Baccalaureate Advisor

About the role

The Baccalaureate Advisor supports student success, retention, and completion by guiding students to achieve their academic and career goals. The position provides exceptional customer service to both active and stopped-out students.

Responsibilities

• Retention and Completion Support student success by providing exceptional customer service and guiding students through their educational and career preparation journey.
  • Focus on retention and completion by persistently engaging stopped-out students and supporting reapplies in enrollment to help students meet their academic and career goals.
  • Must have a broad knowledge of university programs, policies, and processes, including FERPA, SAP, the baccalaureate degree programs, military benefits, student resources, and supports, and be highly proficient in assisting with financial aid, billing, and payment options.
  • Help students achieve their academic and career goals by:
  • Accurately registering students for the courses needed in their programs of study
  • Supporting students through term starts (add/drop) by tracking balances, participation and working with students to make payment arrangements for tuition and fees, including financial aid documentation
  • Assist students with career preparations
  • Follow up with university offices and individuals to answer student questions and provide the support needed
  • Tracking participation and academic success in courses
  • Providing students with resources and tools to succeed
  • Reviewing and executing academic plans for students through graduation
  • Celebrating successes and milestones
  • Support strategies for effective advising and retention efforts.
• Stratus & Communications Must work proficiently in Salesforce/Stratus, maintaining an accurate record of all communications in Stratus and completing tasks related to registration, student questions, and data integrity.
• Proactively communicate with students through phone calls, texts, emails, and video meetings - other effective technologies as part of the student support process, addressing general questions and de-escalating common concerns.
• Provide students with excellent customer service and support by responding to inquiries professionally and timely, within 1 business day, with additional attention provided over term start weekends.
• Answers general phone queries for any matriculated student, regardless of assigned advisor, both registered or stopped out, through completion.
• Participate in evening call rotations as needed, to ensure all phone calls are answered up until 8 PM EST.
• Promote Unity, its students and goals: Meet or exceed term and annual goals. Support the work of DE Student Success by contributing to improving and documenting processes, scripts, templates and workflows.
• Understand how to work with non-traditional and adult learners.
• Be proficient, accurate, and positive in an organization committed to evolving practices that best meet our student needs.
• Submit timely reports on all retention activities as needed.
• Proactively communicate challenges, successes, and failures with their supervisors.
• Participate in training and professional development opportunities to stay current, effective, and efficient.
• Attend and help organize institutional/DE events such as orientations, open houses, commencement, etc.
• Promote University enrollment initiatives and student engagement opportunities.

Qualifications

• Required: Bachelor’s degree
• Experience in customer service, sales, student advising or support
• Excellent initiative and organizational skills with the ability to work both autonomously and in a team.
• Great time management skills.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills with strong interpersonal skills.
• Ability and willingness to work with students from diverse political/socioeconomic backgrounds and a wide range of physical and academic abilities.
• Good skills in word processing, spreadsheets and computerized database systems.
• Detail-oriented.
• Personal commitment to the environmental focus and mission of the Institution.
• Ability to function effectively within a matrix organizational structure, maintaining open lines of communication while being discreet, courteous, and well-poised.
• Valid state Driver’s License with a good driving record.

Required Qualifications

• To be successful in this position you must be able to execute each of the position specific responsibilities while meeting the position expectations.
• Additionally, the position specific education, skills and competencies listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability needed.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made upon approval by the supervisor and Human Resources, to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• Position Specific Education, Skills and Competencies:
• Required: Bachelor’s degree
• Preferred: Master’s degree
• Previous experience working with online learning platforms.
• Working knowledge of career services, financial aid, or registrar functions.
• Knowledge of database systems such as CRM and SIS, ideally Salesforce.
• Exceptional track record in customer service, sales, student advising or support.
• Ability to function effectively within a matrix organizational structure, maintaining open lines of communication while being discreet, courteous, and well-poised.
• Valid state Driver’s License with a good driving record.

Work Schedule / Availability Requirements

• Work hours are specific to the requirements of this position and can include days, evenings, and weekends as scheduled by their supervisor to best support students.
• Working extended hours required as needed.
• Must be flexible and cooperative in fulfilling responsibilities and meeting the Institution’s needs.
• Although Unity Environmental University employees are generally scheduled to work at their specifically assigned locations, there are times when travel is necessary, and employees are required from time to time to attend events, meetings, or work temporary assignments at any Unity Environmental University location.

Physical Demands

• While performing the duties of this job, it is regularly required to sit and talk or hear.
• The employee is occasionally required to stand or walk.
• The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 40 lbs.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
• The use of either hand for repetitive movements such as grasping, grasping and turning, and fine manipulation is required as is the ability to use the telephone for internal and external communications.

Environmental Conditions

• Work is performed mostly in an office setting.
• The noise level in the work environment is normally moderate.
• Exposure to changes of temperature or humidity 1-33% of the time.