Acting Academic Success Advisor

College of Lake County•Grayslake, IL

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Academic Success Advisor serves as the primary liaison for an assigned caseload of College of Lake County students within a designated Field of Interest. The advisor provides personalized, holistic, and culturally responsive support from students’ first day of classes through credential attainment and transition to a career or transfer institution. Services include academic, transfer, career, financial, and personal advising; case management; progress monitoring; proactive outreach; support-service referrals; and referrals to student engagement opportunities. The advisor partners with college departments, faculty, and staff to develop and provide programs and services that foster an inclusive and engaged campus community. The role also supports the college’s case-management advising model, student success initiatives, and efforts to promote diversity and multiculturalism. The position is full-time, 40 hours per week, based at the Grayslake Campus, with core hours of 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. and one evening per week from 10:00 a.m.–6:30 p.m. The position is expected to continue through June 30, 2027.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in psychology, education, communications, or a related field, plus at least three years of experience in higher education, secondary education, or human services; alternatively, a master’s degree in psychology, education, communications, counseling, or a related field is required.
Demonstrated personal integrity and ability to form effective partnerships, collaborate, and work in a team environment.
Demonstrated high responsiveness to students or clients and the campus community.
Excellent organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities with attention to detail and accuracy.
Ability to work independently, prioritize workflow, solve problems, and make decisions.
Highly effective verbal and written communication and active-listening skills.
Ability to develop and deliver effective presentations online and in small- and large-group settings.
Proficient knowledge of relevant technologies, such as caseload-management systems, student enterprise software, career-exploration tools, and Microsoft Office.
Ability to work effectively and constructively with people from diverse cultures, language groups, and abilities, including people with disabilities, and to establish and maintain effective working relationships.
Ability to work flexible hours, including some evenings and weekends, consistent with student needs.

Nice To Haves

Previous academic advising experience is highly preferred.
Experience with caseload management.
Knowledge of and prior experience with predictive analytics and proactive student intervention.
Experience working with community college, under-prepared, and/or underrepresented students.
Bilingual English/Spanish proficiency.

Responsibilities

Develop, review, and update personalized semester-by-semester student success plans that address academic, career, transfer, financial, personal, and cultural needs.
Provide accurate and timely academic advising for programs within the assigned Field of Interest; help students select and progress through a program of study and achieve critical academic milestones.
Use strengths-based and culturally responsive advising approaches to help students develop academic, career, and personal goals.
Assess students’ academic abilities and career decision-making needs using academic records, intake responses, career exploration results, and placement results.
Interpret college policies and procedures related to curriculum, advising, student success, and degree completion.
Maintain detailed advising notes and course plans in case-management and student-success software, and remain current on FERPA regulations and professional advising standards.
Guide students through career exploration, career identification, and analysis of educational and career options; collaborate with faculty and connect students with career resources, mentors, job-shadowing, internships, and employment-readiness services.
Support students in selecting transfer schools and incorporate transfer admission and major requirements into academic and success plans.
Help students secure education funding and develop financial plans; collaborate with Financial Aid and provide referrals and paperwork assistance.
Reinforce success skills, assess student needs, connect students to college resources, and encourage participation in co-curricular, success, and mentoring opportunities.
Support students’ self-advocacy, decision-making, critical thinking, goal setting, and ability to balance college, work, and family demands; refer students experiencing emotional distress or personal issues to appropriate services.
Proactively manage an assigned student caseload through regular communication, individualized coaching, data-informed outreach, and tiered support based on student need.
Communicate with faculty about student progress and course-specific success strategies; respond to early alerts and monitor registration and success data to develop interventions.
Address student concerns, make appropriate referrals, celebrate achievements, and escalate sensitive matters requiring Director- or Dean-level intervention.
Use college web services and software, including EAB Navigate, PeopleSoft, career and transfer planning tools, Microsoft Office, and Image Now; maintain student-success data, support assessment of advising outcomes, and provide reports as requested.
Facilitate change-management activities and provide programmatic support for the case-management advising model.
Collaborate across departments and academic divisions to maintain current academic, transfer, and career advising information and tools; build relationships with onboarding staff, academic units, and faculty advisors.
Develop and deliver training and professional development for faculty and staff on advising, case management, and early alerts.
Serve as a liaison to current and prospective students, faculty, staff, and external groups on academic advising and student success topics; conduct outreach to student organizations.
Develop and deliver student workshops on topics such as goal setting, career advising, transfer planning, study skills, and time management.
Support recruitment and student-success programming through presentations, workshops, information tables, orientation, and convocation activities.
Participate in campaigns to promote student engagement, progression, and retention; support the comprehensive student-success model and diversity and multiculturalism initiatives.
Help implement and evaluate advising processes and recommend improvements; participate in planning, professional development, and college-wide committees as assigned.
Perform other related functions as assigned.