Graduate Program Coordinator

About the Role

The Graduate Program Coordinator is a dynamic, cross-functional role within the Vanderbilt School of Engineering (VUSE) supporting the Biomedical Engineering Department (BME, 80% of effort) and the Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering (VISE, 20% effort). This is a non-supervisory role reporting primarily to the BME Graduate Program Manager (GPM) and the VISE Program Manager. This role will also support the BME department with marketing and social media to enhance the department's visibility and reputation. The position requires independent judgment, initiative, and the ability to make decisions relative to the work unit. The successful candidate should be a collaborative team player willing to support as needed in an evolving academic setting. This position requires frequent interactions with graduate students and faculty and will be a hybrid role with four days on campus and one remote.

About the Work Unit

The Biomedical Engineering department is within the Vanderbilt School of Engineering and is at the center of cutting-edge and world-renowned research and discovery. The administrative team places a high emphasis on communication, teamwork, collaboration, and attention to detail for daily success. The Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering is a specialized, cross-departmental research space with students, faculty, and staff from various backgrounds working on globally impactful research and inventions.

Responsibilities

• BME Graduate Program Coordination
  • Review and communicate with PhD and master’s students on their course registrations in YES (Your Enrollment System) to ensure total credits are correct.
  • Confirm funding with faculty and complete corresponding entries in PeopleSoft.
  • Create and manage MS Planner cards for changes and new hires in coordination with VUSE Human Resources.
  • Manage I-9 processing.
  • Participate in, and occasionally lead, monthly Graduate Program Coordinator meetings with the VUSE Dean’s Office.
  • Complete purchases utilizing both a university P-card and Oracle Procurement.
  • Attend recurring and one-off meetings with the BME Graduate Program Manager, BME Senior Administrative Officer, and VUSE Human Resources.
  • Learn and understand Vanderbilt University Graduate Student policies and procedures, as well as program milestones, to enable effective support and guidance of students and faculty.
  • Review and approve doctoral actions in university systems.
  • Disseminate digital forms to PhD students before qualifying and defense exams.
  • Send email announcements, including communicating teaching assistant placements to faculty and students.
  • Track students’ progress in their program.
  • Send monthly emails to faculty to confirm student changes.
  • Manage the BME student credit card and submit expense reports.
  • Assist with other financial aspects as needed, such as retroactive transactions and topping up renewals.
  • Manage student organization requests.
• BME Graduate Student Admissions and Recruitment
  • Confirm and assist campus visit travel plans with and for prospective students.
  • Schedule in-house recruitment meetings with the Director of Recruitment, chairs, and Graduate Program Manager.
  • Participate in, lead, and take notes for recruitment meetings with students and the Director of Recruitment.
  • Coordinate the prospective student-faculty matching process, manage MS Excel spreadsheet, and communicate schedules to faculty.
  • Develop proficiency in SLATE for effective and efficient use of the system.
  • Create and submit offer letters of acceptance in SLATE.
  • Select recruitment swag, place orders, and process payments.
  • Gather quotes and make reservations with recruitment vendors (e.g., restaurants, hotels, bakeries) for annual campus recruitment events.
  • Coordinate, in collaboration with the GPM, seven annual events including calculating costs, order needs, and placing orders. Some events will be off-campus and in the evenings.
  • Process travel reimbursements for prospective students via Candex.
• BME Student Support and Engagement
  • Utilize MS Excel to set up and schedule mentoring meetings.
  • Analyze mentor meeting responses from faculty survey, identify workable timeslots per committee, and schedule meetings with faculty and students.
  • Monitor master’s students and track tuition scholarships with support from the GPM.
  • Coordinate with master’s students’ faculty as needed.
  • Aid in the department’s initiative to grow the master’s program, as needed.
  • Serve as a department resource for students and faculty.
  • Gain working knowledge of RedCap to create and distribute forms and collect data.
• VISE Program Coordinator
  • Assist the VISE Program Manager with marketing and social media including maintaining an active presence on LinkedIn, Instagram, Threads, and YouTube.
    • Create graphics and captions for social platforms.
    • Photography at all events and upkeep of OneDrive Photo folder.
    • Interact with followers on social media platforms.
    • Add all post information to Trello Board.
  • Create short videos for socials (video editing skills are not necessary but must be willing to learn).
  • Assist Program Manager with department programs and events including VISE Seminar series, VISE Summer Fellows Program (VSF), and annual VISE symposium.
    • Work with internal and external vendors.
    • Create slides in PowerPoint.
    • Event/workshop planning.
  • Administrative Support
    • Connect with VISE PI’s on various projects.
    • Upkeep of the VISE listservs.
    • Create posters, signs, maps, banners, and other marketing materials.
• BME Marketing and Social Media
  • Assist with department social media including posts on LinkedIn and X (Twitter).
• Other duties as assigned.

Supervisory Relationships

This position does not have supervisory responsibility; it reports administratively and functionally to the department Graduate Program Manager with a dotted line to the VISE Program Manager for that portion of workload.

Requirements

• A bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution of higher education is required.
• At least one year of comparable experience is required. A combination of education and experience or experience in lieu of education will be considered.

Skills

• Experience working in an academic environment is preferred.
• Strong teamwork and problem-solving skills.
• Resourceful, dependable, and a preference towards action.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, especially Excel, Forms, and PowerPoint, Google Forms, and Adobe Suites.
• Experience with Canva and Trello, or similar software programs, or the ability and willingness to learn new software programs.
• Comfort with new technology and ability to adapt easily to changes in technology and processes.
• Ability to multitask and maintain a high level of organization.
• Professional and pleasant attitude with the ability to work with tact and diplomacy when interacting with students, faculty, and staff.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.

Schedule

This is a hybrid role with four days on campus and one day remote.