ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST

Ithaca College•Town of Ithaca, NY

12d•Onsite

About The Position

The Academic Development Specialist provides academic advising, developmental coaching, and student-success support to promote academic progress, persistence, and degree completion. The Specialist helps students navigate academic requirements, policies, institutional processes, and support resources, and collaborates with campus partners to address barriers to student success. The Specialist maintains knowledge and skills across Academic Support Center functional areas and is assigned primary responsibility for one or more areas according to departmental needs. Assignments may change over time. Functional areas include peer educator and student employee programs; student outreach and communication; student engagement and programming; and success and retention assessment. The position is 37.5 hours per week, 52 weeks per year. Work is primarily in an office setting, with regular movement between campus locations for meetings, programs, appointments, and other work activities. Occasional evening and weekend work is required. The hiring rate is $62,353.20. Employment offers are contingent upon a criminal background check; visa sponsorship is not provided.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree and at least three years of experience in student academic services or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Knowledge of academic advising principles and student-success practices.
Knowledge of how to support academically at-risk students.
Strong organizational skills, including the ability to prioritize competing responsibilities, manage multiple projects, and meet deadlines.
Excellent verbal, written, interpersonal, and relationship-building skills.
Ability to establish effective and appropriate working relationships with students while maintaining professional boundaries.
Demonstrated ability to maintain confidential and accurate records.
Ability to work collaboratively and effectively in a diverse and inclusive environment.
Commitment to innovation, continuous learning, and effective use of technology.
Strong problem-solving skills, adaptability, and persistence in supporting student-success goals.
Occasional evening and weekend work is required.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree.
Direct experience working with academically at-risk students.
Experience with developmental, appreciative, or related student-centered advising approaches.
Experience recruiting, training, or providing work direction to student employees.
Experience using student information systems, customer relationship management platforms, website content management systems, and Microsoft Office applications, including Excel.
Experience with Banner, Slate, Drupal, or similar higher education systems.
Ability to learn, interpret, and communicate complex academic policies and procedures.

Responsibilities

Advise, coach, and support students on degree requirements, academic policies, course registration, academic progress, personal development, and effective academic-success strategies.
Help students identify and access campus resources and support services that promote retention, persistence, academic achievement, and degree completion.
Collaborate with faculty, staff, and campus partners to facilitate referrals, coordinate support strategies, and address barriers to student success.
Maintain accurate records and documentation and handle sensitive student information confidentially.
Maintain knowledge of advising practices, student development, institutional policies, and technologies that support student success.
Monitor academic performance indicators and assist with outreach and interventions for students experiencing academic difficulty.
Support students navigating academic status, satisfactory academic progress, appeals, reinstatement, and related recovery processes.
Coordinate with faculty and staff on academic concern and intervention processes that support retention and degree completion.
Support the review, implementation, and communication of academic policies and procedures.
Collaborate with academic and administrative partners to promote consistent, efficient, student-centered practices.
Support development of resources and guidance for faculty advising, academic planning, and student success.
Collaborate with campus partners on academic content and programming for student onboarding and transition.
Participate in professional development and support departmental initiatives, projects, committees, and activities as assigned.
As assigned, recruit, train, coordinate, and assess peer educators and student employees, including peer tutors, peer success coaches, and front-line student ambassadors.
Provide day-to-day guidance, training, and professional development for student employees; support peer tutoring and coaching initiatives and assess service use and effectiveness.
Collaborate with faculty and staff to strengthen peer-supported learning opportunities.
Coordinate student outreach and communications that support engagement, awareness of academic requirements, and use of support services.
Conduct targeted outreach related to academic milestones, institutional processes, and student support initiatives; develop and maintain digital and print communication materials and campaigns.
Develop, coordinate, implement, and assess workshops, programming, educational initiatives, and resources that support student learning and academic success.
Promote Academic Support Center services through marketing, outreach, and educational campaigns, and contribute to online resources for student success and faculty advising.
Conduct assessment and analysis related to student success, persistence, and retention.
Develop, monitor, analyze, and communicate performance indicators, trends, and assessment findings to support strategic decisions and continuous improvement.
Coordinate surveys and collaborate with internal and external partners on retention-related initiatives and analytics.