Director of Academic Advising
Job Summary
The Director of Academic Advising provides strategic and operational leadership for the Student Success Advising (SSA) function within Wentworth’s Integrated Advising Collaborative (IAC).
Essential Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership of Student Success Advising
Provide institutional leadership for the Student Success Advising function, aligning practice with the IAC charter, institutional advising standards, and advising learning outcomes.
Design, implement, and continuously assess a four-year advising framework in which students are supported by professional academic advisors throughout their undergraduate journey.
Ensure advising is proactive, developmental, and integrated across academic planning, transitions, and key decision points (including co-op readiness and reflection).
Ensure high-quality, consistent advising across Schools in partnership with Deans and School Advising Leads.
Implement institutional advising expectations including timely responses to students, timely documentation, proactive outreach following academic concerns, and required term-based engagement.
Serve as final decision maker for IAC academic advising policies and processes.
Academic Case Management (Institutional Owner)
Manage progress reporting system and related communication and follow-up.
Lead Academic Case Management for students with complex academic progression issues.
Establish protocols for identifying, assessing, documenting, and following up on complex academic cases.
Chair or coordinate coordinated academic case reviews with School Advising Leads, Student Success Advisors (SSAs), Coop and Career Advisors (CCAs) and Faculty Advisors (FAs), and Student Support Services.
Oversee development and monitoring of Pathway to Success Plans (PTSPs) for students on academic probation; integrate midterm performance data into case management processes.
CARE Case Management Liaison (Academic Advising Domain)
Serve as the liaison between academic advising and the University CARE Team for non-emergency wellness/behavioral concerns.
Train advisors on when and how to submit CARE referrals in alignment with University guidance; reinforce emergency pathways to Public Safety.
Coordinate with CARE and the Dean of Students Office to ensure appropriate follow-up for student well-being as it relates to the advising process.
People Leadership, Structure & Specialization
Provide leadership for a centralized advising organization of approximately 14 staff, including direct reports and multiple specialized advising functions.
Collaborate with the Assistant Provost for Student Success regarding the effective integration of specialty advising roles (e.g., case management, transfer student advising, general education advising, and emerging areas of need) within a cohesive student experience.
Supervise Student Success Advisors, including hiring, onboarding, coaching, and evaluation; integrate School Advising Lead feedback into SSA performance reviews.
Foster an inclusive, collaborative, equity-minded culture within the advising team.
School-Level Partnership & Faculty Advisor Alignment
Work closely with School Advising Leads to coordinate SSA operations and cross-functional collaboration with CCAs and FAs.
Partner with the Associate Provost to design and sustain a Faculty Advisor training and communication model that complements the four-year professional advising structure.
Support Faculty Advisor expectations and training in partnership with Deans and Advising Leads.
Technology, Documentation & Data Practices (in partnership with Director of Operations and Communication)
In partnership with the Director of Operations and Communications, collaborate to ensure consistent use of the advising platform for documentation and case management.
Uphold institutional expectations for timely, professional advising documentation and shared-notes practices and routinely report outcomes to stakeholders.
Support advising data compliance and integrity and use of analytics for decision-making.
Assessment, Metrics & Continuous Improvement (in partnership with Director of Operations and Communication)
Monitor and routinely generate institutional advising metrics such as retention, progression, probation recovery, documentation timeliness, and early-progress outreach completion.
Contribute to School Advising Team review meetings using institutional dashboards.
Translate findings into improvements in advising processes, training, and resource allocation.
Training & Professional Development
Develop and deliver training for SSAs on developmental advising, case management, probation intervention, documentation, equity-minded practice, and CARE processes.
Coordinate cross-training with the Director of Cooperative Education on co-op milestones and placement processes.
Partner with School leadership for Faculty Advisor development in alignment with institutional expectations.
Student-Facing Leadership
Maintain a small advising caseload to model best practices and remain grounded in student experience.