Academic Advisor Senior


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Job Category: Exempt

PCLS: 30096

Salary Grade: F

Summary

Incumbents in the Academic Advisor Senior position advise prospective, current, and former students. Incumbents advise and assist students in the development of academic plans and class schedules. Additionally, incumbents assess academic level, attend to student academic inquiries, assist in the resolution of individual academic problems, and advise on academic program changes. Incumbents also prepare students’ graduation applications for Dean approval in DegreeWorks and assist students with semester-by-semester planning in preparation for declaring a major. 

Distinguishing Characteristics 

The Academic Advisor Senior is distinguished from the Academic Advisor in at least one of three ways: 1) incumbents work to improve and implement the core advising methods and/or practices; 2) incumbents research best practices and share that information with advisors in their unit and/or the advising community; or 3) incumbents may coordinate advising services throughout the USU system. 

Reporting and Supervisory Responsibilities

The Academic Advisor Senior typically reports to an Associate Dean, Department Head, Advising Manager, or Advising Supervisor. This classification may train and supervise student employees. 

Typical Functions

  1. Provides advising services in person, by phone, or by email. 
  2. Provides accurate information related to curriculum, graduation requirements, and university policies and procedures. 
  3. Creates semester-by-semester graduation plan in DegreeWorks and monitors students’ progress toward their declared major. 
  4. Provides information and strategies to utilize available campus resources and services. 
  5. Maintains confidentiality. 
  6. Assists students in making responsible and informed decisions impacting academic progress. 
  7. Encourages and guides students as they define and develop realistic goals. 
  8. Assists students to understand the purpose of higher education and the impact on life goals. 
  9. Discusses the benefits of building a learning community, network, and support system among peers, professors, and mentors. 
  10. Makes appropriate referrals to other University and non-university resources. 
  11. Maintains records and documentation of advising interactions.  
  12. Works with department administrators to proactively identify academically at-risk students and develop programming to connect those students with appropriate resources to facilitate student success. 
  13. Promotes environments that provide meaningful opportunities for student learning, development, and engagement. 
  14. Understands appropriate technologies and integrates them into programs and services and consistently uses such tools to be proactive in monitoring student progress and serving the student.  
  15. Researches and shares advising-related best practices for the College, University, and advising community on student development topics. 
  16. May coordinate advising services throughout the state by serving as liaison to the regional campuses. 
  17. Performs miscellaneous job-related duties as assigned. 

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

  1. Ability to work independently and communicate institutional policies, procedures, and language to the general population.   
  2. Knowledge and understanding of the needs of a specialized population. 
  3. Ability to research, implement, and share advising-related best practices for the College, University, and advising community on student development topics. 
  4. Ability to motivate students in 1:1 or group advising settings. 
  5. Ability to use professional judgement in ambiguous situations. 
  6. Verbal and written communication skills and effective public speaking skills including ability to communicate with individuals as well as groups. 
  7. Ability to work in a fast paced environment with multiple demands and changing needs with verification of working collaboratively within a team environment. 
  8. Ability to learn and maintain current knowledge of complex program requirements, policies, and procedures. 
  9. Ability to work with diverse student backgrounds. 
  10. Ability to develop and/or deliver programs. 
  11. Knowledge of and proficiency in a variety of current and emerging technology platforms.   

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree plus two years of relevant experience is required. 

Work Environment and Physical Requirements

Employees work indoors and are protected from weather and/or contaminants, but not, necessarily, occasional temperature changes.  The employee is regularly required to sit and often uses repetitive hand motions.  

Disclaimer

This position description indicates the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive list of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to the position.