Professional Academic Advisor & Student Success Coach

Overview

Description

At Westminster College, we believe in immersive and enriching experiences that inspire creative thinking and problem solving. We believe in creating opportunities for several different paths to success over a lifetime and the potential to make an impact from wherever you are. For our students, we do this by providing real-world, hands-on learning opportunities, small class sizes, and talented professors dedicated to the individual.

Our employees often remark that our tight-knit community creates an atmosphere fostering campus involvement that adapts to all interests. As a result, Westminster continues to be recognized for its excellence in higher education as one of the best small liberal arts colleges in the Midwest.

• Assists students in their transition to Westminster
• Facilitates students’ efforts to plan their degree
• Promotes engagement in an appropriate major for their interests and strengths
• Connects students with key campus resources and keeps them on track to graduate
• Helps students make the most of their experience at Westminster
• Helps students develop and implement goals in all areas of student development
• Works with the students to identify their needs and areas of growth

As a professional academic advisor, the person in this position supports a caseload of undeclared first- and second- year students. When the students declare their major, they get a faculty primary advisor. However, as a student success coach, the person in this position supports the assigned students until they graduate. As an employee at the Student Success Center, the PAASSC responds to walk-in student needs and performs collaborative administrative tasks.

Reporting to the Associate Dean of Student Success, the PAASSC is committed to building student-centered relationships that support achievement. The PAASCC develops and implements advising and coaching strategies to enhance student performance and persistence.

Essential Functions:

• Advise students regarding academic requirements including evaluating incoming credit, creating customized course schedule, and assisting the student with course registration
• Use a life-coaching mindset to help the student adjust to college and thrive throughout their academic career
• Provide holistic advising and coaching that focus on exploration, discovery, and goal setting in the context of Westminster’s concept for student development
• Manage summer advising for incoming students, including content development for orientation
• Develop advising-related communication for incoming students and oversee their preregistration once they tuition deposit
• Assist with development, coordination, and assessment of programming for incoming students’ welcome events during New Student Week
• Actively track and monitor integrated student success and retention benchmarks and perform outreach intervention when students are off-track
• Use the early alert system and support the Student Persistence Team
• Keep accurate and detailed advisee records
• Partner and communicate effectively with key campus offices, such as the Office of Academic Affairs, Student Life, Reeves Library etc.
• Other duties as assigned

Job Requirements:

Education: Bachelor’s degree required. Master’s preferred, especially in Education, Counseling, and related fields. For candidates with a Bachelor’s degree, at least 3 years of experience working with students in an academic capacity.

Experience: 3 + years of experience with academic advising and counseling;
Knowledge of educational theory and principles, and experience in practical application of counseling techniques in a college advising environment.

Skills:

• Strong ability to learn fast, analyze, apply, and explain information about departmental and college courses and majors and policies, procedures, and requirements
• Demonstrated skills in judgment and decision-making, problem solving and in assisting students develop these skills as well
• Strong ability in reasoning and developing original ideas to solve problems
• Skills and abilities
  
  in conflict resolution, exercising sound judgement, tact, cultural sensitivity, and diplomacy
• Ability to identify and…