Ellucian Colleague Accounts Receivable Consultant

POSITION SUMMARY

The Colleague Accounts Receivable (AR) Consultant works in partnership with higher education clients throughout the Service Delivery Lifecycle to design, configure, implement, optimize, and support Colleague Student Accounts Receivable solutions. This includes major and minor enhancements, business process improvements, and ongoing maintenance of existing systems and applications, within the scope and budget agreed upon with the client.

The Consultant provides functional expertise in student billing, cashiering, payment processing, collections, account reconciliation, and financial integrations. This role partners with institutional stakeholders to identify business requirements, troubleshoot complex issues, streamline processes, and ensure effective utilization of the Colleague Accounts Receivable module.

The Consultant reports through Professional Services, working under the direction of a Director and ultimately the Vice President of Professional Services.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Provide functional consulting, configuration, implementation, and ongoing support for the Colleague Student Accounts Receivable module.
• Analyze client business processes, gather requirements, and recommend solutions that align with institutional goals, operational needs, and industry best practices.
• Configure and maintain Accounts Receivable functionality, including tuition and fee assessment, billing processes, payment plans, cashiering, refunds, third-party sponsorships, and collections.
• Support the integration of Accounts Receivable with other Colleague modules, including Student, Financial Aid, General Ledger, and related financial systems.
• Assist clients with term-end, fiscal year-end, and calendar year-end processes, including account reconciliation, term rollovers, and annual 1098-T tax reporting.
• Analyze and troubleshoot complex student account discrepancies, payment application issues, billing errors, and General Ledger reconciliation challenges.
• Support the design, testing, and implementation of system enhancements, regulatory updates, software releases, and integrations with third-party applications.
• Participate in system implementations, including functional requirements gathering, configuration, data conversion validation, user acceptance testing (UAT), go-live preparation, and post-implementation support.
• Review and recommend improvements to student accounts business processes to increase operational efficiency, improve accuracy, and enhance the student experience.
• Develop and maintain functional documentation, including business requirements, configuration specifications, process workflows, testing procedures, and training materials.
• Provide training, knowledge transfer, and functional guidance to client end users, including Student Accounts, Bursar, Cashiering, and Finance personnel.
• Assist clients with reporting and reconciliation needs, including aging receivables, outstanding balances, cash receipts, student account activity, and financial reporting.
• Collaborate with client stakeholders, project managers, technical consultants, and other functional teams to ensure successful project delivery.
• Attend internal and external project meetings, client workshops, and professional development activities as required.
• Maintain current knowledge of Ellucian Colleague functionality, higher education financial operations, regulatory requirements, and industry best practices.
• Share functional expertise and knowledge with colleagues to support team development and continuous improvement.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required Qualifications

• 3+ years of consulting experience in a higher education environment or equivalent experience supporting higher education financial operations.
• 3+ years of hands-on experience with Colleague Student Accounts Receivable, including system configuration, administration, troubleshooting, and functional support.
• Strong understanding of higher education student accounts processes, including:
  • Tuition and fee assessment and billing
  • Cashiering and payment processing
  • Student refunds and credit balances
  • Payment plans and installment billing
  • Third-party and sponsor billing
  • Collections and accounts receivable aging
  • Student account reconciliation
  • Term-end and year-end processing
  • 1098-T tax reporting
• Working knowledge of integrations between Colleague Accounts Receivable, Student, Financial Aid, and General Ledger.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze and resolve complex system configuration, billing, reconciliation, and operational issues.
• Experience gathering business requirements, documenting functional processes, and recommending system improvements.
• Experience delivering end-user training, facilitating workshops, and providing knowledge transfer to institutional staff.
• Ability to work independently, manage multiple client assignments, prioritize competing deadlines, and deliver quality results.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with technical and nontechnical stakeholders.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, organizational, and client service skills.
• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Information Technology, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience implementing or supporting Colleague Accounts Receivable in multiple higher education institutions.
• Previous experience working in a college or university Bursar's Office, Student Accounts Office, or Finance department.
• Experience with Colleague SaaS environments and Ellucian's evolving technology platforms.
• Familiarity with Colleague Self-Service, WebAdvisor, Colleague Studio, and related reporting tools.
• Experience supporting integrations with third-party payment processors, payment plan providers, and other student financial services applications.
• Experience with legacy data migration, data validation, system testing, and post-go-live support.
• Knowledge of higher education regulatory and compliance requirements related to student accounts and tax reporting.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, including data analysis, PivotTables, and lookup functions.
• Experience developing detailed business requirements, functional configuration documentation, and process improvement recommendations.
• Colleague training, badges, or related higher education ERP certifications.