Academic Advisor

ABOUT SIMMONS

Located in Boston’s historic Fenway area, Simmons has a strong tradition of empowering women and challenging traditional gender roles. Simmons University was one of the first higher education institutions to prepare women to become leaders and has evolved to become a university offering a women’s undergraduate program and graduate programs open to all. 

You’re joining our community at an especially exciting time as one of our strategic goals is to become the most inclusive campus in New England. You’ll find that people who work here are truly committed to our mission of preparing students to become champions of social justice and leaders in their professions and their communities. This commitment and pride make for a dynamic workplace. Simmons University is committed to inclusive excellence in all aspects of an individual’s community experience.

As a university committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, Simmons encourages applications from all under-represented groups. Simmons is committed to creating, developing, promoting, and enhancing inclusive hiring practices–at all levels, for all positions–ensuring diverse talent pools and the delivery of a consistent positive candidate experience. Simmons is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to continuing to develop a more diverse faculty, staff, student body, and curriculum.

JOB SUMMARY 

The Academic Advisor for Advising, Assessment, & Evaluation will advise a caseload of undergraduate students with a focus on undeclared, adult learners, and transfer students. This person will oversee the assessment process for the office in collaboration with the Director, create key student retention focused dashboards, manage technology (EAB Starfish, Qualtrix, Touchnet, etc.), and participate in campus committees. This position will report directly to the Director and is eligible to be hybrid or 100% remote. 

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS 

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions. 

● Provide academic advising to a diverse caseload of undergraduate students consisting of transfers, adult learners, and undeclared students. 

● Support students with creating course schedules, declaring their major, navigating academic policies/procedures, being aware of campus support resources, and updating advisor assignments.

● Meet with students regularly through scheduled appointments, open office hours, drop-in advising, and group sessions via Zoom or phone (in person if hybrid).

● Facilitate workshops on major exploration at least twice a semester and assist with planning the annual Major Exploration Fair.

● Maintain accurate and up-to-date advising notes for all assigned advises using Workday and EAB Starfish systems. 

● Serve as the primary point of contact for all aspects of the EAB Starfish early alert retention and advising system, handling queries, training, reports, services, collaborating with IT, and leading the Starfish Team ..

● Participate in working group meetings with IT and EAB Starfish representatives and support campus partners with Starfish access and training. 

● In collaboration with the director co-develop and implementation of an outcomes assessment plan for the office while creating retention focused dashboards while using Excel, Tableau, and Qualtrix

● Support ongoing assessment initiatives for specialized advising programs including Pre-Professional Programs, Edge, Stay A-FLOAT, etc. 

● Co-Manage the Kaplan contract for discounting preparation testing for students via Touchnet Store in collaboration with IT .

● Represent Undergraduate Advising at all Enrollment Management Council (EMC) meetings.

● This position is eligible for hybrid or 100% remote.

OTHER DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 

● All remaining duties are considered "nonessential" within the context of the ADA, which means that the function could be reassigned to another employee in order to allow a disabled individual to hold the position. Alternatively, the manager could try to provide a reasonable accommodation so that the disabled individual could perform the function. 

● Other duties as assigned. 

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS 

● Experience in assessment, reporting, and advanced Excel skills in advising or related fields.

● Experience working collaboratively with faculty and academic leadership. 

● At least two years of experience in higher education within advising or student support/success.

● Excellent oral and written communication skills. 

● Bachelor’s degree required.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS 

● Masters degree preferred. 

● Strong technology skills with proficiency using Excel, Tableau, EAB Starfish, and Qualtrix a plus.

● Experience creating dashboards and assessment plans.

COMPETENCIES 

● Problem Solving 

● Analytical and Strategic 

● Customer Service Oriented 

● Communication (Written, Verbal, Presentation) 

● Commitment to Inclusive Excellence and Social Justice 

● Teamwork 

● Technology proficiency 

WORK ENVIRONMENT & CONDITIONS/PHYSICAL DEMANDS 

● Full Remote, on-campus, or hybrid eligibility 

● 12 months. 

● 40 Hours / week 

● Office Environment 

● Essential physical requirements, such as screen exposure and typing. 

● Required to work Monday - Friday between 8:00 am - 5:00 pm on a 40/hr work week 

Salary Grade

Instructions to Applicants: Please upload all applicable application materials (e.g. resume/cv, cover letter, writing sample, teaching philosophy, etc.) in the Application Materials box on page 2 ("My Experience") of this application. Documents can be uploaded individually or as a combined document (e.g. PDF).

Simmons University is committed to inclusive excellence in all aspects of an individual’s community experience. As a university committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, Simmons encourages applications from all under-represented groups. Simmons is committed to creating, developing, promoting, and enhancing inclusive hiring practices–at all levels, for all positions–ensuring diverse talent pools and the delivery of a consistent positive candidate experience. Simmons is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to continuing to develop a more diverse faculty, staff, student body, and curriculum.