Academic/Curriculum Coordinator

About the role

The mission of the University of Michigan is to serve the people of Michigan and the world through preeminence in creating, communicating, preserving and applying knowledge, art, and academic values, and in developing leaders and citizens who will challenge the present and enrich the future.

The Department of History at the University of Michigan is one of the premier and largest History departments in the world. We are a diverse intellectual community dedicated to excellence through research and teaching; learn more about the department at http://www.lsa.umich.edu/history/. We seek a team member who embraces the mission and vision of LSA and the Department of History and the principles of integrity & trust, accountability & sound judgment, collaboration & innovation and positive & engaged community; has an innovative and flexible approach to work; enjoys working with quickly evolving projects and is comfortable taking action in a growing and changing workplace; has a high level of initiative, discretion, accountability and sound judgment regarding sensitive and confidential matters.

The Student Services Assistant provides independent, high‑level curriculum, faculty, and academic program coordination for the Department of History. The position serves as a key departmental resource for course scheduling, curriculum processes, faculty teaching assignments, enrollment management, and related academic operations. The Student Services Assistant will handle sensitive and confidential information, which necessitates discretion, sound judgment, and strict confidentiality in all aspects of work. The individual in this role must be able to work independently in a rapidly changing environment while effectively addressing and managing significant competing priorities and duties. This position reports to the Student Services Manager.

As one of the world’s great liberal arts and sciences colleges, LSA pushes the boundaries of what is understood about the human experience and the natural world, and we foster the next generation of rigorous and empathetic thinkers, creators, and contributors to the state of Michigan, the nation, and the world. To learn more about LSA’s Mission, Vision and Values, please visit lsa.umich.edu/strategicvision.

Union Affiliation: This position is included in the bargaining unit represented by the University Staff United (USU), which represents bargaining unit members in all matters with respect to wages, benefits, hours and other terms and conditions of employment. Background Screening: The University of Michigan conducts background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer and may use a third‑party administrator to conduct background checks. Background checks are performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Application Deadline: Job openings are posted for a minimum of seven calendar days. The review and selection process may begin as early as the eighth day after posting. This opening may be removed from posting boards and filled any time after the minimum posting period has ended.

Responsibilities

• Curriculum Support (40%): Partner with the Associate Chair to coordinate, build, and maintain the complex multi‑term schedule (Fall, Winter, Spring/Summer) to ensure strict compliance with College of LSA guidelines; stay current on room scheduling, registration, and faculty teaching policies as required by the department and the Provost and Dean's Office; manage and orchestrate term‑by‑term course scheduling in Wolverine Access; manage the course description process each term by collecting and entering course descriptions into the Course Guide; serve as the department's gatekeeper for LSA curriculum deadlines and work with the Associate Chair to determine departmental curriculum deadlines; track requested curriculum adjustments during freeze periods and execute complex, post‑freeze updates; oversee the submission of Course List Updates (CLUs) to maintain degree audit accuracy, process subtitle requests, and manage LSA's Undergraduate/Curriculum Contact worksheets; utilize Business Objects to run and analyze enrollment reports; manage the Term III process and communicate with the CA to provide offer letters to faculty approved by LSA to teach; manage the staggered enrollment process for gateway courses (e.g., HISTORY 202 and HISTORY 195) to balance sections; manage enrollment and waitlists, identifying low‑enrollment courses and making data‑driven recommendations to the Associate Chair (AC) and Associate Director of Graduate Studies (ADGS); partner with the Student Services Assistant to advertise low‑enrolled courses; process independent study requests using specialized "INDI" numbers requested from the Registrar's Office; process overrides for undergraduate courses.
• Instructional Support (35%): Oversee and collect faculty teaching preferences each academic year; manage changes to faculty teaching and leave schedules throughout the year; responsible for verifying that tenure‑track and joint faculty comply with their annual teaching obligation and are meeting departmental scheduling requirements; partner with the Executive Assistant in tracking changes to faculty academic year plans; partner with the Office Manager to convert the course schedule to a Google Awesome Table for the website; strategically analyze faculty course schedules to preemptively resolve time and topic conflicts, communicating with relevant faculty who may need to adjust their course schedule; responsible for providing faculty teaching histories for promotional cases; be the department liaison in collaborating with other units and departments to manage the meet‑together process; field grade inquiries from students and assist both students and faculty with the process of changing incomplete grades to letter grades; primary contact to the Office of the Registrar for classroom scheduling requests; attend monthly LSA LUGS meetings; email faculty with term‑start reminders each academic period.
• Undergraduate Program Support (20%): Serve as the primary point of contact to analyze and resolve intricate registration issues, late override requests, and section swaps during the drop/add period; partner with the DUS to manage the (HISTORY 195) application process; notify students and track all applications and decisions; support faculty in successfully preparing and completing departmental CARFs; audit and compile departmental Course Approval Request Forms (CARFs) for the Undergraduate Committee (UC) to review; direct external departments on cross‑listing workflows to eliminate administrative redundancies; collaborate with the DUS and ADUS for PARF changes; review and update curriculum webpages.
• Departmental Administration Support