid funding including packaging, disbursement, compliance, and reconciliation; 3) open communication with internal leadership and external constituents as it relates to providing information and recommendations on financial aid issues and enrollment management programs; and 4) maintenance of strong working relationships with external colleagues within the financial aid industry.
Essential Functions
- Oversee the department’s student service areas, including the reception/welcome center, counseling services, and admitted student programs.
- Directly (and indirectly) supervise professional, support and student staff in these areas to ensure that staff provide efficient, consistent, and effective customer services to all levels of constituencies while meeting performance expectations.
- Identify opportunities for office and process efficiencies and prepare and maintain functional manuals for the counseling staff.
- Create a progressive management and service focus, evident through programs and policies that optimize the role of the office.
- Provide oversight to ensure accurate and timely processing of financial aid applications to serve and attract a student body of the desired quality and quantity to attain the university’s enrollment goals.
- Facilitate the effective processing of financial assistance and disbursement for all schools, departments, and management centers throughout the university to support customer service goals.
- Oversee work structures for federal and state processes including reporting, disbursement and reconciliation of funding for these accounts, and plan and direct work structures to ensure that all deadlines are met internally for university purposes and externally as it relates to government entities, agencies, and other organizations.
- Ensure timely processing of all student refunds.
- Serve as the primary lead to the operations team with goals to accomplish the following: Identify and target areas to improve and enhance procedures; Coordinate with other operations and technical staff to support improved and enhanced processes and procedures for ongoing financial aid system maintenance; Develop solutions to enhance an automated financial aid process; Create forecasting models along with other office leadership to project student and parent needs for financial assistance; Analyze results for appropriate budgeting.
- Ensure Federal Title IV and state funding by: Managing the maintenance of the Federal Participation Agreement for Case Western Reserve University; Develop and complete all other appropriate reporting requirements and applications to meet federal, state, local and institutional aid programs; Collect and manage data for high-level surveys and reports that represent the university nationwide.
- Prepare and review all web content for student financial assistance, including the design and set up of the student (undergraduate and graduate) portal and application process, Net Partner.
- Act as a liaison to appropriate university committees and participate in professional organizations; Foster a network of professionals to share and learn best practices and /or developments within the financial aid discipline.
Contacts
- Department: Daily contact with the Director, Vice President for Enrollment Management, colleagues, and supervision of staff to ensure strategic goals are being met.
- University: Regular contact with administrators, faculty, and staff providing feedback and program direction to ensure compliance.
- External: Contact with government agencies, vendors, colleagues, professionals as well as daily contact with families and parents to provide information and direction regarding regulations and application process.
- Students: Daily contact with students explaining financial aid programs and application processes.
Skills, Qualifications and Characteristics
CWRU is seeking candidates with at least eight years of progressive experience in financial aid administration and demonstrated system analysis in a financial discipline. A Bachelor’s degree is required; and an advanced degree is preferred. In addition, they should possess the following:
- Expertise in state, federal, and institutional financial aid programs and compliance.
- Resourceful in all areas of financial aid problem solving with the ability and strong desire to research and seek out solutions in an ever-changing regulatory environment.
- Creative administrative leader that is current on trends in enrollment and financial aid practices, particularly as it pertains to enrolling and retaining students.
- Experience with institutional needs analysis methodology and CSS Profile strongly preferred.
- PowerFAIDS experience strongly recommended.
- Supervisory experience and management strength, preferably in a large complex organization:
- A positive, open, inclusive approach to staff and team management;
- Patient and understanding with a sense of humor in a fast-paced, hard-working environment;
- Respect for individual staff strengths and ideas, with an emphasis on training and professional development.
- Collaborative approach with internal and external partners.
- Knowledge in information technology as it relates to developing financial systems, technical sleuthing and problem-solving, including proficiency with Microsoft Office, knowledge of Slate, and exposure to PowerFAIDS, OnBase, and Peoplesoft preferred.
- Ability to handle significant deadline and programmatic pressures in a high-volume office with a major impact on the University recruitment, cash flow, and federal appropriations.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills with the ability to enhance published enrollment and financial aid marketing materials.
- Commitment to customer service for all University students and their families;
- Demonstrated understanding of CWRU’s work on providing an inclusive experience for all students;
- Skills to serve as a creative and flexible thought partner within the Enrollment Management division and University Financial Aid office.
