MBA Program Assistant Director of Student Experience

Miami University Alumni Association

4d•Onsite

About The Position

The MBA Program Assistant Director of Student Experience is primarily responsible for the strategic and operational management of the MBA student experience from application through graduation. This role is crucial for maintaining and enhancing the MBA program's competitive advantage of "concierge service." The Assistant Director serves as the main point of contact for applicants and students, managing academic advising, degree planning, course scheduling, registration, academic progression, and program completion. They help students align their certificate and degree pathways with their professional goals, academic background, and desired timeline. As a member of the MBA Leadership Team, this role contributes to student experience, retention, progression, and graduation goals, implementing the necessary processes. The position also oversees academic records, degree progress, and coordinates orientation, graduation, and other student-focused activities. Collaboration with various university offices and departments is key to providing a high-quality student experience.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree
Five years of professional experience
Strong organizational and time-management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
Ability to build positive and productive working relationships with professionals at all career stages, as well as high-performing undergraduate students, to provide exceptional service and support that contribute to a positive, high-quality student experience.
Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy in maintaining student records and academic information.
Ability to interpret and communicate academic policies, procedures, and degree requirements.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with faculty, staff, and university partners.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office and other administrative technologies and proficiency with or ability to quickly learn student information systems and scheduling/registration systems.
Ability to maintain confidentiality and exercise sound judgment when working with student information.
Strong problem-solving and follow-through skills.
Ability to anticipate student and program needs and proactively address issues.

Nice To Haves

Experience working in higher education, graduate programs, academic advising, student services, or a related administrative environment; or demonstrated exceptional customer service experience.
Experience with course scheduling, student registration, academic records, degree audits, or student information systems.
Experience coordinating academic programs, student events, orientation, graduation, or similar activities.

Responsibilities

Evaluate the overall student experience, identify limitations, and develop and implement a strategic plan to address limitations.
Design and manage the academic advising process to ensure that our established reputation for providing excellent concierge service is maintained or enhanced as the MBA program broadens its reach of students.
Guide students in developing individualized degree maps aligned with their professional goals, prior academic experience, program requirements, and desired timeline for completion, including strategic selection of courses and certificates.
Serve as an initial point of contact, and ongoing academic advisor for students regarding routine academic and program-related questions, including communication of important deadlines, registration information, program requirements, and academic policies to students via email and MBA Canvas site.
Work to address students’ other MBA program-related requests/needs as needed.
Develop and manage MBA course schedules and course offerings each academic term, collaborating with University administration to coordinate modalities, meeting times, classroom needs, enrollment capacity, and course demand.
Collaborate with the MBA & Professional Education Faculty Director to ensure all courses can be staffed based on availability or internal constraints and communicate when sections need to be added due to unforeseen demand or canceled because of insufficient enrollments.
Oversee MBA and certificate student registration each semester, monitoring enrollment and student academic progress to ensure appropriate course placement, identify potential scheduling or enrollment concerns, and support timely degree completion.
Establish and execute processes for maintaining accurate and up-to-date academic records for all MBA and certificate students from application through graduation that track each student's completed, current, and outstanding courses and degree to ensure students remain on track for timely completion.
Develop processes for working with less experienced professionals and Miami undergraduate students pursuing a certificate for helping them to be successful.
Work with MBA & Professional Education Faculty Director to design effective communication channels with faculty to funnel students who are struggling to meet with the MBA Assistant Director to see if improvements are possible.
Coordinate administrative support for MBA orientation, graduation, and commencement activities, including student eligibility tracking, communications, records, logistics, and event preparation.
Plan and support MBA program and professional education events, including alumni and networking events, coordinating facilities, catering, communications, faculty participation, student engagement, materials, and other logistics.
Lead the day-to-day academic and student-service operations of the MBA and certificate programs, independently implementing policies, resolving operational concerns, and designing process improvements that enhance academic progression, operational effectiveness, and the student experience.
Maintain program records, databases, reports, tracking systems, Canvas, and social media, providing accurate information and data related to enrollment, registration, student progress, course demand, graduation, and program operations.
Collaborate on an ongoing basis with MBA faculty and academic departments, Miami University administration (Graduate Programs, Enrollment Management and Recruitment, Registrar, Academic Records, Bursar (billing on deferment programs), Financial Aid, Career and Professional Development, Marketing and Communications), and alumni to help provide a high-quality student experience.