Acting Academic Success Advisor

College of Lake County•Grayslake, IL

8h•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, culturally responsive support from students’ first day of classes through credential attainment and transition to a career or transfer institution. Support includes academic, transfer, career, and financial advising; case management and progress monitoring; proactive outreach; support-service planning and referrals; and referrals to student engagement opportunities. The advisor partners with college departments, faculty, staff, and external groups to develop and deliver programs and services that foster an inclusive, engaged campus community and promote student success. The role also supports the college’s case-management advising model through collaboration, training, workshops, outreach, process improvement, and participation in student-success initiatives. This full-time staff position is based at the Grayslake Campus. Core hours are 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m., with one evening per week from 10:00 a.m.–6:30 p.m.; flexible hours, including some evenings and weekends, are required to meet student needs. The position is expected to continue through June 30, 2027. Pay is $52,878 per year.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in psychology, education, communications, or a related field and 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 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.
Excellent 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 of diverse cultures, language groups, and abilities, including sensitivity to diverse academic, socioeconomic, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds and to people with disabilities.
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with people contacted in the course of work.
Ability to work flexible hours, including some evening and weekend hours 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 success plans that address students’ academic, career, transfer, financial, personal, and cultural needs.
Provide accurate academic advising for programs within the assigned Field of Interest; help students select and progress through a program of study, meet academic milestones, and understand relevant college policies and procedures.
Use appreciative, strengths-based, and culturally responsive advising approaches; assess students’ academic abilities and career-decision certainty using available records, assessments, and placement results.
Maintain detailed advising notes and course plans in case-management and student-success software, while observing FERPA regulations and professional advising standards.
Guide students through career exploration, assessments, career goal development, educational and career option analysis, and career transition planning; connect students with relevant faculty and Career and Job Placement Center resources.
Support transfer-school selection and incorporate admission and major requirements into students’ academic and success plans.
Help students develop education funding plans, understand scholarships and grants, obtain referrals, and complete necessary paperwork in coordination with Financial Aid.
Assess students’ personal and academic needs, connect them to college resources and co-curricular opportunities, encourage participation in success and mentoring programs, and promote self-advocacy, decision-making, goal-setting, and healthy balance.
Refer students experiencing emotional distress or personal issues to Counseling and Psychological Services as appropriate.
Manage an assigned caseload through individualized coaching, regular communication, proactive outreach, analytics-informed prioritization, progress monitoring, early-alert response, and intervention strategies.
Communicate with faculty about student progress and course-specific strategies; respond to student concerns, celebrate milestones, and escalate matters requiring Director- or Dean-level intervention.
Use college web services and software, including EAB Navigate, PeopleSoft, career exploration and transfer planning tools, Microsoft Office, and Image Now; maintain and report data related to student learning and success.
Support and advance the case-management advising model through change-management activities and collaboration with academic divisions and departments.
Develop 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 alert.
Serve as a liaison to students, prospective students, faculty, staff, and external groups on 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, convocation, and engagement, progression, and retention campaigns.
Support diversity and multiculturalism initiatives, evaluate advising processes and procedures, and recommend improvements.
Participate in team and division planning, professional development, college-wide committees, and other related duties as assigned.