Administrative Assistant to the Director of Graduate Programs

Bemidji State University (BSU) invites applicants to join our team as the Administrative Assistant to the Director of Graduate Programs.  BSU’s vision is to educate people to lead inspired lives. To accomplish BSU’s vision, the University prioritizes creating a culture in which diversity is embraced and all people are safe, welcome, and validated. BSU is a member of the Minnesota State system of colleges and universities and employs more than 500 faculty and staff.

BSU is located amid the lakes and forests of northern Minnesota and occupies a wooded campus along the shore of Lake Bemidji.  BSU balances rigorous academia with the opportunity to enjoy a fun, robust, outdoor culture.  The proximity to the lake and the surrounding north woods allows easy access to an assortment of recreation.  Major campus facilities are connected by all-season underground passages for safe and warm travel during the cold, winter months. 

Enrolling around 5,000 students, BSU offers more than 70 undergraduate majors and eight graduate degrees encompassing arts, sciences and select professional programs. BSU is a member of the Minnesota State system of colleges and universities and has a faculty and staff of more than 550. BSU’s Shared Fundamental Values include civic engagement and leadership, international and multicultural understanding, belief in the power of the liberal arts, and environmental stewardship.

The Administrative Assistant provides office support and assistance to the Director of Graduate Programs and the School of Graduate Studies.  The Administrative Assistant helps students to make an easy transition from undergraduate education to graduate education either through licensure, certification, or masters’ degrees. They also process all incoming graduate applications; prepares correspondence and other documents to communicate directly with students, faculty, and staff; prepares purchase orders; and processes all required documentation for each graduate student pursuing a master’s degree at BSU from application through degree completion. The Administrative Assistant maintains access to graduate studies records in the Integrated Student Records System (ISRS); oversees and implements the use of ImageNow so that all communication with students are appropriately documented; maintains accurate information in the Communications Module, and is expected to retrieve data through queries. They review and process all human subjects’ requests in preparation for the Human Subjects Committee review and or approval, and will track all articulation agreements for BSU, distance learning, and graduate education. The Administrative Assistant serves as office manager, screens phone calls from prospective or current students, and the general public, and provides work direction for one full-time graduate assistant and 1-2 student employees.

Responsibilities of the Administrative Assistant include:

• Processing graduate applications and other required forms in an efficient and timely manner in reference to graduate education.
• Performing administrative tasks for Director of Graduate Programs and others, as needed.
• Providing administrative support for marketing efforts, recruitment fairs, conferences, and seminars.
• Providing internal customers (agency employees) with information, assistance, and services.

Minimum qualifications for this position include:

• Data entry, word processing, spreadsheet, and database management skills sufficient to create, enter, modify, prepare, and retrieve data in a variety of formats, including letters and reports.
• Customer service skills sufficient to effectively communicate on the phone, in person and online to provide effective general and specialized office support (this requires common courtesy, tact, interest in positive problem solving, empathy, and the ability to organize ideas logically).
• Accounting skills sufficient to perform or learn to perform administrative support work for a work unit’s expense and budget administration.
• Leadwork skills sufficient to hire, train, and give work direction to student workers.

Preferred qualifications include:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent relevant work experience.
• Minimum of 2 years of experience working with undergraduate or graduate admissions processes/procedures.
• Specialized terminology to efficiently code students in a specialized system such as MinnState’s Integrated Statewide Records System (ISRS) that affects students’ ability to register, to access the internal operations of a higher education institution, and Financial Aid eligibility.
• Working knowledge of ImageNow, Communications Module, and data mining in ISRS, or similar programs.
• Working knowledge of graduate education specific to graduate programs.
• Demonstrated knowledge of, an interest in, or experience working with students and/or colleagues from multicultural and diverse backgrounds.

To apply for this position:

Apply for Vacancy Posting 47508, on the Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) website:  http://mn.gov/mmb/careers/

If you are unable to apply online, please contact the job information line at 651.259.3637.

For additional information about the application process, go to http://www.mn.gov/careers.

Inquiries about the position:

George McConnell, Director of Graduate Programs

(218) 755-2027

george.mcconnell@bemidjistate.edu

If you have general questions about this posting or submitting an application, contact Teresa Hanson at teresa.hanson@bemidjistate.edu

UNIVERSITY / COMMUNITY

WHY BEMIDJI:

Bemidji State University is nestled among the pines along the shores of Lake Bemidji, just blocks from a thriving downtown community. In this Northwoods setting, students, staff, and faculty have a variety of activities at their fingertips. Possessing all the charm and character of a college town, Bemidji remains a tight-knit community of good neighbors and engaged citizens who always come out to cheer for the Bemidji State Beavers. While the city of Bemidji — named after the Ojibwe Chief Shaynowishkung (nicknamed Bemidji) — is home to a diverse population of more than 15,000 people, it serves a regional population of more than 100,000.

Located between three American Indian reservations – Leech Lake, Red Lake and White Earth, students at Bemidji State University have the opportunity to experience a dynamic local culture and history. Bemidji also sits at the center of the legends of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. The famous statues of Paul and Babe greet students as they drive in from the south along Lake Bemidji.

Though quaint and historic, the city offers the urban conveniences upon which college students rely. Bemidji State is conveniently located minutes away from affordable restaurants, cozy coffee shops, grocery stores, city parks and more. Small, locally owned shops and art sculptures line the streets of downtown Bemidji, while national chains can be found in and around the Bemidji area, including an uptown selection of department stores and restaurants.

The thriving downtown community presents ample opportunities for engagement off-campus. Among other things, there are fine-dining restaurants, cafes, and a natural foods co-op in downtown Bemidji. The historic Paul Bunyan Playhouse has a calendar of classic shows; restaurants and lounges offer weekly live music performances; the First Friday Art Walk provides a tour of new monthly art exhibits; and annual events such as the Loop the Lake Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, the Blue Ox Marathon, Bemidji Winterfest, and The Minnesota Finlandia bring the community together.

For those who love the outdoors, there are wooded, multi-use trail systems within minutes of campus and community parks with walking trails, playgrounds and a skate park. Lake Bemidji State Park and its miles of navigable trails is located directly across the lake from BSU, and the Buena Vista Ski Area — just 12 miles north of campus — offers downhill skiing and BSU-sponsored student transportation in the winter months. Further, the Mississippi River Headwaters is a mere 45 minutes from Bemidji.

For further information, visit our website at: http://www.bemidjistate.edu

Review a "special report on how this former lumber town has rebuilt itself as a high-speed, regional center of enterprise" at Bemidji 2.0