By Maria Carrasco, NASFAA Staff Reporter

After a tumultuous five years, financial aid offices have had to navigate significant changes within the world of higher education. During these challenging periods that have seen staffing shortages, complications with FAFSA simplification, and updated regulatory guidance, it is important to take stock of effective and sustainable approaches to supporting aid offices. 

At a time when many institutions are reimagining service delivery and workplace flexibility, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte) offers insight and a compelling case study of how a remote work model can be both effective and sustainable.

During the height of the pandemic, a number of factors had financial aid professionals reconsidering their employment options, with one survey finding that 81.9% of financial aid professionals said their work duties can be done remotely. NASFAA also conducted its own surveys, and found that many financial aid offices were struggling to remain in compliance with federal regulations and meet the needs of students due to staffing shortages. 

While UNC Charlotte’s financial aid office is no longer remote, due to a statewide order limiting remote work to one day a week, Bruce Blackmon, the university’s director of financial aid, spoke with NASFAA about how his office of 22 employees made this transition and worked fully remote for nearly two years, as well as how his office is transitioning back to working mostly in-person.

Making the Transition From In-Person to Remote

The pandemic brought an onslaught of problems. Many staff members decided to move out of state to be closer to family, while others moved due to the high cost of living in Charlotte, leaving the financial aid office struggling to fill open positions, Blackmon said.  

But seeing his office successfully navigate remote work for 15 months during the pandemic made him wonder whether a permanent remote office would be feasible. 

Then, an opportunity opened up. 

In fall 2023, UNC Charlotte’s Graduate Studies Office needed space. Specifically, the graduate studies office was going to take half of Blackmon’s financial aid office space, displacing half of his staff.  

Blackmon noted that for institutions across the country, salaries for financial aid offices aren’t high, so going fully remote could serve as a good recruiting tool to hire qualified staff.

When first making the transition in 2023, Blackmon shared that there were worries that going fully remote could be a great decision or “total disaster,” especially with the implementation of FAFSA simplification. 

With careful internal planning and coordination with other teams on campus, the financial aid office was successful and ultimately awarded the 2025 Staff Employee of the Year Award at UNC Charlotte. 

“In order to [transition successfully], I think you have to have established guidelines, have good policies and procedures, and set high expectations of the staff,” Blackmon said. 

A big resource that helped in making this transition was UNC Charlotte’s Niner Central, an in-person customer service office for students, which handles walk-in traffic and can answer students’ questions regarding financial aid, student accounts, and the registrar. 

Blackmon said that with the help of Niner Central, the financial aid office was able to focus fully on processing financial aid rather than being a front-facing student office. While the office still works with students, it’s most often done virtually through Zoom. The office also still hosts in-person financial aid presentations and financial aid nights for students. 

Blackmon also noted the importance of prioritizing staff connection during fully remote operations. The office hosted monthly training sessions, with snacks or lunch provided, to allow the team to work together. 

Bi-monthly staff meetings on Zoom, and weekly individual check-ins between managers and staff kept lines of communication open. Soon, Zoom and Google Meet became the office’s “best friends,” Blackmon said.

The intentional work paid off, Blackmon said, as employee retention improved. 

Still, the change was not without its own challenges. Some staff preferred in-person work to remote, and were able to work on campus in the team’s remaining office space. Managers also struggled to monitor productivity.  

“Since we're essentially now a processing office, we had to find software and other mechanisms to monitor what people were doing,” Blackmon said. “However, not all systems are easily monitored, and there are some things that you can't quantify with a report.”

However, for the most part, Blackmon said his team enjoyed being fully remote and noted that the office was incredibly successful during their time working fully remote. 

“We had shown during Covid that remote work was possible,” Blackmon said. “Our office navigated FAFSA simplification while working remotely. Our entire office was nominated for Employee of the Year. We had one of the largest enrollments in the history of the university and we played a major role in that. We had another record enrollment this fall, all while working as a remote staff.” 

