Student Support Specialist

Position Title:

Student Support Specialist Compensation:

$18.45 - 20.34

Department:

Cardinal Central_

C Start Date:

05/18/2026 About this opportunity: Ball State welcomes applicants seeking a career in student-focused Higher Education. This is a full-time on-campus position that assists prospective, current, and returning students, families, and Ball State staff. Candidates for searches must have current authorization to be employed in the United States without employer sponsorship. What you'll do and what you'll bring:

Position Function:

The Student Support Specialist is part of the centralized team within Cardinal Central that provides a student-focused approach to quality service to provide an exceptional, seamless service experience that supports student success and institutional goals of recruitment, retention, and graduation. This position is crossed-trained to provide front-line support to students (prospective, current, former, alumni), parents/families, and other campus community members in the areas of University Registrar, Financial Aid and Scholarships, and the Student Financial Services (Bursar). This position answers questions for a significant breadth and depth related to the offices and facilitate transactions. The Specialist is the first level of student contact where personal interaction and problem solution begins, providing specialized information and responding to inquiries, acting as a triage for complex enrollment issues, solving end to end issues, and elevation complex issues to the appropriate Specialists and/or Advisors in the office that support the Center.

Duties & Responsibilities:

1. Counsel and advise students and parents regarding in-depth financial aid questions concerning FAFSA completion, financial aid eligibility, cost of attendance, expected family contribution, types of aid and disbursement processing. Proactively reach out to students before next term's registration to initiate contact and respond to any questions. Use Salesforce communication tool to accurately reflect interactions with students for record-keeping purposes. Types of interactions include but are not limited to emails, calls, walk-ins, virtual appointments, chat rooms, and service tickets. 2. Investigate eligibility and disbursement issues related to federal, state, institutional and private sources of assistance including, but not limited to loans, grants, scholarships, and federal work-study. 3. Counsel students requesting to withdraw from or not to return to the University. Investigate reasons why students are requesting to leave and identify solutions and campus resources that may assist in their persistence. 4. Advise and problem solve with students on a variety of registration, enrollment, and records issues. Includes but is not limited to Withdrawals, navigating SSB, grade appeals (as they apply to holds/probations/grant and loan consequences), and reaffirmations. 5. Use proactive approach with outreach and engagement efforts as necessary for prospective students, current students, and parents as appropriate. 6. Review and process requests for academic information including transcripts, certification of enrollment, letters of academic standing, and insurance third-party enrollment verifications. 7. Collect financial aid appeals, verification, and other requested documentation, ensuring all documents required are sufficient and complete. 8. Review, analyze, and interpret student account activity (Ebills), credits, debits, adjustments, and statements in order to be able to respond to student inquiries. 9. Respond to inquiries in person, by phone, and email timely and with accuracy using excellent customer service skills. Enforce Proxy rules in order to stay in compliance with

FERPA. 10.

Provide exceptional customer service; determine student's needs in a professional, courteous manner, and resolve issues proactively; provide accurate information after careful analysis of the appropriate CASHNet/Banner screens; establish mutually acceptable payment arrangements; calculate deferment options; process all payments on day received with accuracy. 11. Determine when an exception is warranted or a late or deferment fee should be waived or the issue should be escalated to the Appeals Committee. 12. Advise students and parents regarding charges, financial refunds, set up of direct deposit accounts, and timing of refunds. 13. Perform other cashiering transactions; count safe and drawers; operate safe and alarm. 14. Perform other related duties as assigned. 15. Maintain regular and predictable attendance.

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree or equivalent in business related area. Exceptional customer service skills and knowledge of basic service etiquette. Exceptional oral and written communication skills. Ability to write clearly, concisely, and correctly. Ability to work as a team member. Ability to analyze and interpret data and make independent decisions. Ability to work within systems and platforms. Ability and willingness to learn innovative programs, applications, systems, tools, platforms, etc. Ability to attend meetings, events, functions on and off-campus, and work weekends and evenings as required. Ability to meet expectations in a fast-paced, dynamic, customer-oriented environment. Highly motivated, focused and results oriented. Ability to maintain the confidentiality of records and information. Ability to read, understand and explain to others a vast array of policies and procedures.

Preferred Qualifications:

Extensive customer service experience; additional years of related experience. Experience in one of the areas that we serve (Student Financial Services (Bursar), Registrar, Financial Aid & Scholarships) How to apply: To apply, complete the following: Resume (Required) Cover Letter (Required) For additional questions, contact Sarah Stahl at 765-285-6160 or sarah.stahl@bsu.edu.

What we offer:

At Ball State University, we understand the importance of balancing professional responsibilities with personal well-being. That's why we offer paid 10 to 24 vacation days, 12 sick days, and 10 holidays a year. Plus, our paid parental leave (6 weeks) is there for life's most significant moments. We offer affordable health and dental insurance, robust long-term disability and life insurance plans, as well a range of retirement benefits to provide financial security to you and your family. These benefits ensure that you can focus on your work and personal growth without worrying about the unexpected. When you work for us, you are family. And to show our support of your family, we will cover 90 percent of your child's (or children's) undergraduate college tuition at Ball State. We do the same for you. In fact, we'll cover 100 percent of the tuition costs for you to earn your undergraduate degree and 80 percent of your graduate tuition. This offer is good from the very first day you start. It's just one way we do our part to uplift you. Let's fly together toward a secure and prosperous tomorrow. Curious about our excellent benefits package? We have developed a calculator that show you the value of our core benefits. Select the Total Compensation Calculator - Staff (Exempt) and download our calculator spreadsheet. Goodness requires action to grow. We're dedicated to doing our part to keep goodness growing in Muncie, at our university, and as far beyond as possible. That's where you come in. When you join our team, you become part of goodness in action.

Our main priority:

uplifting students so they can discover their full potential. This is how we fly. There are about 3,000 full-time faculty and staff in the Ball State University work family. Each brings unique gifts to help us be the kind of institution we want to be. In return, we do our best to take care of them through comprehensive medical and dental plans, a Health Savings Account (which we contribute to), and a whole range of wellness, retirement, and other benefits like covering the cost of tuition at Ball State for you and your family. We can offer you more. Where you live matters just as much as where you work. We get it. That's why we've invested since the very beginning in making our hometown work. On campus, find state-of-the-art facilities and one-of-a-kind arts and cultural events. In Muncie, you'll find a warm and welcoming community with affordable housing and a vibrant downtown arts, food, and music scene. What could be better? You here - for starters. Ball State University is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, disability, genetic information, ethnicity, national origin or ancestry, age, protected veteran status, or any legally protected status. Ball State provides accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities who can perform the essential functions of the position. Contact the Assistant Director of Equal Opportunity and ADA Coordinator, John Bowers, at 765-285-5163 for assistance. People and Culture Services Administration Building (AD), Room

G008 2000

University Avenue Muncie, IN 47306 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Monday-Friday Phone:

765-285-1834

Fax:

765-285-8663