Job Title: Student Finance Officer
Company: William College
Location: On-site, Stratford, UK
Reports to: Student Experience Manager
Department: Student Experience
Employment Type: Full-Time, On Campus
Working Schedule: Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5pm
Salary: £28,000 - £34,000 per annum (Depending on experience and qualifications)
About the Role:
The Student Finance Officer supports students to access and maintain the funding they are entitled to, from initial application through to completion of their programme. The postholder guides students through the Student Finance England application process, verifies documentation, monitors each student's funding position across their period of registration, administers College hardship provision, and works in tandem with Admissions, Registry, Accounts and the partner universities to ensure that funding, registration and fee records align.
The purpose of the role is to ensure that students’ studies are not disrupted by a funding problems that could have been identified and resolved earlier, and that the College remains compliance with regulatory requirements and expectations in relation to public funds.
Responsibilities:
- Support students to apply to the Student Loans Company for tuition fee and maintenance loans, including first applications and annual reapplication, ensuring students understand deadlines, and the requirements of the application process, and implications of late applications.
- Guide students through SLC evidence requirements, including identity, residency and household income documentation, and help them resolve queries and rejections.
- Advise students on the eligibility criteria applied under the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011 (as amended) and current SLC practitioner guidance.
- Support students to notify SLC of changes of circumstance, including transfers, deferrals, repeat years, interruptions and withdrawals, and explain the funding consequences of each before decisions are made.
- Carry out information and document checks and verification in accordance with SLC and partner university requirements.
- Support registration and re-registration, ensuring each student's funding position is established, recorded and, where necessary, resolved before registration completes.
- Work with Registry and the partner universities so that registration and attendance confirmations informing SLC payment are accurate and submitted on time at each liability point.
- Contact students promptly where a confirmation, document or application is outstanding, setting out clearly what they need to do and by when.
- Monitor the funding status of student across their registration period, maintaining an accurate and current picture of applications submitted, approved, pending, rejected and reassessed.
- Track payment schedules and identify students whose funding has not been released, has been suspended, or has changed, and act quickly to resolve.
- Monitor outstanding tuition fee balances and self-funding payment arrangements, working with the partner university, and ensuring students who anticipate difficulty are supported to engage early rather than escalated to recovery.
- Identify students at risk of a funding shortfall and intervene before impacting them negatively.
- Promote College and university partner’s bursary and hardship provision to students, and support applications where applicable.
- Work with the Wellbeing Team to support Disabled Students' Allowance applications.
- Respond to finance and funding queries in person, by telephone and by email, in line with College, partner university and SLC guidance and within a timely manner.
- Maintain a programme of regular formal communication to students covering application windows and deadlines, reapplication reminders, outstanding documentation and balances.
- Liaise with the SLC on eligibility and regulatory matters.
- Work with Admissions on fee status and funding position at application and offer stage; with Registry on registration, changes of circumstance and withdrawal; and with Accounts on payments, balances and reconciliation.
- Contribute to partner university meetings, audits and reporting cycles relating to student finance.
- Provide regular and ad hoc reports to the Department Manager covering student numbers by funding status, applications submitted and approved, payments, outstanding balances, hardship awards made and support provided.
- Maintain accurate records of applications, advice given, decisions and awards, handling financial and personal data in accordance with the College's Data Protection Policy and UK GDPR.
- Escalate promptly any suspected misrepresentation or fraud in funding applications, through the appropriate line management route.
- Undertake other duties commensurate with the grade and purpose of the post, as may reasonably be requested by the line manager or Department Manager.
Education and Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree
Experience & Knowledge:
Essential
- Experience of student funding or finance administration in UK higher education, or comparable regulated casework such as welfare benefits, funding or advice services.
- Working knowledge of the SLC’s Student Information System, Course Management Service and Bursary Admin Service.
- Ability to interpret detailed regulations and guidance accurately, apply them consistently to individual cases, and explain them to students in plain language
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, and in using student record systems to record, search and report on data.
- Ability to prioritise competing deadlines and workloads, particularly at registration and re-registration peaks, while maintaining a high level of accuracy.
- Highly effective written communication, including student correspondence, guidance and summary reporting.
- Ability to hold sensitive and sometimes difficult conversations about money with students in financial distress, calmly and without judgement.
- Empathy, and the ability to understand and address students' concerns.
- Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to build rapport and trust with students.
- Ability to maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive personal and financial information with professionalism.
- Ability to work on own initiative with a positive approach to problem solving, and to recognise when a case must be escalated rather than resolved locally.
- Ability to work collaboratively across professional services teams and with external partners.
- Willingness to learn and develop, and to contribute to the wider activities of Student Experience and the College.
- Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusive practice, and to widening access for students from lower-income backgrounds.
- Willingness to work occasional evenings or weekends during peak periods such as enrolment and open days.
Desirable
- Experience of working in a student finance, funding or fees team in a UK higher education provider.
- Experience of working within a franchise, partnership or subcontractual delivery arrangement.
- Familiarity with SLC practitioner guidance and SLC Higher Education Provider (HEP) portal.
- Experience of administering bursary, scholarship or hardship funds.
- Working knowledge of Disabled Students' Allowance processes.
- Familiarity with student record systems.
- Experience of delivering group information sessions or workshops.
- Experience of contributing to audit, or to reporting for managers, committees or external partners.
- Money advice, debt advice or welfare rights training.
- Understanding of the barriers to participation faced by students from lower-income or non-traditional backgrounds.
Benefits
- Annual leave (7.2 weeks)
- Workplace pension scheme.
- Company Sick Pay.
- Statutory maternity and paternity pay.
- Employee Assistance Programme (HA Wisdom Wellbeing)
- Virtual GP access (Livi)
- 'Speak Up Service' - confidential support service to report any workplace concerns
- Specialist physical and mental wellbeing support services with 24/7 confidential counselling support (Wisdom)
- Specialist menopause support, including online CBT (Wisdom)
- Financial, legal and medical advice services provided (Wisdom)
- Life & Leadership coaching (Wisdom)
- Financial coaching (MUNNY)
- Discounts and perks, offering savings on shopping, activities and more (Bright Exchange)
- Career development and training opportunities.
- Training and self-development opportunities.