Student Account Analysts

Vancouver Island University accepts applications for the regular full-time role of Student Accounts Analysts a new role within the Financial Services department. Two positions are to be filled.

Key Responsibilities:

Standardized Transactions:

• Monitor, review and adjust student accounts ensuring the accuracy of payments applied, amounts billed, and remaining balances owing, in the student ledger system
• Apply payments to student accounts ensuring appropriate payment application methodology and processes are applied including:
• Processing of incoming bank wire payments received via RBC to the appropriate student account or department
• Investigate unidentified wire payments received via RBC to determine the appropriate student account or department to apply
• Download and upload daily EDI online bank payment files and investigate any discrepancies
• Conduct bank deposit preparations as required and ensure they are prepared for pickup
• Prepare daily payment reconciliations
• Analyze student account records with outstanding balances, determine appropriate collections action., ensure compliance with BC Collections Law and VIU policies and procedures
• Process departmental charges to student accounts and adhere to all university policies and guidelines
• Maintenance of petty cash and cash floats
• Respond to emails and telephone calls
• Provides support to the Student Sponsor Coordinator as required
• Prepare clearing transactions for items such as payments and invoices for campus and external partners, annual bad debt write-offs, and contracts
• Apply and/or reverse international medical insurance fees (Guard.Me) through:
• SLED uploads
• Manual application of charges & payments in SLED
• Implementation of opt-out processes
• Communication with Guard.Me on exceptional cases

Refund Processing:

• Responsible for efficiently and accurately processing student refunds
• Receive and process refund requests from students, or internal departments through various channels, including email
• Verify the accuracy and validity of refund requests, ensuring that all necessary documentation, information, and authorization has been received
• Process refunds using the appropriate payment methods, including cheque, credit card, and online payment platforms such as PayMyTuition (PMT)
• Reconcile refund transactions with accounting records to ensure accuracy and completeness

Communication:

• Provide exceptional and professional customer service to students, parents, internal departments, and external customers
• Capable of articulating clearly and concisely to individuals with varying language proficiencies.
• Monitor and respond to incoming emails promptly and professionally
• Address inquiries, resolve issues, and provide accurate information based on institutional policies
• Organize and prioritize emails based on urgency and complexity
• Collaborate with other team members to ensure consistent and cohesive responses
• Answer incoming phone calls in a courteous and efficient manner

Complex Transactions:

• Process complicated, unique transactions using judgment and knowledge of university policies and procedures
• Identify and recommend improvements in business processes to enhance efficiency and accuracy while maintaining internal controls

Other Related Duties:

• Provides support to Accounts Receivable and Treasury group as required. This will include supporting the trade receivables group with accounts receivable review, collections, write-offs, refunding, payment application, and payment review
• Apply functional system expertise and collaborate with the Manager, Student Financial Services on system enhancements and ongoing maintenance
• Proactively identify opportunities to improve business processes and prepare systems requests with approvals for the Manager
• Participate in projects within relevant deadlines and establish project priorities to ensure responsiveness to stakeholders' requests
• Performs all other duties and responsibilities as assigned or directed by the revenue team management

Required Qualifications:

• Two-year diploma in Business, (with minimum 15 credits in accounting) from an appropriately accredited institution, or five (5) years of recent related experience in accounting and/or finance. 
• An equivalent combination of certification, education, and experience may be considered.