Senior Academic Advisor

About the role

The successful candidate will join a growing public health department and play an important role in shaping the graduate student experience. This position offers the opportunity to build relationships with students from recruitment through graduation and contribute to ongoing improvements in graduate education and student success. The Senior Academic Advisor supports the full student lifecycle for the Department of Public Health’s graduate programs, including recruitment, admissions, onboarding, academic advising, student success and retention, and graduation. The advisor serves as a primary resource for MPH and graduate certificate students, most of whom study online, and works collaboratively with faculty and departmental, college, and Graduate School partners to support a high-quality and responsive graduate student experience. The MPH program is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH).

Responsibilities

• Recruitment, Admissions, and Onboarding:
  • Meet with prospective students.
  • Represent the programs at recruitment events and provide accurate information regarding public health degree programs.
  • Learn and effectively use student information and program systems, which may include SOPHAS, Slate, Stellic, CIM, CLSS and others.
  • Support admissions processes.
  • Review transcripts and prior coursework to assess potential transfer or waiver eligibility and coordinate recommendations with the Program Director.
• Graduate Advising & Student Success:
  • Advise students on degree requirements, course planning and registration, elective selection, prerequisites, substitutions, and progress toward graduation.
  • Serve as a liaison with College, Graduate School, and university partners on graduate advising and student success matters.
  • Collaborate with program leadership to develop and support orientation, career development, student engagement, and other activities that promote student success and retention.
  • Monitor student academic progress, identify students who may need additional support, and conduct timely outreach to promote persistence and degree completion.
  • Connect students with appropriate university, academic, career, and well-being resources.
  • Identify recurring student barriers and recommend improvements to advising processes, resources, and communications.
• Program Operations, Data & Continuous Improvement:
  • Maintain accurate student records and use student, admissions, enrollment, retention, and graduation data to support timely advising, program planning, accreditation, and continuous improvement in accordance with departmental, Graduate School, and university requirements.
  • Support collection, maintenance, and reporting of student and program information needed for CEPH accreditation and continuous quality improvement.
  • Help maintain accurate and current graduate program information on departmental websites and other student-facing materials.
• Other:
  • Provide programmatic and administrative support for graduate program initiatives, committees, events, and special projects as appropriate to the role.
  • Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Minimum Qualifications:
  • A Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience and at least 2 years of experience from which comparable knowledge and skills can be acquired.
• Preferred Qualifications:
  • Master’s degree with at least 2 years of relevant experience.
  • Experience working in higher education as an advisor to students, preferably for graduate programs.
  • Knowledge of graduate education policies, academic advising practices, student success, and retention.
  • Experience with centralized application systems (CAS) such as Slate, SOPHAS, or others.
  • Proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, and demonstrated ability to learn and effectively use student information, degree audit, and application-management systems.
  • Demonstrated excellence in written, verbal, and interpersonal communication.
  • Demonstrated organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines independently.
  • Experience providing high-quality service to students from varied backgrounds and circumstances.

Schedule

Shift: Monday – Friday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm. Periodic events, including recruiting events, may occur off site or off hours.