Admissions Evaluator

For questions regarding this position, please contact: Mike Ouert, Director of Admissions – (406) 994-5541, mrouert@montana.edu

This is a full-time, on-campus, in-office classified position within the Office of Admissions, offering benefits.

About the role

The Office of Admissions is responsible for marketing, recruitment, application processing, and orientation for new undergraduate students at Montana State University. The office interprets and implements Board of Regents and university academic policies, processes over 25,000 undergraduate applications annually, evaluates admission credentials, and articulates transfer credit.

Under the direction of the Associate Director of Admissions for Application Processing/Evaluation, this role demonstrates leadership within the application evaluation unit. The position requires daily, in-person collaboration with students, parents, and campus partners, utilizing various technological tools to process and evaluate applications and credentials.

Responsibilities

• Receive, process, verify, and maintain applications and credentials using a variety of technology tools.
• Determine admissibility of applicants by evaluating transcripts and other supporting documentation according to Montana State Board of Regents and Montana State University policies.
• Evaluate transfer courses and apply academic credit to fulfill MSU graduation requirements.
• Accurately enter and verify admission information in the MSU database (Banner) and/or Admissions CRM.
• Gather documents and make residency determinations according to Board of Regents policies.
• Troubleshoot and solve problems with difficult applications and/or issues with technological tools.
• Assist prospective students and families with application and enrollment processes via email, phone, and walk-in customer service; inform applicants of admission status.
• Act as an advisor for students, parents, outside institutions, and other university personnel regarding admission requirements, transfer of credit, and applicability of credit to fulfill university requirements.
• Compile transfer guides for transfer of credit to MSU.
• Prepare correspondence regarding admission requirements, admission status, transfer credit policies, and follow-up on applicants.
• Maintain document records associated with applications, transcripts, and communication to students in support of record retention and MUS policy.
• Process transcripts in Transcript OCR software for uploading to the MSU computer database (Banner).
• Perform related duties as required.
• Take responsibility in one or more specialized areas, such as:
  • Serve as Residency Specialist, providing guidance to evaluators and working closely with parents, students, Residency Committees, Tax Specialist, and Legal Counsel.
  • Provide co-lead support in training new and current evaluator staff on residency issues, transcript evaluations, Banner Document Management (BDM), and cross-training for the entire Admissions staff.
  • Download and appropriately index transcripts from various electronic sources; serve as a resource regarding the “One MSU” initiative.
  • Serve as the lead for hiring, training, and supervising student employees for the application evaluation unit.
  • Track inventory for all flyers, documents, and folders included in new student acceptance packets; assist in updating and creating these annually.
  • Receive, process, reconcile, and troubleshoot all application fee payments; manage cash/check/credit card deposits daily.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree, or two years of post-secondary education and two years of administrative experience (including highly detailed work assignments and extensive public contact), or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Demonstrated experience using database, word processing, spreadsheet, email, and internet software, as well as familiarity with reporting software, PDF management software, or other technology tools.
• Demonstrated experience designing, formatting, typing, and proofing business correspondence, forms, and reports.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a university setting.
• Experience with Banner or a similar software package.

Skills

• Exercise initiative and good judgment.
• Effectively and confidently operate work-related equipment and technology tools.
• Communicate clearly and positively across diverse audiences, tailoring responses to meet individual needs while maintaining accuracy and professionalism.
• Represent the Office of Admissions professionally and courteously.
• Maintain confidentiality of records and information.
• Work effectively both independently and in a team-oriented manner under minimal supervision.
• Develop and maintain effective working relationships with a diverse range of people, including non-traditional and under-represented student populations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to respond appropriately to inquiries from a wide variety of individuals.
• Organize and prioritize simultaneous workloads, meet deadlines, and remain adaptable to changing priorities while maintaining a positive and professional approach.

Pay

$24.47 per hour.

Physical Demands

General office environment. The individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily with or without reasonable accommodations.