Student Accounts Specialist

Department:	Finance	Effective Date:	May 2002
Grade:	USG 6	Reports to:	Manager, Student Financials

General Accountability

The Student Accounts Specialist is accountable to the Manager, Student Financials for accurately updating and processing financial transactions to students’ accounts. In this capacity, the incumbent possesses a thorough understanding of the student account and related financial procedures as well as providing a customer support role.

Nature and Scope

Student Accounts is responsible for the accurate assessment, billing and collection of all tuition, housing and related student fees. The incumbent possesses a thorough understanding of the student financial account and the underlying software application. The incumbent is responsible for the collection of tuition and related fees in excess of 100 million in yearly revenue. He/she arranges fee payment terms for those students with financial difficulties. Responsibilities include recording payments and fee arrangements such as OSAP and Financial Aid to Student Accounts’. This requires a strong working relationship with staff in the Registrars’ Office and the Graduate Studies Office. The specialist has a good understanding of academic student records in order to understand tuition assessment and provide essential quality service.

The Student Accounts Specialist possesses an in depth knowledge of generally accepted accounting principles as they apply to cash handling and related internal controls. He/she coordinates the preparation of bank deposits for cash collected on campus to ensure prompt delivery to banks. As part of cash management the incumbent identifies problem areas and provides guidance to University departments to ensure cash polices are adhered to. A close relationship with Corporate Accounting staff must exist in order to resolve bank reconciliation issues. He/she participates in testing during upgrades and system development as required. Strong communication skills are essential as the incumbent communicates with students, faculty, staff, sponsoring agencies and banks in resolving issues.

Statistical Data

Specific Accountabilities

Manage Student Fee Payments
Arrange and record student fee arrangements including non payroll Payment Plans
Customer Service including counter, phone and email
Log and monitor bank deposits for all campus outlets including issuance of Bank Deposits
Coordinate preparation of bank deposits for cash collected on campus to ensure prompt delivery to bank
Maintain appropriate internal controls for bank deposit receipts for campus outlets including issuance of bank deposit stamps
Monitor cash handling procedures across campus departments and recommend improvement where appropriate
Evaluate current cash handling procedures and recommend improvements as required
Ensure clean cut-off of bank deposits at year end
Responsible for petty cash fund
Participate in testing of application software
Assist other areas in Finance, as required