Position Overview

Jayhawk Academic Advising (JAA) serves as the academic advising unit for all undergraduate and all online graduate students at the University of Kansas. JAA is a unit within the Division of Academic Success and reports through the Senior Vice Provost of Academic Affairs. JAA assists students with proactive and holistic academic advising support in an embedded model.

The Program Director for Graduate Academic Advising is a leadership position that reports to the Assistant Vice Provost for Academic Success leading academic advising, orientation and career advising. The program director will oversee operations for graduate academic advising, provide leadership to the team of advisors assigned to graduate students, and work closely with deans, associate deans, and chairs in the College, professional schools, and departments. This position is responsible for direction, management, and accountability for providing academic advising, graduate student support, and promoting student success.

The Director works collaboratively across the university to ensure the accuracy of new student and academic advising information and appropriate, broad-based referrals to university and community resources. This position draws upon literature and best practices to ensure meaningful connections for graduate students and providing holistic support to meet the specific needs of post-baccalaureate learners. The Director is responsible for knowledge of and compliance with Board of Regents and University policies.

Job Description

50% - Supervision and Management
Manage the day-to-day function of a multi-discipline and multi-location academic advising team including scheduling, coordination of work, training and compliance, advisor systems, and referring students to appropriate resources/departments/personnel.
Responsible for the hiring, training, and supervision of graduate academic advisors and academic success coaches.
Manage the input of appropriate data into campus service and CRM systems to track usage and content while also informing the knowledge base of those systems’ content.
Ensure compliance with all student records and enrollment, FERPA, Financial Aid policies, etc.
Collect, analyze and report student success and/or academic advisor data as requested, providing reports as needed.
Work closely with the Associate Director of Training and Professional Development in JAA to create training modules for graduate student advising staff. Responsible for some training content delivery.
May be assigned a caseload of students and serve as a system “super user”. Will assist with caseload coverage as the need arises.

25% - Relationship Management:
Works closely with deans, associate deans, assistant deans, department chairs, and directors of graduate studies to ensure the goals of JAA are met, and a feedback loop is utilized.
Coordinate with Office of Graduate Studies to ensure policies and processes are closely followed.
Work in alignment with Undergraduate Advising Director on larger JAA processes and operations.
Define and implement graduate student mentorship and establish clear roles for faculty and academic mentorship and academic advising and success coaching.
Track policy changes that impact degree progression and completion.
Establish and maintain collaborations with student support units including the University Career Center, University Academic Support Centers, Student Affairs, Financial Aid, etc. to ensure students are connected to these offices and have support.
Works with Information Technology (IT), Student Information Systems, and Student Success Technologies to leverage technology solutions to strengthen communication to students throughout their academic advising experience.
Serves as a member of the Academic Success Leadership Team.
20% - Resources and Assessment
Advocate for and advance for practices and approaches in graduate student success and retention.
Establishes and maintains a culture of assessment and data analysis to ensure programs, initiatives, and processes align with established student learning outcomes, Academic Success priorities, and institutional mission and priorities. Serve as lead in developing and implementing robust assessment strategies to gauge effectiveness and impact of advising programs and evaluation of key metrics.
In collaboration with AVP, develop, manage, and maintain graduate JAA budget. Make budgetary recommendations and manage resources efficiently and effectively.
Monitor student enrollment and make effective decisions related to advisor case management.
Develop individual learning plan templates for advisors to use with online and competency-based learners and ensure a high level of touch and support for these student populations.
5% - Other related duties:
Assumes other responsibilities as assigned by the Assistant Vice Provost



Required Qualifications

Master’s degree plus three years’ experience in student services, admissions or related academic services in a higher education setting OR Bachelor's degree PLUS five years’ experience in student services, admissions or related academic services in a higher education setting.
Two years of experience providing supervision to full-time staff.
Documented experience working with graduate student populations in a higher education setting.
Documented work experience communicating through written, verbal, and presentation forms.
Documented work experience problem solving, organizational and project management skills.
Demonstrated experience communicating effectively with multiple departments and/or stakeholders.
Demonstrated work experience and understanding of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
Demonstrated work experience working with a wide range of student and/or staff populations in a higher education setting.

Preferred Qualifications

Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration, Student Personnel or related student development field.
Demonstrated prior experience working with online learners.
Demonstrated experience working in a professional academic advising setting.
Demonstrated experience working with admissions and enrollment management functions.
Demonstrated experience with the PeopleSoft Student Records (SR) Module or other student information systems.
Work experience managing budgets and assessing program effectiveness.
Experience working effectively across divisional roles in a higher education setting.
Experience assessing academic advising learning outcomes.
Experience effectively interfacing with a wide variety of constituents, including students, faculty, staff, family members, and community members.