Financial Specialist - Hybrid

Financial Specialist Serves as the University Bursar's subject-matter expert for student loan fund accounting, overseeing a portfolio of nearly $60 million in federal and institutional loan funds at the Urbana-Champaign and Chicago campuses. Under the direction of the Director of Business Operations, manages the full accounting cycle for nearly 100 Perkins, HRSA Health Professions, and institutional loan funds, ensuring accurate integration between Banner and the University's loan servicer. Prepares federal compliance reporting, as well as quarterly and annual reporting to University Accounting and Financial Reporting, and partners with Financial Aid on the fund projections that determine annual lending capacity. Also supports core accounts receivable operations for the University System, including daily feeder processing from University payment portals, returned check resolution, refund reconciliation, and the Banner data reporting that supports Business Operations' analysis and decision-making. Exercises independent judgment to safeguard the integrity of high-dollar fund balances and ensure compliance with university, state, and federal requirements. Coordinate and prepare required annual federal reports, including the Perkins FISAP for the U.S. Department of Education and Annual Operating Reports for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Also prepare and analyze annual portfolio reports summarizing loan balances, collections, and default rates for each campus. Coordinate and prepare quarterly financial reports on the student loan portfolio for University Accounting and Financial Reporting (UAFR), ensuring accurate financial data for use in University-level financial reporting. Reconcile refunds issued from student and general (non-student) accounts receivable each month for all three campuses, ensuring refunds in the billing system match the University's accounting records. Manage and support daily accounts receivable data processing activities within Banner and related integrated systems, including coordinating the preparation, review, and submission of feeder data received from multiple University payment portals. Coordinate and administer returned check processes, including the organization, investigation, processing, communication, and documentation of all NSF/returned checks for all System Office locations, ensuring timely resolution of discrepancies. Verify at the start of each month that loan disbursements and borrower payments transfer accurately between the University's financial system (Banner) and its third-party loan servicer. Independently research discrepancies and coordinate corrections of missing or inaccurate transactions. Manage and reconcile the three holding (clearing) accounts through which loan payments and account adjustments pass before posting to individual loan funds, monitoring account activity and ensuring all transactions clear accurately and promptly. Coordinate monthly reconciliations of each federal and University-funded loan fund, verifying that balances agree between Banner and the loan servicer's records, investigating discrepancies, and implementing appropriate corrections. Analyze and project available funds monthly for each loan fund and provide financial projections to Financial Aid to support decisions regarding annual student loan funding availability. Support and coordinate financial activities associated with the closeout of the federal Perkins Loan program, including verifying that loan cancellations post correctly and assisting with the transfer of remaining loans and cash balances to the U.S. Department of Education. Calculate, review, and record annual financial allowances, including the administrative allowance and the allowance for doubtful (uncollectible) accounts, ensuring accurate financial reporting and supporting documentation. Coordinate federal funding activities when a federal health professions loan fund experiences low cash balances, including receiving and reviewing the Notice of Award (NOA) from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and coordinating the drawdown of awarded federal funds into the appropriate loan fund. Develop, generate, and maintain Banner data downloads, reports, and supporting datasets used by Business Operations for financial reporting, reconciliation, analysis, and operational decision-making.