Director of Financial Aid at Hood College

Hood College, an independent, co-educational, liberal arts college serving undergraduate and graduate students, seeks an experienced financial aid professional to become the next Director of Financial Aid. Reporting to the Vice President for Enrollment Management, the Director of Financial Aid provides strategic leadership in all matters of student financial aid. This position requires extensive knowledge of federal, state, and institutional policies; fiscal integrity and stewardship; strong management skills, both project and personnel; and the ability to oversee all financial aid programs from all sources, while ensuring regulatory compliance and the accurate and timely notification and distribution of financial aid to Hood’s undergraduate and graduate students.

Hood College seeks a candidate who values diversity, equity and inclusion in all that they do. Candidates must have strong organizational skills and a proven ability to work collaboratively with partners across campus in support of Hood College’s mission as a student-centered, liberal arts institution.

Essential Duties
To achieve success, an individual must be able to perform each of the following essential duties:

Financial Aid Planning and Administration:

Provide a clear vision for the Office of Financial Aid and appropriate leadership in a comprehensive strategic plan to meet the ongoing challenges of educating students in today’s global competitive environment and current regulatory atmosphere.
Foster a culture of providing outstanding service and communication to the families served by the Financial Aid office.
Provide leadership and professional development to the financial aid staff and deliver exemplary customer service to current students and prospective students and their families with a significant level of trust, diplomacy, courtesy and tact.
Interpret and implement federal, state and institutional regulations as they relate to packaging, budgets, and disbursements of funds.
Administer and supervise the implementation of all the institution’s financial aid policies, office procedures and funding programs.
In conjunction with the Vice President for Enrollment Management, plan and execute an institutional financial aid leveraging program for new first-year and transfer students.
Provide best practices to strengthen the overall financial awarding process and to meet enrollment goals.
Work collaboratively with the enrollment management team to meet net tuition revenue targets.
Develop student cost of attendance budgets for all appropriate student populations.
Monitor federal work-study expenditures, students’ satisfactory academic progress, federal and state grant expenditures, etc.
Supervise financial aid staff and provide cross training, mentor professional growth, and hold staff accountable for accurate and exemplary customer service.
Work with the Vice President for Marketing and Communications to create an integrated multi-media approach to effectively communicate financial aid procedures and deadlines to current and prospective students.
Develop and monitor the Financial Aid Office budget including personnel needs and departmental operating expenses.
Manage the College’s endowed scholarship programs, while working closely with Institutional Advancement to award endowed funds and report recipient information in a timely manner.
Establish strong working relationships with key campus partners including undergraduate admission, student accounts, graduate school, registrar and advancement colleagues with emphasis on data exchange, reconciliation of data and report generation.
Ensure financial aid compliance with internal and external guidelines.
Maintain the Policies and Procedures Manual for financial aid.
Keep abreast of federal and state regulatory changes.
Act as key financial aid liaison for the College’s annual financial audit.
Work closely with the Director of Institutional Research to ensure reports are built and information is disseminated in a timely manner.

Financial Aid Compliance:

Comply with all NCAA rules and regulations, and acknowledge this compliance as part of an annual evaluation process.
Prepare new student financial award packages in accordance with leveraging models.
Manage the financial aid application and packaging process to ensure the timely delivery of financial aid funds to prospective and current students.
Review, on a weekly basis, financial aid reports to ensure accurate awarding to students and careful use of federal and institutional dollars.
Complete relevant federal, state, athletic and institutional reports in a timely and accurate manner.
Prepare and complete required reports and applications for federal and state funds and grants.
Ensure security, confidentiality, and safety of financial aid records, promissory notes, etc.
Interpret and implement federal laws and regulations; College policies and regulations; and state regulations as they relate to packaging, budgets and disbursements of funds.
Ensure that the College has clean financial aid audits and program reviews by keeping abreast of and implementing all federal and state laws and regulations that pertain to the programs administered by the Financial Aid Office.

Skills, Characteristics, and Qualifications

Expertise in Regulatory Compliance: The Director will have a command of Title IV financial aid, and with state financial aid programs, ensuring compliance with current regulations and policies for all undergraduate and graduate financial aid resources.

