Academic Counselor - (Student Services Professional III, Range 1) - College Advising

CSU Careers • San Francisco, CA

6d • Onsite

About The Position

San Francisco State University is an institution dedicated to advancing social justice and educational equity. Applicants who have demonstrated experience working with an anti-racism lens and towards racial justice are encouraged to apply. The Academic Counselor provides comprehensive academic counseling to help undergraduate students achieve their academic, personal and career goals. This position works on a college advising team (Lam Family College of Business, College of Ethnic Studies, College of Liberal and Creative Arts, College of Health and Social Sciences, College of Science and Engineering, or the Graduate College of Education) within the Undergraduate Advising Center and advises students from their third through graduation. The incumbent collaborates with faculty, staff, and administrators to ensure student retention and success from entry through graduation. The Academic Counselor delivers general advising services, advises at new student orientations, participates in student retention and graduation initiatives, and offers academic success workshops. The Academic Counselor assists students in exploring, affirming, and declaring into a major, identifying strengths and interests, and overcoming academic and personal challenges. Additionally, the Academic Counselor helps students understand SF State’s campus policies and procedures and graduation requirements (general education and major/minor). The Academic Counselor is responsible for providing consistent, accurate, complex, advising to undergraduate students. Working independently, the Academic Counselor provides individual and group counseling that requires the use of advising and counseling techniques to evaluate students’ academic interests and to facilitate major and career exploration. The Academic Counselor assists students in setting goals to facilitate success, persistence, and timely degree completion. In addition, the incumbent independently leads, develops, plans, implements, and evaluates advising-related projects that support SF State students. The Academic Counselor reports directly to an advising manager within the Division of Undergraduate Education and Academic Planning. The position functions under general supervision, but with a high degree of autonomy. This position requires strong judgment, flexibility, persuasiveness, and imagination in order to develop and institute a coordinated advising approach at SF State. The incumbent will need to apply careful administrative planning when cultivating and launching creative solutions to address specific advising problems and to implement new advising initiatives.

Requirements

• Thorough knowledge of the principles of individual and group behavior.
• General knowledge of the principles, practices and trends of the Student Services field as well as general knowledge of the policies, procedures and practices of the program area to which assigned; general knowledge of individual counseling techniques; general knowledge, or the ability to rapidly acquire such knowledge, of the organizational procedures and activities of the specific campus to which the position is assigned.
• Working knowledge of student services programs outside the program to which immediately assigned.
• Ability to analyze complex situations accurately and adopt effective courses of action; advise students individually and in groups on complex student‐related matters; determine appropriate courses of action and proper techniques to utilize while engaged with individuals in personal interactions of an argumentative or sensitive nature; interpret and evaluate descriptions and explanations of problems brought forward by individuals or student organizations, analyze and define the problem, draw valid conclusions and project consequences of various alternative courses of action; carry out a variety of professionally complex assignments without detailed instructions; and establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with a variety of individuals.
• Possession of these knowledge and abilities is typically demonstrated through the equivalent of three years of progressively responsible professional student services work experience. One year in the program area to which assigned may be preferred but is not required.
• A master’s degree in Counseling, Clinical Psychology, Social Work, or a directly related field may be substituted for one year of experience.
• A doctorate degree and the appropriate internship or clinical training in counseling or guidance may be substituted for the three years of experience for positions with a major responsibility for professional career or personal counseling.
• Equivalent to graduation from a four-year college or university in a related field, including or supplemented by upper division or graduate course work in counseling techniques, interviewing, and conflict resolution where such are job-related.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree from an accredited college or university in counseling, higher education, student affairs, or job related-field.
• Advising underrepresented, low-income and first-generation college students, and working effectively with people from diverse backgrounds
• Developing programs to support a diverse population of students and providing effective academic counseling to university students from diverse cultural, ethnic, socioeconomic, academic, sexual orientation and disability backgrounds in one-to-one/group settings
• Assisting undergraduate students in exploring major options
• Providing information on Title V, California State University, and San Francisco State University policies and procedures
• Serving as a lead to develop, plan, implement and evaluate a project
• Conducting presentations in small and large group settings; facilitating workshops using effective public-speaking techniques
• Using PeopleSoft – Campus Solutions, Microsoft Office Suite, and Learning Management Systems as well as Educational Advisory Board’s Navigate student success platform
• Applying counseling/student development theories in an academic advising setting
• Assisting students with academic, personal, and career planning/goal setting
• Apply problem-solving and conflict resolution strategies
• Use current software, technology, and online resources related to academic counseling
• Provide accurate, respectful and effective communication (oral and written) to students, staff, faculty and administrators
• Exercise confidentiality, discretion, and independent judgment, with awareness of diversity and inclusion
• Keep supervisor informed and demonstrate regular attendance and positive performance evaluations
• Use technology tools to manage and report on data
• Quickly learn and apply Title V, California State University, and San Francisco State University policies and procedures
• Master complex information and communicate changes in university policy, regulations and requirements to students, faculty and staff
• Bias toward collaboration and teamwork.
• Effective oral, written and nonverbal communication skills.
• Customer/Client Focus with an emphasis in problem solving and resolution.
• Personal effectiveness and credibility as demonstrated by interpersonal and professional confidence.
• Diversity and inclusion

Responsibilities

• Provide academic counseling to undergraduate students on general education, major/minor requirements and sequencing, graduation requirements, college and university policies, and other related policies/procedures (through individual appointments, drop-in advising, and group workshops).
• Advise students whose academic standing indicates that they are on academic notice, subject to disqualification, and who have been disqualified, providing follow-up guidance and support.
• Create and implement advising campaigns, identifying populations of students who need support and offering resource referrals to resolve academic issues (this includes outreach in support of reenrollment).
• Consult with students experiencing academic difficulty; assist them in identifying reasons for their academic difficulty and directing them to student support services.
• Independently coordinate and deliver academic advising to targeted groups of students each year; develop action plan for success based on the unique needs of each student; monitor and assess student progress in achieving their path to success and make adjustments to their path based on the progress and changing needs of the student; identify current and potential challenges (e.g. adjustment to college, time-management) and counsel students through complex academic/personal challenges; make appropriate referrals to campus resources.
• Resolve complex advising-related situations by applying in-depth knowledge of academic policy and recommending an appropriate course of action to students.
• Offer workshops on topics related to retention and graduation (e.g. study skills, time management, choosing a major, schedule planning, etc.).
• Assist students with rectifying academic issues, providing multiple solutions, including resource referral.
• Lead, develop, plan, implement and evaluate university advising initiatives and advising projects as identified by the Division of Education and Academic Planning and their advising manager.
• Coordinate and deliver strategic advising initiatives, focusing on the academic support needs of students who are at-risk for retention.
• Use EAB/Navigate to identify students who’d benefit from support and provide proactive advising outreach.
• Partner with campus leadership to identify shared challenges and opportunities related to student success, especially as they relate to students from low-income, underrepresented and/or first generation backgrounds.
• Follow up with students via email and maintain electronic advising summary reports/notes and data on students served.
• Attend professional development trainings and staff meetings as determined by the Division of Undergraduate Education and Academic Planning and their advising manager.
• Collaborate as a team member to deliver advising at New Student Orientation in winter and summer.
• Assist in the development and delivery of advising-related workshops at New Student Orientation.
• Other duties as assigned

Benefits

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Pension
• 401k
• Healthcare Savings Account
• Life Insurance
• Disability Insurance
• Vacation and Sick Leave as well as State Holidays and a dynamic Fee Waiver program

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees