Academic Learning Specialist -School of Medicine

Brigham Young University•Provo, UT

About The Position

The Academic Learning Specialist provides individualized academic counseling, learning strategy instruction, early-alert follow-up, board-preparation support, and structured remediation support for medical students in the BYU School of Medicine. The role helps students develop effective learning systems, self-regulated learning behaviors, test-taking strategies, time-management practices, and readiness for national board examinations. It supports student progress while maintaining appropriate boundaries from formal assessment, academic-standing decisions, and accommodation determinations. The specialist supports students across all phases of the curriculum, creates individualized academic success plans, responds to referrals, and helps students prepare for NBME and USMLE examinations. The role also develops student resources and programming, collaborates with faculty and institutional support teams, documents student support, and contributes to quality improvement and committee service. The School of Medicine is newly established and continuing to grow, so the position requires adaptability and willingness to take on evolving responsibilities. The successful candidate will contribute to a collaborative, spiritually enriching environment focused on preparing students for service as Christ-centered physicians.

Requirements

Master’s degree in education, psychology, counseling, health sciences, or a related field and 2 years of experience in academic counseling, student-success services, student-learning development, or health-professions education; OR 6 years of directly related professional experience in higher education, academic support, student-learning development, or medical/health-professions education.
Knowledge of adult learning theory, learning science, evidence-based learning strategies, and self-regulated learning.
Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
Ability to analyze academic performance data and translate findings into individualized support plans.
Ability to maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive information.
Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a complex academic environment.
Commitment to student-centered, standards-based, mission-aligned support.
Adaptability and willingness to take on evolving responsibilities and assignments as the School of Medicine launches and grows.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints must hold and be worthy to hold a current temple recommend to be hired and remain in the position.
All employees must abide by BYU’s Honor Code and Dress & Grooming Standards and are expected to support and contribute to the university’s academic and religious missions.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with medical or other health-professions learners.
Experience with academic remediation, board preparation, or student-progress support systems.
Familiarity with standardized medical examinations such as the MCAT, NBME, or USMLE and related preparation approaches.
Experience with academic-counseling documentation systems or student-support dashboards.
Experience in academic-remediation programming.
Experience working with diverse student populations and learners experiencing academic difficulty.
Experience developing structured board-preparation programming.

Responsibilities

Provide one-on-one academic counseling to medical students across all phases of the curriculum.
Assess students’ learning approaches, study systems, time management, retrieval practice, test-taking strategies, note-taking, clinical learning habits, and self-regulated learning behaviors.
Develop individualized academic success plans using student performance data, student self-assessment, and established support templates.
Respond to early-alert referrals and conduct timely outreach to students identified through performance trends, course or clerkship concerns, board-readiness concerns, or self-referral.
Support students in academic improvement plans, remediation activities, and follow-up meetings as directed by Office of Student Progress workflows or Student Progress Committee plans.
Assist students with NBME and USMLE preparation strategies, including study planning, resource selection, self-assessment use, readiness milestones, and schedule adjustments.
Identify and escalate ongoing academic struggle, disengagement, concerning behavior, and student-reported needs involving well-being, mental health, accessibility, or accommodation-related support to appropriate senior staff for referral and follow-up.
Support students with varied learning needs and refer them to tutoring, career advising, accessibility services, the Office of Student Experience and Wellbeing, or other resources when indicated.
Contribute to structured board-preparation programming and transition support for major curricular phases.
Develop student-facing resources on study strategies, time management, exam preparation, clinical learning, feedback use, and academic resilience.
Develop proactive course-specific or phase-specific academic support resources, workshops, and guidance based on anticipated learning demands, assessment patterns, and faculty input.
Collaborate with course and clerkship directors, faculty, assessment leaders, and Office of Student Progress colleagues to identify and support students who may benefit from academic assistance.
Participate in student-support planning discussions as appropriate while maintaining boundaries from formal assessment and progress decision-making.
Serve as a resource to faculty and staff on adult learning, learning science, academic performance strategies, and student-support referral pathways.
Coordinate with the Tutoring Coordinator to identify tutoring needs, recommend focus areas, and monitor follow-up after referrals.
Collaborate with the Office of Student Experience and Wellbeing and other institutional partners when academic concerns intersect with well-being, belonging, personal stressors, or learning-environment concerns.
Document student encounters, support plans, referrals, and follow-up actions using standard templates, systems, and timelines.
Maintain documentation and confidentiality consistent with FERPA and institutional policy.
Contribute to academic-support quality improvement by identifying trends, barriers, resource needs, and opportunities to improve support.
Contribute to School of Medicine committee service and academic-enrichment initiatives as assigned.
Remain current in medical education and learning-science best practices.
Perform other responsibilities as assigned.

Benefits

BYU automatically contributes 8% to the 401(k) at no cost to the employee; BYU adds an additional 4% if the employee contributes 5% (rehire eligibility may differ).
13 paid holidays, 22 days of paid vacation, and 12 sick days accrued annually.
Employee assistance program available to the employee and household members.
Tuition benefits for employees and eligible family members.
Access to athletic facilities.
Medical and dental benefits.
Short- and long-term disability benefits.
Paid parental and maternity leave.
Wellness program.
Free on-campus parking.
Free UTA passes for employees, spouses, and qualified dependents.
Discounts at the BYU Store and for many BYU events.