Technology: The Director must possess a strong computer proficiency and a knowledge of institutional and federal computerized financial aid systems. Experience in PowerFAIDS is preferred, or may be replaced with a deep understanding and use of automated packaging and communications through systems. Other systems utilized at Hood College include PowerCampus, TargetX and NetPartner. The Director must have experience in Office Suite Productivity products (such as Microsoft Word, Excel & PowerPoint); and ability to learn new applications quickly including organization-wide information systems and department-specific software applications. The Director should be nimble with data and comfortable with technology in all aspects of federal and state aid distribution, fiscal management of federal and state funding, as well as all required reporting including but not limited to NSLDS and FISAP.

Communication and Language Skills: The Director must have strong communication skills, both verbal and written, that include the ability to present information in a public manner as well as one-on-one meetings. In addition, the Director must have experience reading and interpreting general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations. With the ability to write reports and business correspondence, the Director must effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, and the general public.

Mathematical and Reasoning Skills: The Director must be able to work with and apply mathematical concepts relevant to financial aid issues. Having worked with a third party service provider dedicated to enrollment projections and financial aid modeling is a plus, especially in the capacity of interpreting data and results and participating in decision making as a result. The Director must be able to solve practical problems and deal with a number of variables in diverse situations. The Director must also be able to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form; work independently and as a member of a group in developing and executing project plans; and work in the theoretical arena and apply logic as appropriate.

Management and Collaboration Skills: The ideal candidate will have experience supervising staff members, and successfully building a cross-trained team that is collectively able to accurately complete all functions within a successful financial aid office, and individually complete assigned tasks and responsibilities in a timely manner. The director will have led and managed a complex financial aid effort. With collaborative experience, the director must be relational and someone who respects and appreciates the diverse opinions and ideas of others, with the goal of serving students and the institution in the best manner possible.

Minimum Requirements/Qualifications: A Bachelor degree and eight years of progressive experience, culminating at a supervisory level within college or university financial aid, is required. A Master’s degree, or equivalent combination of education and experience, is preferred.

Hood College
Founded in 1893, Hood College is a coeducational, independent, liberal arts college. Hood's picturesque 50-acre campus is ideally situated in the middle of charming, historic Frederick, Maryland, less than one hour from Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and surrounded by mountain views. Deborah Ricker, Ph.D., became Hood College’s interim president on July 1, 2024. She has served as Hood College provost and vice president of academic affairs since July 2016. Interim President Ricker will serve in her role while a search for the next president of Hood College is underway.

Having completed a strategic plan in 2022, Hood College has embarked on a new strategic plan, extending from 2022 - 2026: For A Greater Hood: A Strategic Plan for Hood College. This plan focuses on the following six essential goals: enhance the student experience; diversity, equity and inclusivity initiatives; establish a new school and programs for behavioral & health sciences; establish a Biomedical Research and Training Center; expand Hood’s presence in the Baltimore and greater Washington DC area; and strengthen regional and national branding and marketing to enhance Hood’s reputation.

The total enrollment at Hood College is approximately 2,100 students, including 1,200 undergraduate students and 900 graduate students seeking master’s degrees, certificates or certifications. Hood undergraduates hail from 28 states and the District of Columbia as well as nine countries. 41 percent of undergraduate students and 39 percent graduate students are either members of domestic, under-represented populations or are from foreign countries. Admission, within the Enrollment Management division, serves undergraduate students only. Graduate admission is handled directly through the Graduate School.

The Financial Aid Office is centralized, serving both undergraduate and graduate populations. The office processes more than $40 million annually to undergraduate students, in all institutional, federal, state, Veterans’ and military benefits, and other resources, with the FAFSA as the only required application (with the exception of military and VA benefits). Graduate students can apply for federal loans through the Financial Aid Office, as well as for Graduate and Teaching assistantships, and scholarships and grants through the Graduate School.

Academics
Hood College is a premier, comprehensive liberal arts college, offering both undergraduate and graduate students an excellent and holistic educational experience that prepares them for personal and professional achievement and productive participation in society. Education at Hood reaches beyond boundaries, whether those boundaries be academic disciplines, the classroom, or the campus. Hood offers a holistic education that encompasses the curriculum, co-curricular experiences, and a rich array of experiential learning opportunities facilitating student exploration and fostering intellectual, spiritual, and physical growth. They recognize that this vision can only be realized in a diverse, collaborative, student-centered community in which all are empowered to be educators and mentors to students, facilitating their preparation to “meet personal, professional and global challenges and to lead purposeful lives of responsibility, leadership, service and civic engagement” (Hood College mission).

