Saúl Ramirez

Director - CSU Maritime Financial Aid Office

Rancho Cucamonga, California, United States

About

Experience

  • California State University Maritime Academy (Vallejo, California, United States · On-site)
    • Director of Financial Aid
      Sep 2023 - Present · 2 yrs 10 mos

    • Associate Director
      Mar 2023 - Sep 2023 · 7 mos

  • California State Polytechnic University-Pomona (17 yrs 11 mos)
    • Associate Director
      Mar 2021 - Mar 2023 · 2 yrs 1 mo

      •Lead a team dedicated to excellent customer service with increased engagement and commitment to students, parents, and campus partners •Participate, coordinate, or lead activities such as open house events and workshops to assist families in applying for financial aid and understanding their aid package. •Work collaboratively in providing assistance and training to campus partners including Student Accounting & Cashiering Services, Bronco Advising Center, Academic Advisors, EOP, Renaissance Program, Dreamers Resource Center •Lead and support the expansion of customer service platforms to increase or improve the method in which we provide service to students, parents and campus community. This includes the implementation of CPPConnect for appointments, a Qless system for students to receive service virtually or in person, and a LiveChat system •Lead a team of 3 financial aid technicians and 2 counselors (activities outlined below under Scholarship Team responsibilities) •Lead the team of student assistants (activities outlined below under the Scholarship Team responsibilities) •Administer the Middle-Class Scholarship portfolio with total payments to CPP students of $5.2 mil

    • Lead Coordinator
      Feb 2015 - Mar 2021 · 6 yrs 2 mos

      •Provide leadership and guidance to scholarship team of 3 •Project Lead in the review and revamping of scholarship application and administration process at CPP •Coordinate efforts related to scholarship administration with campus partners such as Advancement, Donor Relations, Foundation and Student Accounting & Cashiering •Lead project to centralizing campus-wide scholarship opportunities through the Blackbaud (Academic Works) system •Present to various audiences including President’s Cabinet, Provost Council, and other stakeholders for streamlining scholarship project •Reconcile scholarship portfolio of $5.5 million •Provide assistance to Athletic department with awarding student athletes •Provide reports and data to Financial Aid Director, Associate Vice President and others inquiring on all aspects of scholarship administration •Supervise the Technician Team of 3 •Provide guidance, direction, training, development and goals to ensure student needs are met with all things related to document processing and customer service •Provide feedback and recommendations for performance evaluations with guidance and supervision of Director •Oversee business processes and day-to-day office operations to achieve, effective and efficient service and delivery of aid to students •First point of contact for resolution of escalated issues related to all aspects of financial aid •Participate in outreach activities for on-campus and off-campus community partners on presenting information regarding financial aid and scholarship process to students and parents in English and Spanish •Hire, train and supervise Student Assistants to ensure highest level of customer service in person and over the phone to parents, students and campus community partners with financial aid and scholarships inquiries •Manage their federal work-study allocations to not exceed term and annual awards •Process payroll on a monthly basis to ensure timely paycheck distribution

    • Scholarship Coordinator
      Sep 2011 - Feb 2015 · 3 yrs 6 mos

      •Serve as contact person for departments, staff and students with scholarship inquiries •Ensure donor specifications are met when awarding and disbursing scholarships •Ensure reconciliation of funds with Student Accounting & Cashiering Services •Review documentation to determine eligibility for a wide variety of federal & state grants, loans and scholarships •Maintain current with knowledge of current federal, state and institutional policies and procedures •Analyze information to make financial decisions based on information reported on student application •Coordinate release of funds after resolving problems related to non-disbursement of funds •Ability to read and understand national and state database systems like NSLDS and WebGrants to accurately calculate eligibility for grant such as Pell Grant and Cal Grant. •Provide additional support to the Scholarship Specialist as needed •Provide direction, help lead and supervise the Scholarship Student Assistant in daily clerical tasks