MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES:

Operational and Project Leadership - 40%

• Partner with departmental leadership to drive departmental vision, identify priorities, execute initiatives, and effectively identify challenges related to the work, implementing innovative improvements and solutions that benefit academic programs, departments, and constituents across the College.

• Partner with departmental leadership to develop external and internal departmental resources, training materials, instructional guides, and communications, supporting team members in maintaining them and executing related tasks.

• Oversee internal and external database systems in consultation with Administrative Information Systems, entering and validating data while identifying issues and proposing potential solutions.

• Oversee wide-scope departmental and cross-college projects and processes, analyzing and preparing data and reports while facilitating and monitoring advisor participation.

• Lead departmental, physical representation at Ask Student Services Office, providing oversight to professional staff and serving as consultant for challenging and complex needs for support.

• Lead departmental participation in New Student Orientation, Welcome Week, Admitted Students Day, End-of-Year Events, and other on-campus events.

• Serve as consultant in partnership with departmental leadership for higher level, challenging, and complex situations, addressing more significant/serious student issues independently with little direct guidance as appropriate.

• Implement departmental training and oversee application of best practices, leading team in research, evaluation, and documentation with focus on increased efficiency and accuracy.

• Engage in and support professional development, including identifying and proposing opportunities for the team in areas of academic advising, art and design education, etc.

• Represent the department and/or division at institutional committees, meetings, and events.

• Hire, train, and manage work-study student, conducting regular check-ins and performance reviews as necessary.

Academic Advising and Planning - 35%

• Guide students in navigating CCA’s academic policies and degree requirements.

• Guide students in monitoring student progress towards degree completion and use of academic planning tools.

• Advise undergraduate students in transitioning into their major programs of study, navigating potential barriers, and connecting them with various resources of support to foster an increased sense of empowerment and responsibility in making informed decisions.

• Facilitate and conduct regular academic planning reviews for incoming and continuing undergraduate students, providing timely student outreach and course recommendations individually and in groups as necessary.

• Process curricular exceptions requests when needed, gathering data to inform programmatic improvements.

• Apply advising best practices, including counseling skills for advising, record-keeping, FERPA compliance, navigation of difficult conversations, and administrative processes.

Student Retention and Academic Planning Support - 25%

• Participate in retention efforts for students at each level and implement specialized strategies for specific populations of students, including underrepresented and/or underserved populations.

• Partner with Academic Program Chairs and Managers to identify priorities and streamline workflow, coordinating and maintaining student communications as well as providing information pertaining to course scheduling, enrollment management, and student experience.

• Provide critical information pertaining to academic dismissal and probation to the Academic Review Committee; conduct follow up as necessary.

• Prepare reports and analyze data on student progress and degree completion, presenting results and recommendations to partners.

• Provide escalation for student cases as needed.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree required. Bachelor of Fine Arts degree or experience in design and/or the fine arts strongly preferred.

• Master’s degree in higher education, counseling, or other related fields preferred.

• Extensive, progressive, full-time experience in academic advising or related, retention-focused areas for a minimum of 3 years required.

• Knowledge of current issues and best practices in advising and academic planning is key to this role.

• Leadership ability to effectively train, mentor, and motivate students, staff, and faculty in a productive and supportive work environment required.

• Ability to work independently, exercise initiative, and exhibit outstanding judgment.

• Excellent time management skills and ability to prioritize work in a multitasking, rapidly changing environment with frequent interruptions required.

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills are required as are a high level of comfort and expertise with computer technology (including database management, Google Apps for Education, Microsoft Office), development of electronic work efficiencies, web interface projects, etc.

• Experience using Workday Student or similar student information system preferred.