About the Job
The College of Liberal Arts (CLA) is seeking an innovative Assistant Director of Advising to join the unit's advising leadership team in a dynamic and evolving work environment. Reporting to the Associate Director of Advising, the Assistant Director will provide strategic leadership and vision for advising and student services in collaboration with the other 3 Assistant Directors of Advising and key members of CLA Undergraduate Education. Successful candidates will be compassionate and confident leaders with a positive attitude, an exceptional work ethic, enthusiasm for the undergraduate experience, and strong collaborative abilities. They will be solution-minded, and have a record of professional accomplishments in advising and student services. This job ensures the success of our mission by embracing support programs and strategies that enhance retention, degree progress, career readiness, student success, and strategic partnerships.
Operational Leadership (25%)
- Work in collaboration with Associate Directors to provide leadership, vision, and strategic thinking for collegiate advising efforts.
- Chair, organize, and represent CLA Advising in one or more of the following collegiate- and university-level committees and workgroups, initiative, and/or partnerships:
- Committees and Workgroups (APLUS, Peer Advisors, Advisor Training, Probation and Suspension, Scholastic Committee, Department Advisors Group, Orientation Steering, Second Language Program, Graduate Internships, DEI Advisory Committee)
- Initiatives (Pre-Health, Career Readiness)
- Partnerships (Awards & Nominations, Departmental Advisors, CLA Career Services, Career Readiness, CLA Office of Student Experience, OTE, ISSS, ASR)
- Identify and report on issues that may impede student progress, such as concerns about course availability or lack of appropriate academic programs to match student interests.
- Develop relationships with faculty and staff in our academic departments to move the college closer to a consistent student experience.
- Represent and promote collegiate advising by fostering and maintaining productive, collaborative relationships both within the college and across campus.
- Suggest recommendations to the Assistant Dean for Curriculum for changes to academic programs, policies, and procedures that would enhance students' progress and satisfaction.
- Collect, summarize, and evaluate data related to trends and make informed recommendations for improved student service.
- Identify and find solutions for challenges that arise for advisors and students.
- Develop a work culture that encourages flexibility and adaptability that prioritizes the developmental needs of students and maintains a "students first" mentality.
- Embrace existing technology (Google workspace, Tableau, databases, Peoplesoft, APLUS, etc.) to improve the function and sustainability of advising services.
- Provide leadership to Advising through a focus and commitment to UGE's statement of Diversity Equity, and Inclusion.
- Encourage representation in diverse groups on campus to ensure all voices are heard.
- Foster an environment where students and advising staff have the ability to learn from and relate respectfully with people of one's own culture as well as those from another to foster open-mindedness, compassion, and inclusiveness among individuals and groups.
Management of Academic Advisors (40%)
- Supervise a team of 8-10 advisors to harness individual strengths while managing differences to ensure students receive a successful advising experience.
- Utilize a coaching model with advising staff to encourage professional growth and student engagement.
- Provide advising staff with feedback to ensure growth as professionals.
- Develop strategies for achieving team goals (student retention, graduation rates, clearance, etc) through influence, delegation, and resource analysis.
- Contribute to the hiring and onboarding process ensuring it is inclusive and cultivates a long-term relationship with CLA.
- Assess needs for training, recommend opportunities for professional development, and promote engagement and wellbeing for all advising team members.
- Determine coverage (drop-in) and schedules (flexible work) to maximize advisor availability and service to students to allow optimal appointment times.
- Create meaningful challenges while supporting and providing resources for advising staff to be successful.
- Recognize conflicts among teams and determine the best approach to effectively manage the situation to ensure the best outcome.
- Provide Advising Teams with the resources needed to make timely entry of advising notes, timely outreach for alerts and warnings, graduation clearance, etc to ensure effective communication.
- Contribute to the communication flow by providing information to the Associate Directors as well as keeping the Advising staff informed of University, CLA, and unit matters to ensure seamless gaps in knowledge.
Academic Advising (30%)
- Maintain a professional advising caseload of approximately 75-100 CLA students including additional interest areas, such as pre-health and a variety of majors and minors.
- Utilize the CLA advising model, provide appropriate challenge and support to each assigned student as needed to facilitate students having a successful academic experience.
- Incorporate interpersonal, multicultural, and communication skills to build rapport with students to create a productive working relationship between the student and the advisor.
- Demonstrate and advance the value of a liberal arts education. Articulate comprehensive knowledge about the curriculum, academic programs (majors, minors, certificates), degree requirements, and engagement options (study abroad, service learning, internships, research). Apply this knowledge and understanding to student interactions with the goal of advancing student success and timely degree progress.
- Promote students' utilization of the college's and the university's academic support and engagement resources to maximize their undergraduate experience.
- Facilitate students' sense of belonging and connection to campus and CLA, being particularly mindful of supporting students from underrepresented backgrounds.
- Conduct timely outreach to students, utilizing the web-based alert system. Generate individual student outreach strategies to foster students' degree progress.
- Conduct analytic review of student records to certify students' academic standing in relation to academic probation, suspension, and degree completion.
- Uphold the integrity of academic and curricular policies established by the University and CLA. Exercise informed judgment to apply exceptions when warranted.
- Be responsive to CLA and University goals, including outcomes related to retention, timely degree completion, support to students in academic difficulty, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and participation in key engagement opportunities.
Professional Development (5%)
- Stay informed on current trends and philosophies in academic advising and student support.
- Engage in scholarly or creative activities in professionally relevant areas by: membership in professional associations; attendance at workshops, seminars and conferences or writing and publishing articles for internal e-newsletters and professional journals.
- Service on unit, CLA, or University committees as requested.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's Degree with at least six years of related experience.
- Three years of progressively responsible experience in higher education and significant experience in working directly with undergraduates.
- Experience in academic advising, student services, and student development.
- Commitment to student and staff diversity, equity and justice, and promotion of an inclusive working and learning environment.
- Experience in managing and resolving conflicts, confronting challenges, and building consensus and successful collaborative teams.
- Tolerance for ambiguity, enthusiasm for innovation, and capacity to implement change.
Preferred Qualifications
- Master's Degree, ABD, or Doctorate in liberal arts, higher education, student personnel, counseling, or other field directly related to the position.
- At least five years of progressively responsible administrative experience in higher education, including supervisory or oversight responsibilities that were collaborative, flexible, responsive, transparent, and accountable.
- At least two years of direct academic advising experience.
- Superior interpersonal skills and a proven ability to develop and maintain positive professional relationships with a diverse community of faculty, staff, and students.
- Proven ability to successfully manage substantial workload that includes multiple commitments, diverse constituencies, and competing priorities.
- Ability to articulate a vision for student service excellence and the value of a liberal arts education and how that applies to career readiness.
- Knowledge of student services at the University of Minnesota and experience with related advising structures and technologies.
- Experience with program evaluation, assessment, data analytics and budget-driven decision-making.
- Excellent communication skills.
- Familiarity with information technology and its applications to advising.
Salary Range: $65,000 to $78,000 Depending on qualifications.
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