Academic Success Advisor

UCM • UCMO - Warrensburg, MO

9h • Onsite

About The Position

The Academic Success Advisor helps students succeed from their first semester through graduation by offering precise, supportive, and personalized holistic academic advising. This includes working with students to explore majors, choose the right academic program, and create a detailed graduation plan. Advisors use proactive and equitable strategies to help students understand university policies, stay on track academically, and connect to helpful resources. They also support students in identifying career goals that align with their academic path. Success Advisors guide students through academic challenges and help them make informed educational decisions tailored to their individual academic, career, and personal goals. This role is key to creating a student-centered experience focused on retention, timely graduation, and long-term success.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required
• One (1) year of experience in advising, admissions, housing, counseling, career development, life coaching, teaching, personnel administration, or other student support services preferred.
• Experience working in Higher Education setting using student software programs and applications such as Banner, Degree Works, E2E: Achieve Student Success & Retention CRM, Brightspace (D2L) LMS, College Scheduler, Focus and/or other similar systems preferred.
• Experience with the implementation of solutions to facilitate student success, retention, and graduation preferred.
• Knowledge of UCM campus, programs, services, and resources preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provide holistic, equitable, and proactive advising, coaching, guidance, and academic support to undergraduate students.
• Develop mentoring relationships with students that build the trust necessary to be effective, empowering the student to make well-informed academic decisions confidently.
• In collaboration with the student, develop a clear academic map for completion using the Central Degree Audit, and the Student Education Planner in the Degree Works platform.
• Administer the proactive, and enhanced proactive advising plan, providing timely advising, coaching, guidance, and academic support as determined by student populations.
• Maintain a high level of timely communication with prospective students, students, faculty, and other constituents to keep informed and/or in response to requests for information.
• Review academic records, placement tests, learning diagnostics, and other standardized test/assessment results with students to develop course selections consistent with their academic program requirements and their career goals.
• Provide accurate information to students regarding university processes, policies, and protocols, as well as advisement on appropriate course loads, course selection and sequencing, pre-registration, registration, and the planning and preparation necessary to complete their chosen academic program.
• Help students explore majors that fit their interests and strengths, and connect those choices to career goals.
• Administer and explain career assessments to help students better understand themselves and make informed academic and career decisions.
• Collaborate with academic colleges (schools, programs, and faculty) and other student support services to help Open Option (undecided) students identify and select the most appropriate academic program.
• Meet with prospective Exploratory Studies students to provide an overview of the program, the process, and the expected outcomes of enrolling in Exploratory Studies.
• Help students identify challenges early and proactively connect them with the resources and support they need to achieve their academic goals and graduate on time.
• Assist students with identifying obstacles or potential obstacles to matriculation, such as registration, prerequisite issues, course availability, etc., and help students identify options to overcome and/or resolve the issue.
• Serve as a primary academic resource for undergraduate students in collaboration with the academic program coordinators and faculty.
• Develop and deliver workshops and training sessions aimed at helping students successfully transition into and navigate the university environment while tracking their academic progress.
• Develop individualized academic recovery plans to facilitate getting a student back on track who is not in good academic standing.
• Perform outreach and follow-up activities for students through Academic Wellness Checks, Progress Report Checks, Academic Alerts/Cases, and other targeted campaigns for vulnerable student populations.
• Serve as a referral agent to other areas of student support and/or resources, and effectively manage by following up on referrals.
• Orient students regarding admissions, planned placement/testing, registration processes, policies, procedures, protocols, resources, and programs.
• Meet with prospective transfer students to provide a cursory review and evaluation of potential transfer work, and provide prospective students and families with an overview of the UCM Success Advising Model.
• Meet with admitted transfer students to fully evaluate their transfer work, facilitate necessary substitutions, review degree audit, and develop a graduation plan.
• Prepare and provide individual freshman and international student schedules according to planned placement.
• Develop and present relevant new student orientation materials for new incoming freshmen, transfer, and international undergraduate students.
• Instruct and assist students with learning and using UCM's technological platforms, such as the Student Portal, Learning Management System, Degree Audit System, Course Scheduling System, Email, etc.
• Develop and disseminate advising materials to inform stakeholders about programs, policies, protocols, resources, opportunities, and activities focused on student success.
• Review and revise transfer guides and other pertinent academic information with program coordinators and faculty.
• Maintain and update student records and data, including documentation of student interactions in relevant institutional systems.
• Maintain accurate records and confidential notes on assigned caseload of students.
• Evaluate transcripts, interpret, and preserve the accuracy of degree audits.
• Coordinate evaluation and placement of transfer credits.
• Utilize current resources and technology as appropriate to the position (i.e., Banner, Argos, MyCentral, Blackboard LMS, E2E: Achieve Student Success & Retention CRM, Degree Works, Slate, TES, Google Apps [Email, Chat, & Meet] Skype, Zoom, etc.).
• Participate in initiatives, events, and programming that promote program outreach, student persistence, academic developmental learning, and retention.
• Collaborate with school chairs, program coordinators and other faculty in reviewing and updating four-year plans, catalogs, and other materials focused on student success, both online and printed materials.
• Assist with the planning and execution of events such as the Majors Fair, Career Center expos, events, courses, workshops, panels, etc. designed to educate and connect students to experiential opportunities.
• Assist with planning, developing, and delivering curriculum for UNIV courses, including University Foundations, Exploring Majors & Careers, and Reset for College Success.
• Attend hosted events off campus to strengthen university relations, and to facilitate a streamlined transfer process, with two-year partner institutions.
• Collaborate and cooperate with other campus offices/centers to ensure the delivery of and maximum collective effort to provide student success support services.
• Collaborate and participate in student recruiting efforts such as, high school presentations, UCM 101s, college fairs, prospective student visits, visit days, preview days, showcase days, and other recruiting activities/initiatives directly related to yield management.
• Collaborate and participate in new student onboarding events such as New Student Orientations, UCM Experience Kickoff, and other first-year experience events/activities.
• Research, analyze, and prepare data for reports specific to student graduation progress and retention.
• Monitor an assigned student caseload's academic progress, persistence, and retention.
• Participate in campus-wide advising campaigns using E2E: Achieve and Slate.
• Offer academic coaching to support students in areas that impact academic success, including study habits, wellness, involvement, finances, sense of belonging, and planning for life after graduation.
• Participate in ongoing training and professional development.
• Serve on, and actively engage in, regular committee meetings, ranging from those internal to the Success Advising Center to those that are campus-wide, as assigned.

Benefits

• competitive salary
• health, dental, vision, life insurance, AD & D, long-term disability
• 3 weeks paid vacation per year
• 3 weeks of accrued sick leave per year
• 13 paid holidays
• retirement
• generous education assistance for an employee, spouse and dependent children taking classes at UCM

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level