Mary Otto

Mary Otto has over 32 years of financial aid experience, in a variety of institutional settings. She has held director of financial aid positions for over 24 years. She is most recently retired from her position as Director of Student Financial Services at Verto Education, where she was responsible for both the financial aid and student accounts areas. Upon her retirement, Mary joined FAS to assist colleges in universities with Consulting and Assessment Services.

Mary began her career at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, PA where she started as a Federal Work Study student during her time as an adult student pursuing her Bachelor of Science in Accounting. She went on to work as a Financial Aid Coordinator at Penn State University-Hazleton campus. Later in her career, she joined Luzerne County Community College where she was instrumental in the implementing Ellucian Colleague and spent over 17 years as Director of Financial Aid. She relocated to North Carolina and served as Director of Financial Aid at Campbell University for a number of years. At Campbell, Mary oversaw financial aid administration for the University’s undergraduate and graduate divisions as well as School of Medicine and Health Professions.

She has extensive experience in utilizing Ellucian Colleague as over 30 years have been spent using this software platform as well as Department of Education systems.

Her credentials earned include:
• Application Process Credential
• Cost of Attendance Credential
• Direct Loans Credential
• Professional Judgment Credential
• Satisfactory Academic Progress Credential
• Student Eligibility Credential

Mary has served in several roles within the state and regional financial aid associations. She served in many leadership roles in the Pennsylvania Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (PASFAA) including President of the association. She chaired the statewide training activities in partnership with the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA). Mary has served as a faculty member at the North Carolina Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators’ (NCASFAA) New Aid Officers Training. She was also a teaching faculty in the New Aid Officers Training offered by the Southern Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (SASFAA) for two consecutive years.
Mary received her Bachelor of Science from King’s College and a Master of Business Administration from Campbell University.