Remote Work in Higher Education

Despite its success,  UNC Charlotte’s decision to move the financial aid office fully remote was uncommon, said Melissa Fuesting, associate director of research at the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR). 

According to data from CUPA-HR’s 2024-25 Benefits, Employee Experience, and Structure (BEES) Survey, about 26% of institutions allow for financial aid offices to hire fully remote employees, meaning employees have no regular expectation of working from campus. 

However, Fuesting noted, the 26% doesn’t necessarily mean that a financial aid office is fully remote, but rather that 26% of institutions are allowed to hire fully remote employees. 

Looking at a campus-at-large, Fuesting said institutions that allow fully remote work arrangements for employees don’t often have high concentrations of remote employees, which suggests that it’s rare to have fully remote offices in higher education. It’s typical for institutions that offer fully remote work arrangements to have 3% of their employees fully remote, 20% hybrid, and the remainder fully on campus, she noted.

Fuesting said the desire for institutions to embrace fully remote work for entire teams appears to be a mixed bag. Some institutions are looking to enable more location flexibility, whereas others are leaning more toward bringing teams back on campus. 

According to CUPA-HR’s survey, over half of institutions that offer fully remote work arrangements set these policies at the institutional level. That’s opposed to allowing individual departments or supervisors to determine who can work remotely. Fuesting recommended that if a financial aid office would like to go remote, the office must be prepared to convince top leadership why it’s a good fit for your institution, its mission, and students.

Notably, based on CUPA-HR’s 2023 Employee Retention Survey, 82% of financial aid employees say their duties can be performed remotely. Specifically, 47% of financial aid employees prefer a hybrid work arrangement with a blend of in-person and remote work whereas 30% preferred mostly or fully remote.

These preferences are important to retaining financial aid employees, Fuesting said. CUPA-HR in collaboration with NASFAA found that among financial aid employees who are currently considering leaving their current institution, 59% list the opportunity to work remotely as one of their top reasons for considering other employment.

There are many reasons why financial aid employees may want a hybrid or fully remote work arrangement, Fuesting said. Many financial aid employees know that it is possible to serve students regardless of where they are, and many have direct experience working fully remotely during the pandemic. 

“Another big draw of remote or hybrid work arrangements is how they help employees juggle their many professional and personal obligations,” Fuesting said. “Remote work cuts a commute and can provide the opportunity to do a load of laundry, pick up the kids, or to have the privacy needed for a telehealth appointment.”

Blackmon recommends that institutions consider a remote work arrangement for their financial aid office or at least a hybrid arrangement. He said providing remote work as a benefit helped his office find and retain qualified employees.

“Our time working remotely showed us that flexibility in higher education is not only possible but effective,” Blackmon said. “Staff met deadlines, supported students, and adapted in creative ways that affirmed the value of remote and hybrid models. In a field where recruitment and retention are already challenging, particularly in higher cost areas like Charlotte, maintaining some level of flexibility will continue to be essential for supporting both staff wellbeing and institutional success.”

The Return to the Office

In August, the entire UNC system implemented a policy that prohibited fully remote work, bringing the financial aid team back on campus four days a week, with one day available each week for remote work. 

“Our time working remotely showed us that flexibility in higher education is not only possible but effective,” Blackmon said. “Staff met deadlines, supported students, and adapted in creative ways that affirmed the value of remote and hybrid models. In a field where recruitment and retention are already challenging, particularly in higher cost areas like Charlotte, maintaining some level of flexibility will continue to be essential for supporting both staff wellbeing and institutional success.”

Now that the office is returning to working mostly in-person, Blackmon shared that he anticipates some hurdles, such as recalibrating limited office space, rethinking the office’s service model, and making sure that staff feel supported during this transition. 

However, Blackmon said there are positives to being back on campus. 

“Being physically together creates opportunities for quick problem solving and hands-on mentoring for newer staff,” Blackmon said. “It reinforces our visibility across the university community. It allows us to reengage with faculty, advisors, and colleagues in ways that support student success.”

Publication Date: 10/7/2025

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