Academic Advisor II

Academic Advising at La Sierra University is a developmental process which considers students’ academic needs, goals, interests and career prospects. Academic Advisors promote student success and increase student matriculation and retention by providing quality advising services with the primary objective to assist with making informed decisions concerning their educational goals.

Roles And Responsibilities Of Advisors

The advisor’s role is an active rather than a passive one and the process of advising entails the following responsibilities:

• Works closely with supervisors for advising, assisting with the development and implementation of advising programs and initiatives.
• Work with programs such as athletics, international student services, etc. to provide additional assistance as needed.
• Provide high quality academic advising to all students within their assigned majors.
• Cover walk-in advising needs as assigned by supervisor.
• Maintain detailed client reports through the EAB platform.
• Proactively use the EAB platform to communicate with students, make appointments, etc.
• Help students define and develop educational & career plans through schedule planning for each quarter and summer school, if appropriate. Each student should have an up-to-date academic schedule plan through to graduation.
• Meet with advisee during Golden Eagle Days to assist with initial transition into the university.
• Meet with continuing students to plan for the coming quarter (or summer) and to review/revise long range academic program schedules to ensure timely completion.
• Discuss and reinforce linkages and relationships between instructional program and occupation/career.
• Interpret and provide rationale for institutional policies, procedures, and requirements.
• Through Collaboration with Academic Recovery and Student Support Programs, follow-up with the advisee on any report of unsatisfactory work (notice of class probation for poor attendance, notice of AP/CAP/SAP and/or failing grades, incomplete grades from past quarter(s), etc.).
• Stay involved with the department(s) represented in order to establish and develop relationships. Stay informed of curriculum, changes within the department, and anything that would affect the student. This will be accomplished through actively reaching out to departments, attending departmental meetings, meetings with faculty, staff and student leaders.
• Maintain, through Google Docs, an up-to-date Advising Portfolio, with (but not limited to) a summary record of performance to date (grade reports, transcript, requirements completed, etc.), goals & objectives, dates of conferences/webinars/training, notation of special circumstances.
• Inform and, if necessary, refer students to other institutional resources when academic, attitudinal, attendance, or other personal problems require intervention by other professionals. (e.g., ODS, Counseling, Student Life, etc.)
• Proactively contact and be available for student advisees on a regular basis.
• Attend and participate in training programs as assigned
• Help department plan, prepare for and execute Golden Eagle Days & Orientations
• Help department plan workshops. Advisors will be expected to conduct at least 1 workshop per quarter and host workshops as needed and assigned by supervisor.
• Collaborate consistently with entire department.
• Perform other duties as assigned by administration.
  
  

Characteristics of Effective Advisors

• Able to collaborate and work well with others
• Interested in advising
• Demonstrates a concerned and caring attitude toward advisees
• Exhibits effective interpersonal and communication skills
• Available to advisees
• Frequent contact with advisees
• Knowledgeable of institutional regulations, policies, offerings, and procedures
• Monitors student progress
• Uses appropriate information sources and refers when necessary
  
  

Required Skills

• Understanding of academic advising and mentoring,
• Demonstrated experienced in student and faculty engagement
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to relate well to students, faculty, staff and parents,
• Strong communication, organizational and leadership skills,
• Attention to detail, follow-through and ability to multi-task,
• Ability to present to campus community with a professional persona,
• Understanding of academic advising and mentoring,
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to relate well to students, faculty, staff and parents,
• Strong communication, organizational and leadership skills,
• Attention to detail, follow-through and ability to multi-task,
• Ability to present to campus community with a professional persona,
• Outgoing personality with ability to actively solve problems,
• Ability to perform job independently, but also able to work collaboratively in a closely supervised setting with specific job requirements,
• Basic computer skills,
• Ability to teach basic academic success strategies to students,
• Ability to work collaboratively with a team addressing the needs of students,
• Understand and uphold ethical responsibilities involved with confidential information.
  
  

Required Experience

Possession of a bachelor's degree with a 3.0 or higher GPA

Wage Range: $19.51 to $22.50 plus generous benefits

• Comprehensive health coverage
• Tuition Assistance (spouse and dependent eligibility)
• 10 Paid Holidays
• FSA, Pet Insurance, Legal Services, Identity Protection Services, and more!