Student Success Advisor

Student Success Advisor

ACU is affiliated with the fellowship of the Church of Christ. This position requires the employee to be a professing Christian and to be willing to support the Christian mission of ACU.

Student Success Advisors (SSAs) are responsible for the advisement, success, and eventual graduation of an assigned group of students. SSAs are focused on providing an exceptional student experience through ongoing student engagement and relationship building. SSAs also participate in university-wide retention and persistence efforts.

Basic Responsibilities

• Student Advising
• Caseload Management
• Department Operations

Essential Duties:

• Student Advising

  • Assists in the support of new students through the onboarding process: conducting welcome calls, providing student training through Walk-to-Class sessions, and addressing impromptu new student questions and concerns
  • Advise students regarding policies, procedures, registration, degree progression, and payment options
  • Maintain ongoing communication with students, focusing most heavily on students identified as being at risk
  • Collaborate with students and other departments and teams to remove barriers to student persistence and success
  • Assist students in making informed decisions by providing ethical, timely, accurate, and comprehensive program information and student resources
  • Use critical thinking and problem-solving skills to address and resolve student issues and ensure positive student experiences. Address potential and/or current student concerns and seek appropriate resolution to problems
  • Assist students by performing appropriate follow-up and coordination with team members. This includes working with employees in a team environment and providing accurate student information and assistance to other team members in and/or outside of their functional area
  • Communicate effectively with potential and/or current students via telephone, email, video calls, and/or in person
  • Ensure students are in compliance with academic policies and procedures

• Caseload Management

  • Attend scheduled cross-departmental meetings with Student Financial Services, Operations, Admissions, and Academics, as requested to manage the caseload
  • Monitor student participation and progress through the program to ensure that students are in alignment with University policies
  • Review, document, and monitor student information (including academic performance and attendance) on an ongoing basis to resolve issues and facilitate student success; report any data integrity issues found
  • Maintain accurate and up to date performance metrics for student caseload

• Department Operations

  • Communicate regularly with supervisor on feedback regarding any issues within the team relating to (but not confined to) workflows, work volumes, operational issues/matters, IT issues/matters, training requirements, enhancement requests, etc.
  • Identify and report inconsistencies in documentation (i.e. handbook, catalog, programmatic curriculum sheets)
  • Attend and participate in professional training and mentorship
  • Monitor personal Key Performance Indicators and retention rate with a focus on continuous improvement

Professional Development Requirements:

• Skills

  • Exceptional interpersonal communication skills, both verbal and written
  • Strong planning, organizational, and time management skills
  • Utilizes critical thinking and problem-solving skills
  • Excellent command of professional presentation skills and be comfortable presenting to groups both large and small.

• Training

  • High-level knowledge of the higher education and student development theory
  • Computer literate and able to learn proprietary software applications including but not limited to:
  • Salesforce
  • Banner
  • Mogli
  • Qualified
  • Microsoft Suite

Qualifications:

Professional

• Bachelor's degree required. Masters preferred
• Ability to travel, must possess a valid driver's license
• Able to work flexible hours conducive to contacting students when available.
• Minimum of 2 years of Higher Education Experience. Higher education advising experience preferred

Personal

• Goal-oriented and driven to assist people with meeting their educational goals
• Self-motivated with the ability to successfully work independently or in a team environment
• Must be student and advisor oriented and have the ability to perform multiple tasks efficiently and effectively
• Motivating others by creating a climate in which people can succeed
• Collaborative within a team environment
• Is dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal and external stakeholders
• Maintains professional appearance (i.e. neat and orderly attire) and work environment (I.e. clean and organized dedicated workspace with professional background).
• Ability to adapt in a fast-paced and dynamic environment
• Supports and upholds all student-facing university policies
• Demonstrates personal and professional integrity
• Displays public support and pride in university initiatives, and assists others in seeing the positive aspects of ACU
• Complies with all ACU employee policies and procedure

Physical Requirements:

• Must be able to use a telephone or headset equipment and able to perform work in an approved professional work environment. Work is performed in an office or home office environment; must have the ability to sit for long periods of time – 6- 8 hours
• May be required to the manual operation of general office equipment and lift up to 30 pounds
• Limited travel may be required – locations vary and some overnight travel may be necessary

ACU does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, sex, disability, genetic information, national or ethnic origin in employment opportunities, in keeping with applicable state and federal law.

ACU is committed to maintaining a safe and secure campus environment and protecting the university's financial and physical assets. Therefore, Abilene Christian University conducts background checks on all candidates for employment in security sensitive positions. As a current employee, it will be determined if you need an additional background check upon your hire.