Gary Forst Email & Phone Number

White Bear Lake

• Provide detailed accurate information on application procedures, financial aid policies and program procedures to students, faculty and outside organizations.• Determine student eligibility by using financial aid processing software and computerized student records (ISRS, WebNow/ImageNow, EDE).• Meet with students and provide in depth guidance on complicated issues.• Maintain and redesign the Financial Aid Office’s customer facing web pages to ensure the content and layout is current, clear and concise.• Create and maintain standard and ad hoc reports from Access to assist with the management of the program, student eligibility and program integrity.• Provide ongoing training, support and assign duties to work study personnel.• Determine Alliss grant eligibility and point person for grant inquiries.• Lead Financial Aid presentations on and off site including Welcome and Student Success Days, Resource Fairs, and high school FAFSA nights/presentations.

• Receive, research, respond to and resolve client issues and enhancement requests for multiple software platforms.• Analyze CommonLine error reports and implement corrections. • Create and modify detailed ad hoc Crystal reports.• Manage the defect lifecycle end to end.• Create and maintain extensive tracking records for software defects and enhancement requests.• Develop company and job specific process & procedure documents.• Coordinate new employee on-the-job orientation and training.

• Planned, performed and assigned business analysis, software testing and development activities.• Performed analysis and documented identified software defects in Rational ClearQuest. • Gathered, negotiated and documented business and functional requirements in Rational RequisitePro to support system design and software testing activities in order to ensure the software meets the needs of the end users. • Provided and presented information to senior management and project sponsors.• Coached, trained, and provided performance feedback.• Assisted the policy, business analysis and testing teams in establishing and documenting appropriate processes and procedures. • Participated in impact analysis related to software design and process changes and offer options for resolution.

• Determined initial and ongoing eligibility and enrolled qualified individuals and families into MinnesotaCare while handling many assignments/projects with competing priorities.• Reviewed applications; interpreted insurance, tax and other income-related documents.• Maintained caseload and monitored subsequent case activities related to billing and payments.• Performed simple to complex insurance and income-related calculations.• Responded to caller inquiries and resolve or facilitate resolution of caller concerns.

• Developed and administered new hire and ongoing trainings for MinnesotaCare including program procedures, systems (MMIS/MAXIS), customer service skills and Microsoft Office software programs (Microsoft Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, WordPerfect). • Identified training needs: Developed, presented and evaluated training curriculum and materials.• Appointed as the lead trainer for new hire trainings. • Designated Technical Support Liaison: Resolved hardware/software problems.

• Authored and executed test scenarios and other quality assurance tasks. • Created, maintained and executed user acceptance software test scenarios and scripts. • Supported integration, regression and load testing activities. • Identified, created tracking records (Rational ClearQuest) and closed retested defects. • Wrote and executed Oracle SQL queries.• Provided recommendations on options for appropriate test plans and procedures. • Conducted user acceptance testing on window designs, workflows and rules engine to identify possible software flaws.

• Documented and analyzed high volumes of reconciling items.• Researched errors and determined corrective actions. • Ensured prompt and consistent follow-up until reconciling items were cleared.• Prepared various monthly reconciliations for assigned accounts.

• Processed all loan transactions including settling with participating banks.• Researched system errors, determined corrective actions, and initiated solutions.• Responded to customer inquiries through the use of strong communication and interpersonal skills.• Reconciled and resolved any incorrectly applied transactions.

Bachelor Of Arts, Education

Business, Analysis