Job Category: Exempt

PCLS: 30097

Salary Grade: G

Summary

Incumbents in the Academic Advisor Supervisor position advise prospective, current, and former students within a specified undergraduate academic department. 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. In addition, incumbents provide strategic direction, implement initiatives, and generally oversee all advising activities in their respective college’s advising office. 

Distinguishing Characteristics 

The Academic Advisor Supervisor is distinguished from the Academic Advisor Senior and Academic Advisor Coordinator in that incumbents in the Supervisor level supervise other Academic Advisors and manage the budget for their respective college’s advising office. 

Reporting and Supervisory Responsibilities

The Academic Advisor Supervisor typically reports to a Dean or Associate Dean. This classification supervises other Academic Advisors and 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. Develops, performs, and assesses appropriate developmental advising programs for engaging current students and monitoring students’ progress toward academic and career goals. 
14. Collects, analyzes, and distributes relevant data regarding student needs, preferences, and performance for use in departmental and institutional decisions. 
15. Researches and shares advising-related best practices for the College, University, and advising community on student development topics. 
16. Implements advising initiatives and provides strategic direction to advising office. 
17. Hires, trains, and supervises other academic advising staff. 
18. Manages the advising office budget. 
19. Performs miscellaneous job-related duties as assigned. 

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

1. Ability to work independently, build relationships with external units, speak in front of large audiences, and communicate institutional policies, procedures, and language to the general population.   
2. Knowledge and understanding of a specialized area/program/process of advising. 
3. Ability to develop content, programs, and services for targeted area of coordination.   
4. Ability to lead training and day-to-day efforts of co-workers around mission critical initiatives. 
5. Ability to make complex decisions, identify issues within area of coordination, problem solve, resolve, and communicate issues and their resolutions with advisors and administrators. 
6. Ability to assess the success of programs/coordination areas and manage budgets. 
7. Ability to use professional judgement in ambiguous situations. 
8. Verbal and written communication skills and effective public speaking skills including ability to communicate with individuals as well as groups. 
9. Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with multiple demands and changing needs with verification of working collaboratively within a team environment. 
10. Ability to work with students in 1:1 or group advising settings. 
11. Ability to learn and maintain current knowledge of complex program requirements, policies, and procedures. 
12. Ability to work with diverse student backgrounds. 
13. Ability to develop and/or deliver programs. 
14. Knowledge of and proficiency in a variety of current and emerging technology platforms.   
15. Knowledge of best supervisory practices and ability to supervise staff. 
16. Ability to manage a budget. 

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree plus four 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.