College Visit Program Coordinator

Appalachian State University•Boone, NC

About The Position

The College Visit Program Coordinator serves as a liaison between Appalachian GEAR UP and 16 LEA (school district) partnerships with the aim of providing college access programming that meets the goals of the NC Appalachian GEAR UP Partnership grants. This position requires a strong foundation in and knowledge of college access and readiness best practices and serves as an educator to GEAR UP students. The position requires an understanding of individual school district needs and will work to actively seek new opportunities, partnerships, and services that can help meet those needs.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in Education, Social Work, or other closely related field.
4 years of experience with program coordination and/or curriculum development.
Superior organizational, communication, and leadership skills.
Dynamic communicator.
Ability to establish rapport with adults and students and serve as a positive role model.
Track record of innovative thinking and taking initiative.
Must be a self-starter and able to operate in a dynamic environment that evolves as it grows.
Experience planning events.
Excellent at mapping out a plan to implement a vision.
Experience building and maintaining partnership within and across various organizations, including with faculty, universities, community colleges, etc.

Nice To Haves

Master’s Degree in Education, Social Work, or other closely related field.
Federal grant and/or compliance experience.
Experience in a similar role in another college access program.
Experience managing large-scale projects.

Responsibilities

Serve as a content expert on the college enrollment process.
Develop and implement programs and services that help students and families overcome the barriers to college enrollment.
Develop, plan, implement, and evaluate college access programs to support all students in all 10 GEAR UP districts including but not limited to: Summer Camps, College Campus Visits, Bus Tours, and other campus-based student activities.
Serve 2,000-3,000 students per semester by providing regular campus visit coordination services for GEAR UP student groups visiting Appalachian State University, Lenoir Rhyne University, Western Carolina University, and partner colleges.
Coordinate 5-10 large group student field trips to other college campuses across NC to provide college exposure experiences to GEAR UP students.
Serve as an advocate for a college-going culture by ensuring teachers and staff provide college enrollment resources to students.
Adapt the program to changing environments/needs/data and course corrections as needed.
Build strategic, positive, effective partnerships with school staff, administrators, and teachers in order to ensure GEAR UP students receive opportunities and resources.
Establish, nurture, and sustain positive relationships and collaboration between and among Appalachian State University faculty/staff and grant partners (LEAs, IHEs, vendors, etc.).
Meet regularly with partners to support the rollout of programs and ensure student participation in districts.
Work with and support school staff in the implementation of the above services in classrooms, clubs, and other existing structures in the school such that services are embedded in the school culture.
Share resources with grant IHE partners to support the strengthening of all campus visits taking place throughout the western NC region.
Provide guidance and support to partners to ensure the implementation of services is done in compliance with federal, state, institutional, and programmatic policies.
Maintain excellent records of programmatic, administrative, and financial activities on the project.
Manage invoicing and administrative flow for partnerships.
Enter services data in the database to reflect student, parent, and professional services provided.
Ensure consistent implementation of program policies and procedures developed by the Project Director.
Responsible for understanding and consistently applying federal and state regulations, institutional policies, and program specifications.
Work collegially with internal GEAR UP teams (Evaluation, Finance, Programming) to ensure grant compliance and audit readiness.
Other duties as assigned.