Accounting - Collections Assistant
Job Title: Accounting - Collections Assistant
Classification: C3
Department: Accounting Office Student Accounts
Updated: January 2019
Job Summary
Approximately 50% of the position is the coordination and accounting for outside agencies and businesses that pay tuition expenses for GVSU students. The other half of the position provides clerical support in the Collections Office and on the Billing Hotline.
Essential Functions:
Accounting:
- Explains complex policies on third party tuition payments to students, family members, employers and high school administration. The policy for each third party business is different from the others.
- Works with Financial Aid, Admissions and Records to keep the student’s account accurate.
- Monitors changes and refunds. Submits transmittals to apply credits and debits to the student’s account.
- Monitors tuition vouchers from financial aid and maintains excel spreadsheets of all third party transactions.
- Sends invoices to the appropriate third party and collects payments on the receivables.
- Reconciles third party accounts receivables to the financial records system on a monthly basis. Finds discrepancies and writes journal entries to correct them.
- Uses judgment to determine which system (FRS or BR) should receive funds.
- Uses judgment to determine if a credit on the system should be released to the student or should be sent back to the third party.
- Communicates with the bookstore concerning who is eligible to buy books on credit and then follows up after the purchase by processing a transaction to issue money back to the bookstore.
- Submits journal entries at the end of each month to zero out the appropriate agency funds.
Collections:
- Contacts individuals with delinquent accounts via telephone, letters, the internet and other necessary, appropriate means.
- Explains the account status, alternate payment plans and likely consequences of failure to pay.
- Authorizes and processes the referral of accounts to collection agencies. Works with and monitors agencies to insure proper collection. Reports payments received by GVSU, updates interest, updates addresses and processes closeouts.
- Responds to correspondence from debtors.
- Skip-traces debtors through the Department of Motor Vehicles, Internal Revenue Service, credit bureaus and other necessary, appropriate means.
- Refers and updates records of delinquency to credit bureaus.
- Assists on the Billing Hotline.
- Coordinates the work of student employees.
- Performs other related duties or functions as assigned by the Collections Coordinator.
Non-Essential Functions
Not applicable
Required Qualifications
- High school graduate or equivalent.
- Minimum of three years of relevant work experience.
- Demonstrated experience to successfully work under pressure and meet deadlines.
- Demonstrated experience to successfully maintain positive intercultural and interpersonal relationships.
- Demonstrated experience to successfully operate office equipment.
- Demonstrated experience to successfully provide quality customer service.
- Demonstrated experience to successfully maintain satisfactory work performance and attendance records.
- Possess strong verbal and written communication skills.
- Typing and spelling competency.
- Demonstrated experience to successfully to use various computer software applications.
- Demonstrated experience to successfully work independently, organize own work and coordinate work activities of others.
- Demonstrated experience to successfully perform mathematical calculations with speed and accuracy.
- Excellent grammar and proofreading skills.
Preferred Qualifications
- Some college course work.
- Experience in higher education.
- Supervisory experience.
- Experience with software applications.
- Demonstrated experience to successfully perform mathematical calculations with speed and accuracy.
Supervision Received
Receives general instruction from a designated supervisor, but is generally expected to work independently.
Supervision Exercised
Hire, train, supervise, schedule and coordinate the work of student employees and may act as lead worker to other PSS staff members within the department/unit/division.
Physical Demands
- To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function satisfactorily. Must have the physical stamina to work long hours and/or more than 5 days per week. The requirements listed are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- The information contained in this job description is for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (A.D.A) and is not an exhaustive list of the duties performed for this position. Additional duties are performed by the individuals currently holding this position and additional duties may be assigned.