Academic Coach

University of Wisconsin Stout•River Falls, WI

About The Position

The TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) Academic Coach helps program participants develop the skills needed to earn a bachelor’s degree. The coach provides individual academic guidance to an assigned caseload by monitoring and evaluating academic progress, intervening with appropriate resources, and referring participants to on- and off-campus support services. The role supports daily delivery of program services and maintains participant records while planning and coordinating academic success courses, events, and workshops on topics such as financial literacy, career exploration and development, and graduate school. The Academic Coach ensures participants meet SSS grant requirements for active program involvement, maintains database records, collects and synthesizes participant data, and contributes to reports on student outcomes. Reporting to the Project Director for SSS, the coach supports SSS scholars in learning and practicing academic skills to succeed and graduate from UW-River Falls. The successful candidate engages with scholars and campus partners to incorporate high-impact practices into SSS programming and events.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Education, Social Work, Psychology, Communications, or a related field.
Excellent verbal and written communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills.
Significant experience working with students at academic risk, limited-income students, first-generation students, and students with disabilities.
Experience planning and facilitating events or workshops.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Education, Student Affairs, Counseling, or a related field.
Significant experience in student assessment and creating individualized academic plans to support academic achievement.
At least two years of work experience in an educational setting.
Experience in data analysis, especially student success metrics and outcomes.
Knowledge of and experience with Microsoft suite products, Navigate, and PeopleSoft platforms, and familiarity with database management, spreadsheets, and forms generation.

Responsibilities

Advise, mentor, proactively support, and maintain a caseload of approximately 70 SSS participants.
Monitor, plan, and facilitate student success plans and academic progress.
Plan and implement courses, workshops, academic and social programming, panel discussions, program orientations, and opportunities related to financial literacy, student development, education, and careers.
Collect, maintain, and analyze participant data to support institutional reporting and assist the Program Director with Annual Performance Reports to the U.S. Department of Education.
Serve on relevant university-wide committees and build partnerships across campus.
Supervise and mentor SSS student workers.
Attend state, regional, or national conferences and training for professional development as required.
Assist with FAFSA completion and/or provide financial aid and scholarship information as needed.
Maintain accurate student records, including contact logs, case notes, and files.
Partner with advisors, faculty, staff, students, and administrative personnel to track analytics and identify risk indicators supporting data-informed retention and transfer strategies.
Adhere to the established plan of operation, curriculum, process policy, program procedures, and applicable federal regulations.
Communicate with students, assist them, and monitor their progress.
Recommend improvements to retention efforts and advocate for campus-wide retention initiatives.
Refer students to appropriate campus resources.