Qualifications

Financial aid professional with extensive experience as a training specialist, consultant, financial aid director and Interim
Vice President for Student Affairs.
Work History
August 2014Present, Financial Aid Consultant, Financial Aid Solutions
Specializing in training, FISAP and audit guidance, short-term financial aid office placement, peak-activity
processing, packaging, file verification and review, reconciliation, computer conversions, policy and procedure
manuals, and project work.

March 2012July 2014, Regional Training Executive, USA Funds
Part of a small team that researched, developed and delivered financial aid and student success trainings throughout
the country, both through live presentations and via webcast. I also served as a subject matter expert for financial
aid and student success topics.

March 2011March 2012, Associate Director of Financial Aid & Scholarships, Rochester Institute of Technology
Primarily responsible for over $30 million in endowed scholarships, office training and compliance, Return to Title
IV Funds calculations, and the NY State HEOP Program.

October 2010March 2011, Senior Financial Aid Consultant, Evans Consulting Group, LLC
Specialized in financial aid training, operational and program reviews, and interim financial aid office management.

August 2009September 2010, Director of Financial Aid & Scholarships and Interim Vice President for Student Affairs,
Northwest College
As Director of Financial Aid & Scholarships, I was responsible for all aspects of awarding, disbursing and reconciling
Federal, State and institutional financial aid. As Interim Vice President for Student Affairs, I oversaw the following
offices: Financial Aid & Scholarships, Residence Life/Housing, Enrollment Management/Admissions, Registrar,
Athletics, the Student Success Center, Campus Security, the college Child Care Center, and International Student
Programs.

January 2008August 2009, Financial Aid Consultant, Financial Aid Solutions
Specialized in training, FISAP and audit guidance, short-term financial aid office placement, peak-activity
processing, packaging, file verification and review, reconciliation, computer conversions, policy and procedure
manuals, and project work.

December 2005January 2008, Financial Aid Training Specialist, EdFund
Researched, prepared and presented financial aid training materials to the financial aid community throughout the
United States. Explained new and complex federal regulations to ensure schools compliance. Responded to
intricate and varied questions regarding all aspects of financial aid.

April 2005December 2005, Regional Account Manager, ELM Resources
Responsible for the creation and/or maintenance of relationships with the lending, guaranty and college
communities within the Northwest region. Presented information on ELMs services and benefits to colleges and
universities.

January 1996April 2005, Financial Aid Consultant, Financial Aid Solutions
Specialized in training, FISAP and audit guidance, short-term financial aid office placement, peak-activity
processing, packaging, file verification and review, reconciliation, computer conversions, policy and procedure
manuals, and project work.

January 1995January 1996, Financial Aid Director, Menlo College
Responsible for all aspects of awarding and disbursing Federal, State and institutional financial aid. Researched,
formulated and tested packaging strategies and policies.
Tara Piantanida-Kelly
541.261.0524
Tara@FinancialAidSolutions.com
344 Middle Road
Caledonia, NY 14423

Tara Piantanida-Kelly
Education
Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Bachelor of Arts in Music, Winthrop University

Significant Career Achievements
Author of Tips and Strategies for Selecting the Best Value in a College, available on Amazon.com.

During my time at Northwest College, I:
Successfully implemented the Direct Loan Program,
Revised the institutional packaging policy in order to increase the number and caliber of our scholarship
applicants while still maintaining our scholarship budget,
Was asked to act as Master of Ceremonies at the Employee Recognition Banquet, at which the Financial Aid
Office received the Outstanding Team of the Year award,
Was asked to serve as the Interim Vice President for Student Affairs until a permanent replacement could be
hired.

While serving as the Interim Financial Aid Director at a university in Northern California, I reviewed the institutions
FISAP (Fiscal Operations Report and Application to Participate) to determine why the schools Campus-Based funding levels
had decreased so significantly from the prior year. I found that the income grid figures that were submitted on the FISAP had
been run using a significantly smaller selection set, which produced drastically inaccurate results. When I ran the income grid
figures using the correct selection set and resubmitted the FISAP using the corrected data, the schools funding levels were
increased to the appropriate levels.

A small health-professions college contacted me when the Department of Education suspended their Program
Participation Agreement (PPA). The Department felt that the school had neglected to abide by the some of the terms of the
agreement. Without an active PPA, the school was unable to process or deliver any form of financial aid to its students. I
researched the issue, and wrote a lengthy rebuttal citing regulations from the Code of Federal Regulations. When I submitted
the rebuttal and all supporting documentation to the Department of Education Case Management Team, they agreed that the
school was actually in compliance with the terms of their PPA, and the school was able to deliver financial aid proceeds to its
students.

When I was hired as the Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships for Menlo College, I was the first experienced
financial aid administrator that the school had ever hired. The previous administrators had never properly evaluated the
schools packaging policy, and the school was seriously over-awarding its institutional grants/tuition discounts. Prior to my
hire, the school had made an appointment with a consulting firm that offered to use their proprietary system to leverage the
schools funding to attract the best possible class while spending the least possible money. I listened to their proposal, and
then told my supervisor that I could produce the same or similar results without spending the considerable fee on the
consulting firms system. In conjunction with the Admissions Office and Bursars Office, we established the objectives of the
policy (i.e. the number of students we wanted to enroll, the total amount of money we wanted to spend, etc.). From there, I
constructed a matrix, and adjusted the components until my testing produced the desired results. I used the matrix to
package our students, and as a result, we remained within our budgeted funding levels while still enrolling the desired
number (and caliber) of students.


Personal Interests
I am a purple belt in American Open-Style karate and a green belt in Taikwa (a combination of karate and judo).
I compete in horse shows and hunter paces with my horse, Primo Sogno. I purchased him in 2007 as an unstarted 2-
year-old and have trained him using natural horsemanship techniques.
I am a member of Kelleys Heroes, an adult marching/concert band.