Associate Director of Academic Advising - CEHD Student Services

Position Overview:

The Associate Director of Academic Advising leads and provides a strategic vision for comprehensive College of Education and Human Development advising services that support the progress, retention, and graduation of 2,500 undergraduate students. This includes overseeing existing programming, initiating new programming, managing schedules and resources, and implementing and evaluating advisor outreach to all undergraduate students. In addition, the Associate Director of Advising oversees: supervision of the academic advising team (7.5 FTE); registration and degree progress policy and practice;) enrollment management for student access and experience in college curriculum, and communication of policies and practices outward to staff, faculty, and departmental advisors in the college.

The Associate Director serves on the Student Services Leadership Team with the leaders of Admissions, Recruitment & Student Engagement; Career Services; Degree Progress and Retention; Student Engagement; and Scholarship & Department Administration. The Associate Director reports to the Director of CEHD Student Services.

The University of Minnesota encourages a healthy work life balance for employees. CEHD is committed to an excellent employee experience, offering a flexible work environment that meets the needs of students, staff, faculty, and the communities we serve. Flexible work arrangements may include flexibility in schedule and/or work location. Please note that 100% remote work requires approval. All UMN employees are expected to follow applicable public health and safety procedures.

Job Responsibilities:

Management & Supervision of Student Services Academic Advising Program (50%)

• Develop, lead, and provide strategic visioning for undergraduate CEHD Student Services’ comprehensive advising programming, processes, structure, staffing, and communication to meet the college’s goals for student success, retention, and graduation, in collaboration with the Student Services leadership team.
• Provide decisions and direction for advisors with serving students in crisis, who demonstrate extenuating circumstances, who have complicated and urgent or immediate needs, or who require intervention regarding academic progress issues.
• Build, document, and support advising workflow processes, including overseeing evaluation of routine advising work.
• Coordinate with the Front Desk staff to create seamless services for students as they initiate access to advising.
• Manage overall student caseload of all Student Services advising staff in an equitable, fair minded way, including coordinating changes in advisor assignments and caseload numbers. Plan and advocate for staffing levels to meet advising ratio standards for best levels of advising service.
• Assess, develop, and implement training needs for advisors on collegiate and University curriculum, policies, procedures, and all advising systems.
• Manage talent of CEHD student services academic advising staff using a strengths-based approach while recognizing the range of backgrounds, cultures, and learning styles of the staff.  This includes:
  • Acquire talent, including recruiting, hiring, training, and on boarding new advising staff.
  • Manage performance, including both supportive and constructive feedback, and providing corrective action when necessary.
  • Meet regularly with supervisees to answer questions, share information, provide feedback and ongoing training as well as overall employee development, support, coaching and mentoring.
  • Conduct annual performance reviews, including setting performance expectations and goals and developing professional development plans that support achievement of goals
• Consult with other Student Services area leads including that of career services, student admissions and engagement, and degree progress  for case consultation and information sharing.
• Serve as academic advisor for a small caseload of undergraduate students.

Academic Advising Leadership, Collaboration and Evaluation (35%)

• Provide advising leadership in Student Services for advisors of all undergraduate students in CEHD, including students in all of CEHD 12 majors, undeclared students and students in the President’s Emerging Scholars Program.
• Collaborate closely with TRIO Student Support Services Director and advisors to share information on advising philosophy, policies and practices to ensure consistency and quality of advisee experiences.
• Collaborate closely with academic department advisors in assigning advising liaisons to departments, consulting on student issues and sharing of information that informs advising practices.
• Implement  data-driven processes and retention initiatives for advisors to use in proactively supporting students toward timely degree progress.
• Continually evaluate and assess the needs of students to inform leadership of advising services and programming.
• Use research-based effective and accessible advising practices as well as college and university data to build, implement and evaluate programming to improve student degree progress.
• Make decisions in application of academic and curricular policy with the critical role of monitoring, implementing, and communicating precedent outward to staff, faculty, and department advisors.
• Supervise and consult on the decision making process for registration and policy exceptions within student records.
• Monitor and evaluate student outreach initiatives to ensure timely and effective communication strategies.
• Collaborate with the Coordinator of Degree Progress and Retention in implementing our major declaration process including consultation on student exceptions and implementing communication strategies.
• Collaborate with the Associate Director for Recruitment, Admissions and Student Engagement, the TRIO Student Support Services Director, and the Coordinator of Degree Progress and Retention  to create processes/policies connecting admission, orientation and advising to form equitable, consistent and seamless transition and support services to all students.
• Consult and collaborate with the Director of Undergraduate Education on curriculum revision and development within the college from the undergraduate student perspective so that the curriculum is attentive to student needs by providing an emphasis on equity, access, barriers, and overall degree progress.
• Represent CEHD and academic advising for college and university campus offices and groups to advocate for the delivery of strong advising and support services to students throughout the college and university system.

