Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Bursar

🎯 Role Definition

The Bursar oversees all activities related to student accounts, billing, cashiering, and collections. Acting as the operational head of the student accounts office, the Bursar develops and enforces policies for tuition assessment, payment processing, refunds, and financial holds while ensuring accurate accounting, timely reporting, and compliance with institutional and federal regulations. This role partners closely with Financial Aid, Registrar, Admissions, IT, and campus departments to deliver seamless student financial services and to protect institutional cash flow.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Student Accounts Specialist / Student Billing Specialist
Accounts Receivable Accountant or AR Supervisor
Financial Aid Office staff with cross-training in billing and collections

Advancement To:

Director of Student Financial Services / Director of Bursar Services
Associate/Assistant Vice President of Finance or Campus Finance Leader
Chief Financial Officer (at smaller institutions)

Lateral Moves:

Director of Financial Aid
Registrar or Associate Registrar (student records-focused)
Controller or Accounting Manager (central finance office)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Manage and direct all aspects of student billing and accounts receivable, including timely generation of tuition and fee statements, installment plans, and account adjustments to ensure accurate assessment and collection of revenue.
Oversee cashiering and payment processing operations, ensuring secure handling of cash, checks, credit/debit and third‑party payments through campus payment gateways and merchant services.
Develop, implement and maintain policies and procedures for billing, refunds, tuition adjustments, and financial holds consistent with institutional policy and regulatory requirements.
Ensure compliance with federal and state regulations and institutional policies, including FERPA, Title IV coordination points, 1098‑T reporting, state tax considerations, and audit requirements.
Reconcile daily cash activity and bank deposits, maintain accurate general ledger entries for student account transactions, and work with accounting to close month-end and fiscal-year activities.
Lead collections strategy for past-due accounts, including internal collection workflows, external collection agency relationships, and escalation policies to minimize bad debt while balancing student success objectives.
Coordinate with Financial Aid to manage the interaction between awards, disbursements, and student billing; proactively address student account balances impacted by pending aid.
Administer third-party billing and contracts (sponsors, employers, or government tuition sponsors), ensuring correct billing, invoicing, and timely reconciliation of payments.
Manage the administration and reconciliation of tuition remission, scholarships, and third-party adjustments in collaboration with Financial Aid and Enrollment Management.
Oversee the processing of student refunds — including financial aid excesses, overpayments, and payroll-related disbursements — ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with institutional policies.
Prepare, analyze and present financial reports, KPI dashboards and trend analyses for senior leadership to inform budgeting, revenue forecasting, and strategic decision-making.
Supervise, hire, train and mentor bursar office staff and student employees; set performance standards, conduct evaluations, and provide professional development opportunities.
Lead or participate in ERP implementation, configuration and continuous improvement (Banner, PeopleSoft, Ellucian, Colleague, Workday), including testing, user training and change management for student finance modules.
Manage merchant services and online payment platforms (e.g., TouchNet, Nelnet, Transact) and vendor relationships, ensuring secure, PCI-compliant payment processing and competitive fee structures.
Serve as primary point of contact for internal and external audits related to student accounts; prepare documentation, respond to findings, and implement corrective actions.
Evaluate and implement automation and process improvements to enhance accuracy, reduce manual work, and improve the student billing and payment experience.
Oversee tax reporting and compliance activities related to student accounts, including 1098‑T, and maintain records for audit and tax filing purposes.
Resolve complex student account inquiries and disputes escalated from customer service staff, applying sound judgment and consistent policy interpretation.
Develop and deliver communications and outreach strategies around billing cycles, payment options, deadlines and financial policies to students, families and campus partners.
Monitor and manage risk areas such as identity verification, payment fraud, returned payments and chargeback processes.
Collaborate with IT and data teams to maintain data integrity, reporting accuracy, and secure access controls for student financial systems.

Secondary Functions

Provide subject-matter expertise to cross-functional project teams working on CRM, student information system (SIS) integrations, and digital payment enhancements.
Support institutional budgeting exercises by providing tuition revenue projections and historic trend analysis.
Participate in campus committees related to student financial policy, enrollment management, and student success initiatives.
Assist with policy research and benchmarking to align bursar practices with peer institutions and regulatory best practices.
Provide training and support to campus partners (admissions, registrar, academic departments) on billing processes and account impacts.
Help design and run financial literacy and education sessions for students and families on billing, payment plans and financial responsibilities.
Maintain and update standard operating procedures and training manuals for bursar office functions.
Support ad hoc special projects, such as emergency tuition relief programs, pandemic-related payment policy adjustments, or vendor implementations.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Advanced knowledge of student information systems and ERP platforms (Banner, PeopleSoft, Ellucian Colleague, Workday Student) with hands-on experience configuring billing/accounting modules.
Strong accounts receivable and general ledger reconciliation skills with solid understanding of GAAP and accounting controls.
Experience with payment processing platforms and merchant services (TouchNet, Nelnet, Transact, PayPath) and PCI compliance requirements.
Proficiency in Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, advanced formulas), and experience producing management reports and dashboards.
Familiarity with 1098‑T reporting, tax documentation requirements and the processes to prepare and distribute tax forms.
Knowledge of student financial aid interaction points and financial aid packaging/disbursement basics as they affect student accounts.
Experience with collections practices, third‑party collections vendors, deferred payment plans and bad debt management.
Ability to design, run and validate reports from SIS/ERP systems and extract data for analysis (SQL knowledge is a plus).
Proven ability to manage cash handling controls, bank reconciliations and treasury-related processes.
Experience supporting internal and external audits and implementing audit recommendations in financial operations.

Soft Skills

Exceptional customer service orientation and ability to manage sensitive conversations with students, families and campus partners.
Strong leadership and people management skills, including hiring, coaching and performance management.
High level of integrity, confidentiality, and sound judgment in handling sensitive student financial information.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills for policy writing, reporting and stakeholder communications.
Attention to detail and strong organizational skills with the ability to prioritize competing deadlines.
Problem-solving mindset with process-improvement orientation and comfort leading change.
Collaborative approach to partnering across Financial Aid, Registrar, Admissions, IT and academic departments.
Resilience and adaptability in a fast-paced, cyclical work environment with peak periods tied to academic calendars.
Analytical mindset with the ability to interpret financial metrics and convert data into actionable insights.
Customer-focused conflict resolution and negotiation skills to balance institutional policy with student retention goals.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or related field (or equivalent work experience).

Preferred Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance with coursework in higher education administration; MBA, M.S. in Accounting, or related graduate degree preferred for senior roles.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Accounting
Finance
Business Administration
Higher Education Administration
Public Administration

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–7 years of progressively responsible experience in student accounts, accounts receivable or higher education finance; 2+ years supervisory experience preferred.

Preferred: 5+ years in a bursar or student accounts leadership role within higher education, demonstrable experience with ERP implementations (Banner/PeopleSoft/Workday), collections program management, and audit support.