Senior Academic Advisor

Under the supervision of the Associate Director of Academic Program Advising & Planning and in partnership with departmental leadership, the Senior Academic Advisor oversees graduate student advising and planning and departmental contributions to college-wide initiatives fostering graduate student success, retention, and degree completion. The Senior Academic Advisor leads programs, processes, and projects, attending meetings and delivering presentations on behalf of Academic Program Advising & Planning, with a particular focus on graduate students.

The Senior Academic Advisor works closely with students, with a particular focus on graduate students, to navigate short and long-term planning toward degree completion by developing strategic application of resources and understanding of policies. Working closely with academic leadership and staff, the Senior Academic Advisor maintains student academic plans and provides information on trends that may impact enrollment, course offerings, and curricular changes. In addition, this role is an integral part of Academic Affairs’ effort to enhance student retention and success, providing important communication and connection for students within divisions and across the College for the duration of their academic experience. Accordingly, the Senior Academic Advisor ensures timely and proactive outreach through email and individual and group meetings, evaluating academic needs, informing improvements to the academic experience, and making referrals to campus resources/services. The Senior Academic Advisor is assigned a caseload of new and continuing graduate students. Caseload assignments are subject to change contingent on enrollment trends and needs of the college.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES:

Academic Advising and Planning - 65%

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

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

• Advise graduate students across various major programs of study, navigating potential barriers, and connecting them with 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 graduate students, providing timely student outreach and course recommendations individually and in groups as necessary.

• Process curricular and registration exception 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. 

• Utilize and develop new technology-based advising approaches. 

Student Retention and Academic Planning Support - 25%

• Track and support graduate student success from admittance to graduation. 

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

• Partner with academic leadership and staff 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; conducting outreach and support as necessary.

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

• Provide escalation for student cases as needed, especially those with more involved and/or exceptional situations/questions.

Departmental Development, Project Management, and Administration - 10%

• Oversee graduate student advising and planning and departmental response to graduate-related inquiries from students, staff, and faculty.

• Facilitate departmental contributions to college-wide initiatives fostering graduate student success, retention, and degree completion. 

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

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