The University
Eric W. Kaler became the 11th president of Case Western Reserve University on July 1, 2021. Case Western Reserve University is located in Cleveland, Ohio, in University Circle, Ohio’s most spectacular square mile home of more than 50 cultural, medical, educational, religious, and social service institutions. CWRU holds membership in the Association of American Universities, an international organization of leading research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education.
The CWRU history is a rich and fascinating story of Western Reserve College, 1826, and Case School of Applied Science, 1880, collaborating, relocating, creating the beginnings of University Circle, and finally merging into a university federation in 1967, worthy of national distinction. As a complete university in 1992, Case Western Reserve University immediately became a leading institution for academics and research, as well as one of the nation’s top-ranked universities. Today the university thrives on collaboration across academic and administrative divisions and partnerships with dozens of other institutions, including its neighbors in University Circle.
Case Western Reserve University is comprised of eight schools and one college: Case School of Engineering; College of Arts and Sciences; Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing; Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences; School of Dental Medicine; School of Graduate Studies; School of Law; School of Medicine; and Weatherhead School of Management. Learning and discovery are at the heart of the university. CWRU offers more than 100+ undergraduate programs, about 160 graduate and professional options, and more than 145 dual-degree programs. Students can also study in seven online master’s degrees and more than a dozen non-credit online courses. Programs span arts, sciences, engineering, law, management, medicine, nursing, dentistry and social work.
Case Western Reserve students conduct groundbreaking work, starting in their first year on campus. From medicine to management, music to mathematics, faculty, staff and students inquire, explore, study and discover. They are driven to expand knowledge, deepen understanding and, when possible, contribute to the well-being of individuals, organizations and society at large.
Outside of the classroom, undergraduate students have over two hundred recognized student clubs and organizations in which to engage. As Spartans, student athletes participate in 17 NCAA Division III sports.
Case Western Reserve Diversity Statement:
Case Western Reserve University aspires to be an inclusive environment, believing that the creative energy and variety of insights that result from diversity are a vital component of the intellectual rigor and social fabric of the university.
As a scholarly community, Case Western Reserve is inclusive of people of all racial, ethnic, cultural, socioeconomic, national and international backgrounds, welcoming diversity of thought, pedagogy, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, political affiliation and disability.
We believe in a culture of inclusion that encourages relationships and interactions among people of different backgrounds, a culture that enhances human dignity, actively diminishes prejudice and discrimination and improves the quality of life for everyone in our community.
Graduate or professional, postdoc or research associate—three out of every five Case Western Reserve students are working toward advanced degrees from top-ranked programs in engineering, medicine, law, dentistry, social work, business, arts and sciences.
For more information on Case Western Reserve University, go to: case.edu
Location
Case Western Reserve University’s community has unparalleled proximity to high quality city events and living. Located in the vibrant neighborhood of University Circle, just minutes from downtown Cleveland, CWRU is surrounded by more than 50 arts, cultural, educational, health and human service institutions. Case Western Reserve University is the only independent, research-oriented university in a region bounded by Pittsburgh and Rochester on the east, Nashville on the south, and Chicago on the west. From its first-rate museums and outstanding destinations – Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Music Hall, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Botanical Garden, Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland or Cleveland Museum of Natural History, to name a few – to its professional sports teams, to its nearby residential neighborhoods with a great variety of shopping and dining (Coventry Village, Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights), Cleveland is an exciting place to live, work and play. Dozens of the country’s best medical centers are located in Cleveland, including Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth and University Hospitals of Cleveland. Find out 11 best things to do in Cleveland.
Compensation
The salary range for this position can be accessed by speaking with NES search consultants. All potential candidates are encouraged to explore benefits, found at: https://case.edu/hr/
To Apply
NES, a higher education search firm specializing in enrollment management searches, is assisting Case Western Reserve University to find the Deputy Director for Student Services, University Financial Aid. To arrange for a confidential conversation or to nominate a candidate for this position, please contact Robin Reynders (robin.reynders@nessearches.com), Suzi Nam (suzi.nam@nessearches.com) or Mary Napier (mary.napier@nessearches.com). To apply, please send a resume, a detailed letter of interest, and contact information for five professional references by email to: case@nessearches.com For assurance of full consideration, submit application materials no later than November 28, 2023. Resumes will be reviewed until the position is filled. All applications and nominations will be considered confidential, and notice will be given before references are contacted.
In employment, as in education, Case Western Reserve University is committed to Equal Opportunity and Diversity. Women, veterans, members of underrepresented minority groups, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.