Robotics Academic Counselor - Lead

University of Washington•Seattle, WA

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Academic Counselor – Lead ensures the successful delivery of all education program offerings of the College of Engineering’s Robotics Program at the University of Washington. The Academic Counselor – Lead, in conjunction with College of Engineering staff, oversees all aspects of Robotics academic programs, including policy creation, academic advising, program and curriculum management, admissions, recruitment and outreach, and budget planning. This position will serve as the adviser for students in a proposed new master’s degree in Robotics, as well as for a new associated proposed graduate certificate. The Academic Counselor – Lead is based in the College of Engineering Collaboration Core. This position reports to the Academic Services Director of the AI & Machine Learning for Engineering Graduate Programs. The Academic Counselor – Lead uses independent judgement to lead two newly proposed, high-visibility graduate and professional programs in robotics. They will be responsible for helping to establish policies and procedures for these new graduate programs. The programs that the Academic Counselor – Lead runs are based centrally at the College of Engineering, rather than in a single department. This requires the Academic Counselor – Lead to constantly coordinate across many College of Engineering departments and ensure that activities of their programs meet the needs and requirements of many participating units. Both the programs the Academic Counselor – Lead runs will be new and rapidly growing with an unknown steady state, which requires added flexibility and problem-solving as enrollment grows and staffing needs increase. The graduate certificate that the Academic Counselor – Lead manages is part of the College of Engineering’s stacked degrees, which adds additional complexity to the program.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in education, public administration, policy, social sciences, or a related field. Equivalent experience can substitute for degree requirement.
Four years of experience in university academic advising or a related academic services role.
Strong attention to detail, excellent organization skills, and a demonstrated ability to prioritize work and manage complex workloads with frequent deadlines.
Excellent program management skills, including the ability to keep people on task and bring together many individuals to accomplish specific and complex tasks with tight timelines.
Strong written communication skills for workplace settings.
The ability to write clear and concise emails, focusing on what needs to be accomplished.
The ability to work well as a collaborative teammate, to give and receive feedback with thoughtfulness and consideration.
Experience tactfully and respectfully working with many different stakeholders, from students to faculty to staff to external partners.
Experience gathering, analyzing, and presenting data.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with UW administrative policies and procedures
Familiarity with UW Student Database
Knowledge of UW curricular requirements
Experience with fee-based programs
Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite
Knowledge of or interest in engineering and/or robotics
Experience creating and managing budgets

Responsibilities

Strategize and recommend new procedures and policies for running the proposed new robotics master’s degree and graduate certificate.
Work closely with College of Engineering leadership and many central offices across UW.
In collaboration with College of Engineering staff, advocate for the success and needs of the proposed new robotics programs in College of Engineering-wide and University-wide settings such as all-advisors meetings and when meeting with many central offices across UW.
Collaborate closely with the College of Engineering and departmental staff and faculty to ensure success of all robotics education programs.
Oversee and manage all curricular approval processes, including submission of new course proposals, course change proposals, and proposals for revision of certificate or degree requirements to the College of Engineering and/or the Graduate School.
Oversee and manage course scheduling, including developing the quarterly time schedule, coordinating faculty teaching assignments, assigning teaching assistants and graders, and updating the course catalog as needed.
As needed, support instructors in accessing online materials and setting up online learning environments.
Provide strategic support to the curriculum committee, including opportunities for program improvement and expansion.
Develop and ensure administration of a comprehensive course assessment plan.
Monitor course evaluations to determine how well students are meeting learning goals; report and make recommendations to curriculum committee.
Coordinate with technical fellows serving as capstone mentors.
Contribute to budget planning and management, including annual analysis of certificate and degree budgets.
Help review programs to improve quality, expand access, and continually respond to market demand.
Direct the day-to-day academic advising operations for a proposed new master’s degree in robotics, including a proposed new graduate certificate that is part of the College of Engineering’s stacked degrees.
Maintain a welcoming and supportive advising climate for all students.
Provide one-on-one and group advising for students in a proposed new master’s degree in Robotics, including a proposed new graduate certificate that is part of the College of Engineering’s stacked degrees.
Advise students on short-term and long-term academic program planning, including certificate and degree requirements, course planning, and certificate/degree completion.
Monitor student quarterly progress and ensure satisfactory academic progress is completed; provide guidance to at-risk students to ensure their success.
Help students resolve issues with registration, financial aid, and other roadblocks that may arise; make appropriate referrals to UW resources when needed.
Maintain strictest standards of confidentiality and discretion.
Interpret university, college, and department policies and regulations related to academic programs and student issues for students, faculty, and staff.
Design and implement new initiatives for students that enhance advising services and support retention goals.
Provide timely and accurate responses to email and phone inquiries from prospective and current students.
Provide requested information; investigate and resolve issues.
Coordinate and collaborate with advising and other education program staff from the College of Engineering and departments within the College.
Lead the development of recruitment goals and approaches for the proposed new master’s degree in robotics and associated graduate certificate
Manage outreach and recruitment activities for both programs.
Develop and implement recruitment communication strategy via web, email, social media, and/or print.
Represent the program at recruiting events.
Advise prospective students regarding program prerequisites and application procedures.
In collaboration with department staff and faculty, develop and manage the admissions process for programs.
This includes organizing and distributing application materials to the admissions committee, facilitating meetings, participating in admissions review processes, and conveying admission decisions to the Graduate School using Slate.
Develop and deliver onboarding information for admitted students, including updating online resources, conducting new student welcome sessions, and providing regular communication throughout the winter, spring and summer to ensure retention.
Track, report, and provide analysis of certificate and degree admissions, enrollment, and graduation trends.
Identify and implement process improvements for future recruitment and admission cycles.
Participate in College/Department meetings and contribute to committees.
Other duties as assigned.