Hood offers 30 bachelor’s degrees, 25 concentrations, 43 minors, and pre-professional preparation in medicine, veterinary science, dentistry and law. Hood’s Graduate School serves the needs of Frederick and surrounding regions with 20 master’s degrees, three doctorates and 13 graduate certificate programs. The graduate programs provide leading-edge content in business, STEM, the humanities and education.

Student Life
Hood believes that living as a member of a community provides the best atmosphere for individual growth, so all students are afforded varied opportunities to participate in and lead activities at the College. Because Hood recognizes that students require both challenges and caring guidance to grow, a full range of student services and activities is available. The College is committed to supporting the personal and social development of all students, recognizing that life beyond the classroom walls is a vitally important part of the college experience.

Student life at Hood College is active and robust. With six residence halls, countless student social and academic activities, and 24 Division III sports teams, Hood College is a thriving residential community, but also supports its commuter students.

Clubs and organizations provide students with opportunities to meet others with similar interests as well as to develop leadership, organizational and management skills. A wide variety of clubs and organizations are available. In addition, a number of student groups and honorary organizations are sponsored by departments of the College. Each year, as new students with new interests join the Hood community, new clubs and interest groups are formed.

Finally, Hood is a community that acknowledges and embraces diverse backgrounds and experiences and affirms the dignity of every individual. As a proud inaugural member of “Belong,” a network of private independent colleges and universities, developed by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) and the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE), Hood is committed to ensuring each student, faculty and staff feels a sense of belonging, in class and campus-wide.

Awards & Accolades for Hood College

● U.S. News & World Reports (2024): Best Regional Universities; Best Value School; Top Performers on Social Mobility; Best Undergraduate Teaching Program

● Colleges of Distinction (2024): National College of Distinction; Maryland College of Distinction; Program of Distinction: Nursing, BSN; Program of Distinction: Business, B.A.; Program of Distinction: Education, B.A.

● The Princeton Review (2024): Best Regional College, Mid-Atlantic

● Best Value Schools (2024): Best MBA Programs in Maryland

● Nursing Schools Almanac (2024): Best Nursing Schools in Maryland

● Research.com (2023-24): Best Value College in Maryland; Most Popular Colleges in Maryland

● Leading Colleges (2023): Retention Award

● LendEDU (2023): Best Colleges for Financial Aid (#2 Best in Maryland; #60 Best in United States)

● University HQ (2023): Best Master's Degrees in Maryland; Best Bachelor's Degrees in Maryland

● CybersecurityGuide: #13 Most Affordable Online Cybersecurity Programs

Awards & Accolades for Frederick, MD

Compensation and Benefits
Compensation for this position is expected to range from $100,000 - $115,000. To learn about Hood College employment benefits, please visit the website: https://www.hood.edu/offices-services/human-resources/benefits. NES Search Consultants would welcome candidate questions and conversations about all facets of the position.

To Apply
NES, a national search firm specializing in higher education, is assisting Hood College with this search for a Director of Financial Aid. Individuals who wish to have a confidential conversation about the opportunity, please contact one of the following NES consultants: Robin Reynders (robin.reynders@nessearches.com), Laura Robinson (laura.robinson@nessearches.com) or Mary Napier (mary.napier@nessearches.com). We invite qualified financial aid professionals to apply by submitting: 1) A resume; 2) a detailed letter of interest; and, 3) contact information for five professional references. References must include at least one supervisor, one colleague, and one direct report from present or past employment. Please submit all three required documents to: hood@nessearches.com as soon as possible. Credentials will be reviewed as they are received and the search will continue until the position is filled.

Hood College is committed to diversity in its faculty and staff and subscribes to a policy of hiring only individuals legally eligible to work in the United States. EOE/AAP/M/F/Vet/Disability Employer

Hood College does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, marital status, pregnancy, disability, religion, or age in recruitment, admission and access to, or treatment, or employment in its programs, services, benefits, or activities as required by applicable laws including Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and complies with the law regarding reasonable accommodation for disabled applicants and students. Inquiries about discrimination or reasonable accommodation should be referred to the Title IX and Section 504 Coordinator at Alumnae Hall, 401 Rosemont Avenue, Frederick, MD. 21701 (AD 312), (301) 696-3592. For complete information on Hood College’s nondiscrimination policy, please visit http://www.hood.edu/non-discrimination/.

View Position Announcement