Associate Director of Academic Advising & Academic Services

About the role

The Associate Director for Academic Advising will serve as a key member of the Harris Student Affairs Dean of Students Office, advising master’s students in public policy. This position focuses on accommodations for students with documented disabilities, including planning testing environments, collaborating with faculty, and assisting with pre-orientation planning.

Responsibilities

• Serve as Academic Advisor to 115-150 master’s students
• Conduct intake advising meetings with all advisees at the beginning of the year
• Monitor each student’s progress toward degree completion, intervening appropriately as needed
• Collaborate with other student-facing offices to best understand programmatic and career opportunities which enhance the student experience
• Create official letters and other necessary documentation for students’ scholarship providers and other sponsors as needed
• Monitor all advisees enrollments and update tuition projections each month
• Communicate approved academic accommodations to Harris instructors at the beginning of each quarter
• Collaborate with instructional teams for core classes and large elective classes to best accommodate testing procedures for students with testing accommodations
• Manage aforementioned accommodations processes for Harris students taking courses in university departments outside of Harris, as needed
• Support advisees who are in crisis or experiencing extenuating circumstances
• Collaborate with the Associate Dean of Students or Dean of Students on leaves of absence and other complex student cases
• Meet with the university’s disability working group and act as the point-person for academic accommodations for students at Harris
• Answer questions from students and instructors about accommodations and processes, consulting with central Student Disability Services as necessary
• Create training materials for teaching assistants to educate them on federal and university policy around disability accommodations
• Hire and manage a Graduate Assistant and team of proctors to administer extended time and reduced distraction testing for eligible students
• Collaborate with instructional teams for core classes and large elective classes to best accommodate testing procedures for students with testing accommodations
• Manage aforementioned accommodations processes for Harris students taking courses in university departments outside of Harris, as needed
• Collaborate with the Dean of Students about tricky situations involving student accommodations
• Author communications to incoming students about disability accommodations, processes, and timelines
• Assist with a portfolio of planning tasks to otherwise plan and execute the programs
• Designs, implements and maintains student academic and administrative policies
• Translates specialized knowledge of academic functions to complicated advising matters
• Manages on-boarding efforts related to coursework and academic planning delivered through various channels and on-line tools
• Works mostly independently to facilitate graduation-related functions related to academic and degree requirements
• Acts as a main point of contact and recommends process improvements for other University Schools and Divisions' joint-degree programs
• Designs and produces material for the handbook and other academically-related publications
• Performs other related work as needed

Requirements

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field. Knowledge and skills developed through 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline are preferred. Familiarity with academic information systems and database systems, and familiarity with higher education environment are also preferred.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree
• Master’s degree
• Academic advising experience strongly preferred
• Familiarity with academic information systems and database systems
• Familiarity with higher education environment

Skills

• Interest in working in a student facing, high touch environment
• Student-centered approach and willingness to go the extra mile for students
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Strong organization and project management skills
• Detail oriented
• Professional demeanor, including tact, discretion, and a customer-service oriented approach to the job required
• Ability to quickly garner credibility with students and faculty
• Ability to problem solve with minimal supervision, exercise good judgment, prioritize, and work under pressure during high volume times
• Demonstrated ability to review and prioritize work in order to take appropriate actions without advanced approval, ensuring close attention to detail
• Ability to work collegially and collaboratively in a team setting
• Ability to work in an open office environment
• Knowledge of and eagerness to root work in student development theory and best practices
• Experience updating websites preferred
• Ability to operate Microsoft Word, Excel, the internet and email at the intermediate level