Assistant Director for Academic Advising & Academic Services

Department
 

Harris School Academic and Student Affairs Sub Group

About the Department
 

Why policy? For a better world. Why Harris Public Policy? Because when it comes to better policymaking, evidence matters. We work at the frontiers of data collection and analysis, using the latest technology and social science methods to design policies that work for society. We conduct rigorous inquiry in an environment of innovation and risk taking, fearlessly questioning the status quo. We collaborate across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, adopting new methodologies to drive better solutions. We engage with our city, our world, and our leaders every day to evaluate and test our ideas. And we lead with our passion for driving social change, knowing that passion alone does not equal impact. With passion and precision, we figure out what’s best for society—and get it done. This is Harris Public Policy: Social impact, down to a science.

Job Summary
 

Reporting to the Associate Dean of Students: Academic Services and Advising within the Harris Student Affairs Dean of Students Office, the Assistant Director for Academic Advising will be responsible for advising master’s students in public policy. This positon works within a team of academic advisors and will have 125-175 advisees. This position will specifically focus on accommodations for students with documented disabilities, advocate on behalf of international Harris students, and collaborate with partners on coding support resources for students.
The Assistant Director for Academic Advising & Academic Services is integral in helping students to achieve their academic and personal goals and will contribute significantly to initiatives that enhance the overall student experience at Harris. They will work on a highly collaborative, high-performing, and student-focused team. This position has growth and promotion potential for a high-performing individual.

Responsibilities

Academic Advising

• Serves as Academic Advisor to 125-175 master’s students.
• Serves as first point of contact for all needs for assigned advisees. Learn essentials of financial aid, billing, registration, and campus services to best assist students.
• Conducts intake advising meetings with all advisees at the beginning of the year.
• Keeps accurate advising notes in a database/CRM system (Salesforce).
• Monitors each student’s progress toward degree completion, intervening appropriately as needed.
• Conduct accurate graduation degree audits for all advisees.
• Gains expertise about Harris curriculum and courses in other divisions at the University to best guide student course selection.
• Collaborates with other student-facing offices to best understand programmatic and career opportunities which enhance the student experience.
• Identifies and communicates student needs and interests to Harris Administration to help shape curriculum and co-curricular offerings.
• Creates official letters and other necessary documentation for students’ scholarship providers and other sponsors as needed.
• Monitors all advisees enrollments and update tuition projections each month.
• Serves as a support for Harris’ large international student population, including assisting advisees with CPT and OPT paperwork and acting as a liaison to the Office of International Affairs (OIA).
• Creates resources for all advisors to share information.
• Collaborates extensively with the Harris academic advising team to ensure alignment in practices and give students the best possible service.
• Supports advisees who are in crisis or experiencing extenuating circumstances.
• Collaborates with the Associate Dean of Students or Dean of Students on leaves of absence and other complex student cases.

​Academic Accommodations for Students with Documented Disabilities

• Serves as the Harris Disability Liaison, meeting with the university’s disability working group and being the point-person for academic accommodations for students at Harris.
• Communicates approved academic accommodations to Harris instructors at the beginning of each quarter.
• Answers questions from students and instructors about accommodations and processes, consulting with central Student Disability Services as necessary.
• Produces training materials for teaching assistants to educate them on federal and university policy around disability accommodations.

Coding Support Services

• Manages relationship with Dataquest, an external company that provides incoming students with free access to their platform.
• Creates and updates Harris User Guide for Dataquest and track usage among incoming students.
• Assists with the planning, coordination, and execution of Math & Coding Camp, an onboarding math & coding preparation program that approximately 80% of the incoming class attends.
• Supports the planning and instructional hiring of Coding Lab for Public Policy, a non-credit Autumn course for incoming students.

International Student Support

• Attends monthly meetings with the Office of International Affairs’ Harris advisor to learn about updates and get clarification on policies and procedures.
• Collaborates with Graduate Assistant in the planning & execution of the Harris International Student Buddy Program.
• Communicates updates and otherwise educate advisors on policy and process updates pertinent to international students.

Core Support

• Advises students with minor academic difficulties and counseling while responding to queries from faculty, staff and parents.
• Keeps records of student degree programs and notes on student conversations.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications
 

Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

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Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

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Certifications:

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Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree.
• Degree in public policy, student development, student affairs, higher education, counseling, or similar.

Experience:

• Academic advising experience.
• Familiarity with academic information systems and database systems.
• Familiarity with higher education environment.

Preferred Competencies

• Interest in working in a student facing, high touch environment.
• Student-centered approach and willingness to go the extra mile for students.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong organization and project management skills.
• Detail oriented.
• Professional demeanor, including tact, discretion, and a customer-service oriented approach to the job.
• Ability to quickly garner credibility with students.
• Ability to problem solve with minimal supervision, exercise good judgment, prioritize, and work under pressure during high volume times.
• Demonstrated ability to review and prioritize work in order to take appropriate actions without advanced approval, ensuring close attention to detail.
• Ability to work collegially and collaboratively in a team setting.
• Ability to work in an open office environment.
• Knowledge of and eagerness to root work in student development theory and best practices.
• Experience updating websites.
• Ability to operate Microsoft Word, Excel, the internet and email at the intermediate level.

Application Documents

• Resume/CV (required)

• Cover Letter (preferred)

When applying, the document(s) MUST  be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.

Job Family
 

Student Affairs & Services

Role Impact
 

Individual Contributor

FLSA Status
 

Exempt

Pay Frequency
 

Monthly

Scheduled Weekly Hours
 

37.5

Benefits Eligible
 

Yes

Requires Compliance with University Covid-19 Vaccination Requirement
 

Yes

Drug Test Required
 

No

Health Screen Required
 

No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required
 

No

Posting Statement
 

Employees must comply with the University’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements. More information about the requirements can be found on the University of Chicago Vaccination GoForward .
The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

 

Staff Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

 

We seek a diverse pool of applicants who wish to join an academic community that places the highest value on rigorous inquiry and encourages a diversity of perspectives, experiences, groups of individuals, and ideas to inform and stimulate intellectual challenge, engagement, and exchange.

 

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history.  A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment.  Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

 

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