Our July Team Spotlight is Jimmy Criswell who joined College Aid Services as a Senior Consultant in 2023 and brings over 15 years of systems management experience to the team. His technological expertise includes, Colleague, Banner, PowerFAIDS, Campus View, CARS, AS400, TouchNet, CAMS, and SONIS.
With a strong focus on customer service and leadership, Jimmy has a proven track record when it comes to managing financial aid processes and ensuring compliance. In his previous roles, which include Director of Financial Aid, Jimmy has demonstrated his ability to strategically support student success and improve operational efficiency wherever he goes.
What do you like most about being a consultant?
What do I like most? I would say that the changes and the fact that this job is outside of the ordinary; especially if you’ve been at the same institution for a long time. The hardest part is waiting to be matched to a client and trying to see what you’re able to provide since every assignment is a new challenge in some way. I’m at a smaller school right now and they do a lot of things differently, so it has been exciting to experience those because it motivates me to be better professional.
What do you enjoy about working for College Aid Services?
I like it because I’m surrounded by people who want to help and build a genuine team. It is great to have co-workers who are willing to share, assist, and support one another. That’s why it’s important to be comfortable with asking questions – generally speaking, this community is very helpful if you are humble enough to ask. One time, I couldn’t find compliance and P&P documents and I received responses within minutes of putting it into our group chat.
What areas do you specialize in?
It has to be systems management because I enjoy that the most. Just to give an example: automation within schools of a certain size ranges in terms of complexity and I like to think about how to make those systems function in different environments. There are many schools that like to hold on to the same program forever, but they will have to transition eventually and I want to be a part of that solution to be more efficient.
How do you stay up to date with regulations and policy changes?
I cannot stress how impossible it is to stay updated without having a network or community to support you. You have to sign up for all the necessary list serves and make sure that you are reading the emails that they send. Everyone is worried and anxious about all the FAFSA changes, which makes communicating with others so important. I will never not be a member of NASFAA or attend their conferences. I don’t always agree with everything philosophically, but their advocacy is great. AskRegs is great because you can find different perspectives or submit a new question to get a response.
What challenges do you see on the horizon in Financial Aid?
My main concerns are how many of the federal regulations from 2007-2008 are coming back and how universities will respond to increasing costs. Many of the regulations are because of the political atmosphere in Washington and I’m not sure what will happen as time goes on. Schools are also doing a lot of reporting on different academic programs and I believe that they will cut the ones that are not generating enough revenue to stay open. Obviously, we know that this will have consequences moving forward.
What advice would you give to a new Financial Aid officer?
My biggest advice depends on what you want to do in this field. I always try to put the students first, so I have to operate with their interests in mind and put the time into it. If you want to do something in management, you have to put the work in additional hours to learn the skills.
Always have a goal of where you want to be professionally and that will tell you which steps that you need to take. Your priorities will change depending on what you want to do. If you have a question, ask someone for the answer and then ask how they found it, so that you know how to find it later; you have to be resourceful. Write it and document it.
What do you like to do when you are not doing Financial Aid
I like spending time outdoors and in nature as much as possible. I enjoy spending time with my wife and kids doing the sports and activities they enjoy. I enjoy working on continuous improvement in all the areas that interest me outside of work like financial responsibility, physical fitness, relationship building and stewardship of the things I have been blessed with and I enjoy being a good example to others. Walk instead of talk.
If you are interested in joining Jimmy and the rest of our College Aid Services team, review our current openings here. To learn more about how College Aid Services can help your institution, contact us at info@collegeaidservices.net or by phone toll-free at 833-GETCAS1 (833-438-2271).