(Hybrid) Senior Academic Advisor - Graduate Programs Office - Chambers College Of Business And Economics

The Graduate Programs Office in the John Chambers College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University is currently accepting applications for a (Hybrid) Senior Academic Advisor.

About the Opportunity

This position is primarily responsible for advising students in Graduate Programs and coordinating activities and events at a public, land-grant university. The position serves as a senior-level advisor and assumes program management responsibilities as determined by the Associate and Assistant Dean.

We strongly believe in work-life balance and keeping time for things we love outside our work. WVU offers generous benefits, including:

• 37.5-hour work week
• 13 paid holidays (staff holiday calendar)
• 24 annual leave (vacation) days per year (employee leave)
• 18 sick days per year (for when you're ill, for when you need time to care for sick family, for your own, or your family's, regularly scheduled medical appointments. Who is family for the purpose of this leave? A lot of people in your life including immediate relatives and in-laws as well as others considered to be members of your household living under the same roof)
• WVU offers a range of health insurance and other benefits
• 401(a) retirement savings with 6% employee contribution match, eligibility to continue health insurance, and other retiree perks. Looking for more retirement benefits information? Check out retirement health insurance benefits, retirement income, and FAQ's.
• Wellness programs

What You'll Do

• Plan, implement and coordinate programming that includes, but is not limited to, recruitment, new student orientation, academic academies, multi-year retention initiatives and academic support services.

• Assist senior leadership in collecting and analyzing enrollment data for the purpose of increasing retention, persistence and completion.

• Collaborate with recruitment staff by supporting initiatives to increase yield of admits to deposits.

• Coordinate with career services center staff within the college.

• Serve on college- and/or university-wide task forces/committees that impact graduate student success at WVU.

• Provides timely and effective academic counsel to assist students with selecting, matriculating to, and completing graduate degree programs.

• Develop and prepare a plan for each advisee and record plan in degree audit system (i.e. DegreeWorks). Track and monitor persistence and completion in accordance with academic plan and revise when necessary.

• Assist with the creation and development of course scheduling for each upcoming semester for Graduate Programs.

• Assist with certifying students for graduation at the University level while implementing institutional policies and procedures.

• Employ a combination of appreciative, developmental, intrusive, and prescriptive academic advising to assist students in persistence and completion of degree.

• Interpret the WVU Graduate Catalog for the purpose of remaining updated on policies and procedures that regulate conferral of degrees.

• Utilize student information systems (i.e. Banner and Navigate) to track and monitor academic history and in-progress work.

• Conduct outreach to student who are identified as at-risk at midterm grade reporting processes and make referrals to academic, career, and other support services.

• Provide guidance to students submitting appeals for academic and federal financial aid suspensions, which includes creating an academic success plan in DegreeWorks.

• Assist students with the transient approval process by reviewing course equivalencies and matching WVU courses with courses offered by the transient institution.

• Assess student concerns and make referrals to other University representatives/units.

• Participate in events sponsored by the unit, which may include on campus and online recruiting, orientation, and commencement.

• Maintain current knowledge of federal statutes (i.e. FERPA) protecting the confidentiality of academic records.

• Master's degree is required. A combination of education below the level of a master's degree and experience may be considered.

• A minimum of three (3) years of experience in the following:

• Advising or counseling

• Academic or student support services

• Student information systems

• A minimum of two (2) years of experience involving program planning/management.

• All qualifications must be met by the time of employment.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Proficient with Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word)
• Knowledge of student information systems (i.e. Banner, Student Success Collaborative Campus)
• Application of degree audit/planning tools (i.e. DegreeWorks)
• Expertise in different forms of academic advising (appreciative, developmental, intrusive, etc.)
• Professional oral and written communications
• Demonstrated ability to apply critical reasoning and problem solving
• Ability to employ interpersonal communications and conflict resolution
• Analytical skills prudent to conducting research