Academic Coordinator, Florence

Position Description:

The Academic Coordinator has onsite responsibilities for student-facing academic support, advising, post-Verto planning, and other general academic operations that  support academic coordination between students, faculty, and staff. The Academic Coordinator will consult with students and guide them on topics related to their academic progress, college counseling and academic concerns. They will provide learning strategies and facilitate interventions to maximize student academic success. Academic Coordinators will also consult with faculty and academic leadership to support holistic student success  and provide data to track student success. The Academic Coordinator is the primary lead for College Counseling and Transfer Services at their location. The Academic Coordinator is a champion for student success and helps students feel supported, cared for, and motivated. This role is a core member of the local team and has local staff and Center responsibilities, including cross-functional duties, and expectations for participation in select global training and collaboration.

This position reports to the onsite Academic Manager, Academic Director, or Program Director. They also collaborate regularly with the Student Support Advisors on advising and transfer related services. 

RESPONSIBILITIES

Academic Advising, College Counseling and Transfer Services.

• Pre- Arrivals Student Advising: 
• Monitor student enrollment trends, and student eligibility data, review course selections and enrollment throughout the pre-arrival process.
• Review and update location-specific academic guides and pre-departure documents and student communications.
• Maintain and regularly update academic policy documents that are distributed to students, including Academic Policies and Attendance Policy and others as needed.
• Serve as the first point of contact for pre-arrival academic advising, participate in virtual pre-arrival student academic advising and pre-departure orientation sessions with Academic Affairs HQ staff, as needed. 
• Support student schedule audits as part of global academic operations to identify problems with class schedules, course load, eligibility requirements, etc.
• Onsite Advising: 
• Advise students regarding their post-verto plans both Channel and Traditional.
• Advise continuing Verto students regarding their future semester course selection and plans. 
• Lead onsite Academic Advising, Academic Success and College Counseling advising models and initiatives.
• Report on student academic progress, academic actions, and overall advising engagement with assigned caseload, monitoring and reporting academic progress.
• Conduct Channel Matriculation Meetings for Exiting Channel Students 
• Initiate, submit, and update College Counseling applications in Salesforce, and follow up as needed as directed by CCATS HQ.
• Serve as the escalation  point for students during Add/Drop advising, provide assistance, and/or appropriate referrals, to students throughout the add/drop period and ensure students meet eligibility and enrollment requirements for course load, credits, schedules, partners, etc.
• Meet regularly with students for general academic advising relevant to course enrollments and withdrawals, monitoring students academic performance and attendance, identifying patterns and trends to initiate pro-active student advising relevant to student academic progress;
• Support student academic major and career advising and helping students identify academic goals and establish/work toward post-Verto plans. 

Academic Success and Faculty Support

• Build a strong relationship with faculty, and be available for faculty support or advising, upon request
• Serve as the first escalation point for academic success, collaborate with students/faculty/academic staff, decide appropriate interventions and academic actions, and implement with the assistance of Student Coordinator and others as appropriate.
• Lead regular meetings with Student Coordinators to monitor student academic progress.
• Provide in-class academic success or advising workshops or sessions as requested by faculty to support academic learning interventions.

Academic Management

• Assist with key academic operations prior to student arrival, for example, course set-up in Canvas and student and faculty access to the Learning Management System or online libraries and student services facilitated through the Academic Provider.
• Maintain class attendance records regarding absences due to illness (where applicable)
• Assist in administering midterm and end of term course and program evaluations and increasing student participation and reviewing results with the Academic Director/Manager 
• Support academic staff onboarding, training, and management as appropriate, as determined by the local Academic Director/Manager.
• Attend academic team meetings – local and global, as needed
• Serve as an escalation point in case management and/or reporting following established procedures for academic actions.
• Deliver academic and program pre-departure and onsite orientation sessions as needed.

• Collaborate with Academic Director and Program Director, Academic Success & Advising to implement tools, resources, and systems to improve Academic Success strategies and interventions.
• Participate in relevant experiential learning activities or excursions as necessary 
• Assist in opening/closing study center or providing emergency support, on rotation with other team members, as assigned

Qualifications:

The ideal candidate for this position will have:

• Experience with Academic Advising and academic success initiatives
• Master’s degree in higher education, student affairs administration, public administration, or related field ,  Professional experience working in higher education, with preference for experience working with U.S. college students in advising or administrative capacities.
• At least one year of previous experience in working with first-year college students in academic advising, student services, counseling, or any related activity in a college or university setting
• Cultural competency, demonstrated through cultural understanding and intercultural communication skills
• Commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging with experience working with culturally, ethnically, socioeconomically, and linguistically diverse participants and colleagues, and demonstrated ability to foster relationships with diverse participants
• The ability to embody/model kindness, openness, flexibility, curiosity, empathy, integrity, responsibility and professionalism for participants
• A passion for learning, experiential education, diversity, inclusivity, travel, global citizenship and, most importantly, for helping participants learn, grow and succeed academically and professionally 
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively with a diverse team (locally, globally).

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities 

• Excellent communication (oral and written) and interpersonal skills
• Student-centered approach to work, ability to serve as a student advocate, coach, mentor and advisor to motivate students and create a sense of belonging. 
• Awareness of common learning differences and varying academic abilities and experiences with learning, including learning disabilities and necessary accommodations
• Ability to identify and recommend targeted learning interventions
• Ability to establish and maintain positive and professional relationships with Verto participants, faculty, and staff
• Able to build trust with students and draw out participant goals through effective inquiry
• Strengths-based approaches to advising and supporting participants 
• Belief in the value of experiential education and travel to change lives
• Technology oriented, able to work with student information databases (Salesforce) and learning management platforms (Canvas, Dropout Detective) and various systems and tools to facilitate global work (Slack, Asana, etc.).

However, even if you don’t meet 100% of the above qualifications, you should still seriously consider applying. Studies show that you can still be considered for a role if you meet just 50% of the role’s requirements.