GA Pre-professional - America Reads/America Counts - Spring/Summer, 2026

Title: GA Pre-professional - America Reads/America Counts - Spring/Summer, 2026
Division Name: Academic Affairs
Department: Financial Aid Office
Campus Location: Normal, IL

Job Summary

The Pre-professional graduate assistants are involved in the hiring process of tutors and ensuring that tutors are trained adequately to serve the community. They provide service to local families, working with school districts and after-school programs to identify students in need of program support. Duties include collaboration with local teachers to identify time slots needed and matching the availability of tutors along with the specific tutoring skills needed. Our GAs are also required to conduct site visits each semester to observe and evaluate each tutor, addressing any issues that arise. Duties also include gathering and compiling annual statistics that are provided to the Center for Civic Engagement and to the Provost Office in support of their annual report. Supervisory responsibilities include managing the weekly group chat with tutors, resolving issues and providing guidance and recommendations to tutors based on the group discussions.

Due to the nature of this program, the GA’s complete administrative tasks for payroll processing each pay period, communicating with parents and teachers to validate the hours submitted and ensuring accurate submission of the tutors’ time. This position provides GAs with mid-level supervisory experience. They encounter situations where they must use professional judgment in advising tutors in difficult situations, resolving matters that involve disgruntled tutors or families, analyzing policies and procedures of the program because of feedback from families and educators. Graduate assistants maintain statistics. These pre-professional positions work closely with the Program Coordinator in reviewing policies and procedures of the program and are involved in making recommendations of changes to the policies and procedures.

The Pre-professional graduate assistants serve as a resource to tutors and provide and secure additional resources for tutors, sometimes including assistance with developing lesson plans. Placements include the Illinois State University campus, local schools, public libraries, community centers, and after-school programs. GAs also perform other duties as assigned.

This position can be 28, 20, or 10 hours/week depending on need each term.

Salary Rate / Pay Rate

$805 - $2,254

Required Qualifications

1. Eligible for appointment as per the requirements in the Graduate Assistant Handbook which can be found at http://hr.illinoisstate.edu/downloads/GA_Handbook.pdf
2. Must be a degree-seeking graduate student at Illinois State University in Communication Sciences and Disorders, Education (all plans), Family and Consumer Science, Human Development, Nurse Practitioner, Psychology, and the Social Work/School Social Work program.
3. Experience with working with children (tutoring and/or mentoring).
4. Professional oral and written communication skills.
5. Proficiency with Microsoft Office products and ability to learn the ISU Student Information System.
6. Ability to perform tasks with limited supervision, attend to detail and remain organized.
7. Professional interpersonal skills for interacting with ISU faculty, staff, and students, as well as parents, school personnel, and children.
8. Ability to take initiative and creative control of an assignment and implement strategies to carry out the necessary tasks.
9. Ability to provide your own transportation for off-campus sites.
10. Federal Work Study eligibility is required.

Preferred Qualifications

1. The preferred applicant will be able to apply complex regulations and adjust to new tasks
2. Candidates with bilingual skills (fluency in Spanish) are also preferred. Program assistants with these skills will be expected to assist with in-person, email, and phone communication with Spanish-speaking families as well as translation of documents as needed.

Work Hours

1. The schedule for the position follows the university's administrative calendar. The work hours are those in the posting for this position: Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m.
2. Graduate assistants are expected to cover office hours between 8:00 – 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Program Coordinator will create/update this schedule to meet the needs of the program. Schedules will not conflict with graduate assistants’ class/program commitments.

Functional Expectations

1. Effectively communicate on a daily basis. 2. Remain at a workstation for extended periods.

Proposed Starting