Carl Jernigan

Carl Jernigan has over 31 years of higher education experience. His over 20 years of background in financial aid administration with 10 years in student financial services (business office) experience. He excels in streamlining operations while maintaining rigorous compliance measures. Carl has worked at two-year and four-year institutions, in the public and private institution setting. Through his role as a consultant, Carl provides Interim Staffing in leadership roles and helps clients respond to audit and program review findings.

Carl began his higher education career as a financial aid officer at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He then proceeded to move into roles of director of financial and later student accounts at a small private college. Ultimately, he held joint-responsibility for both student finance and financial aid. During his tenure with the institution, Carl took ownership of enrollment and retention programs. He created and implemented initiatives to reduce the college’s receivables while increasing retention.

In 2004, Carl joined a private college with multiple campuses throughout the country. As a regional director of student finance, he was instrumental in training financial aid directors and strengthening financial aid compliance. In 2006, Carl was chosen to be the lead business analyst for an emerging student information system’s financial aid module. He wrote business requirements for financial aid processes and worked with developers to resolve system deficiencies as well as technical issues.

In 2009, Carl assumed the position of financial aid training manager for an institution with nearly 60 campuses and large online student population. In this role, Carl utilized his extensive experience to develop and deliver training content for financial aid staff at a variety of levels for all campuses. He developed and published a weekly newsletter that provided regulatory guidance, technical tips for effective system usage, and best practices for financial aid counseling and advisement.

He has also gained valuable experience in Heighten Cash Monitoring 2 (HCM2). He has assisted in the review of HCM2 files, multi-year reconciliation, compliance, and development of guides to assist HCM2 colleges in compliance with the administration of Federal funds.

He is a member of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) and holds the credential of a NASFAA Certified Financial Aid Administrator.

Carl holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.