Oversee CEHD’s President Emerging Scholars (PES) program (10%)

• Co-supervise the Assistant Director of TRIO Student Support Services/PES with the Director of TRIO Student Support Services
• Work with the PES Coordinator on strategic initiatives and programming to meet the needs of PES students
• Oversee curriculum development and student learning outcomes for the PES sections of EDHD 1701 – Identity, Culture, and College success, in collaboration with the Director of TRIO Student Support Services.
• Select, train, and assist EDHD 1701 instructors with curriculum, learning objectives, and classroom management for four sections each Fall
• Teach a section of EDHD 1701 as needed

Professional Service & Miscellaneous (5%)

• Provide expertise, leadership, and/or oversight for a broad spectrum of academic advising and student needs in the unit, academic departments in the college and across the University.
• Serve on university wide Advising Coordinators Group to influence and inform policies and practices that impact advisors and students on campus and develop effective supervision practices of academic advisors.
• Stay abreast of current trends and philosophies in academic advising and supervision, engage in scholarship or creative programming in the areas of advising, supervision, academic progress and service delivery
• Support efforts to initiate systemic change in academic advising practices, through building awareness, sharing expertise, offering advocacy, etc.
• Participate in and collaborate with college recruiting events
• Lead various aspects of college commencement events including coordination of advising staffing, student line-up, student check-in.
• Other duties as assigned

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree with at least 8 years of relevant experience, or Master’s degree and 6 years of relevant experience.
• Demonstrated leadership within a small department or cross-disciplinary team with responsibility for leading a department function of notable significance that in part affects how well the organization operates.
• Experience leading academic advising processes, student caseloads and advising staff.
• Experience leading student progress toward degree functions, including but not limited to: understanding probation, suspension, return from suspension, curricular access issues and barriers to timely completion of degree.
• Experience supervising and/or collaborating with a diverse staff and student body, with a proven commitment to equity and diversity and a passion for holistically supporting the learning, development and success of all students and staff.
• Strong verbal and written communications skills, evidenced in various formats including in-person, email, video, and on-line.
• Demonstrated creative problem-solving skills and independent decision-making abilities.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced degree in Higher Education, Student Affairs/Student Development, College Student Personnel Counseling or related field.
• Relevant administrative experience in a higher education setting, balancing a large number of projects and related details.
• Significant experience related to student records and the ability to learn new systems related to student support.
• Experience supervising a diverse team of professionals in a growth-minded environment.
• Experience developing, implementing and evaluating student support or advising programming.
• Demonstrated ability to function effectively and collaboratively with multiple stakeholder groups within a large, dynamic organization. Evidence of ability to work cooperatively with administrators, faculty, staff, students, student’s parents, and the public.

Department Overview:

CEHD Student Services supports the mission of the college by facilitating access, admission, retention, graduation, and development of a diverse population of life-long learners. We believe engaging with diverse and dynamic ideas, worldviews, situations, and communities is necessary to fulfill our mission and that we have a responsibility to address fundamental issues of bias, discrimination, and exclusion.

College Overview

The College of Education and Human Development (CEHD), the third largest college at the University, contributes to a just and sustainable future through engagement with the local and global communities to enhance human learning and development at all stages of the life span. We know diversity is necessary to do our best work and foster our humanity. That’s why the CEHD community is collectively dedicated to cultivating an inclusive and equitable environment, embracing and celebrating all identities of our students, staff, and faculty. These values are also a moral imperative requiring continuous proactive measures and a firm stance against prejudice, discrimination, and systemic injustice.

Working at the University of Minnesota

At the University of Minnesota, you’ll find a flexible work environment and supportive colleagues who are interested in lifelong learning.  We prioritize work-life balance, allowing you to invest in the future of your career and in your life outside of work.

The University also offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Competitive wages, paid holidays, and generous time off
• Continuous learning opportunities through professional training and degree-seeking programs supported by the Regents Scholarship
• Low-cost medical, dental, and pharmacy plans
• Healthcare and dependent care flexible spending accounts
• University HSA contributions
• Disability and employer-paid life insurance
• Employee wellbeing program
• Excellent retirement plans with employer contribution
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) opportunity
• Financial counseling services 
• Employee Assistance Program with eight sessions of counseling at no cost

Please visit the Office of Human Resources website for more information regarding benefits.

The position will remain open until filled. The search committee will begin reviewing applications immediately. Applicants must apply on-line at https://employment.umn.edu and should submit:

1. A letter addressing both the required and preferred qualifications which may include evidence of effective teaching,
2. A full curriculum vitae or resume,
3. Contact information (name, email, phone, professional affiliation) for three references.

Additional documents may be attached after application by accessing your "My Job Applications" page and uploading documents in the "My Cover Letters and Attachments" section.

Nominations for applicants are welcome and should be sent to Dr. Joshua Collins, Chair of the Search Committee, collinsj@umn.edu.

For additional information, contact Rachel Bloom-Brovold, Search Committee Support Staff, at (612) 624-4980, or brovo023@umn.edu.

To request an accommodation during the application process, please e-mail employ@umn.edu or call (612) 624-UOHR (8647).

The University recognizes and values the importance of diversity and inclusion in enriching the employment experience of its employees and in supporting the academic mission.  The University is committed to attracting and retaining employees with varying identities and backgrounds.

The University of Minnesota provides equal access to and opportunity in its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.  To learn more about diversity at the U:  http://diversity.umn.edu.

Any offer of employment is contingent upon the successful completion of a background check. Our presumption is that prospective employees are eligible to work here. Criminal convictions do not automatically disqualify finalists from employment.

Please note: All employees at the University of Minnesota are required to comply with the University’s Administrative Policy: COVID-19 Vaccination and Safety Protocol by either providing proof of being fully vaccinated on their first day of employment, or complete a request for an exemption for medical exemption or religious reasons. To learn more please visit:  https://safe-campus.umn.edu/return-campus/get-the-vax

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (UMTC), is among the largest public research universities in the country, offering undergraduate, graduate, and professional students a multitude of opportunities for study and research. Located at the heart of one of the nation's most vibrant, diverse metropolitan communities, students on the campuses in Minneapolis and St. Paul benefit from extensive partnerships with world-renowned health centers, international corporations, government agencies, and arts, nonprofit, and public service organizations.