Department Summary:

Drake Blended Advising Model: The Drake Blended Advising Model is a team-based approach developed to meet the evolving academic, personal, and professional needs of students, and positively impact retention and persistence to graduation.

Job Summary:

Drake University’s Office of Advising and the College of Arts and Sciences are thrilled to launch this search for a new Academic Advising Specialist. Drake has adopted a blended advising model, utilizing both professional staff advisors and faculty mentors to support student development and advising. This model allows our faculty and staff to leverage their expertise and best support students as students’ advising and mentoring needs change throughout their time on campus. The College supports a team of professionals who share responsibilities for academic advising, student support, and a variety of other student-focused activities.

The Academic Advising Specialist will inspire trust and confidence and possess the knowledge and skills to support the College’s efforts to attract, retain, and engage students. They will build strong working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including faculty, staff, students, administrators, alumni, and other university constituents. The Academic Advising Specialist will regularly collaborate with the Dean’s Leadership Team, the College’s Assistant Deans, and the University’s academic advising professionals across all Drake colleges/schools.

We are seeking candidates who are highly organized professionals to help promote a positive and successful learning experience for our undergraduate students. This position will play an integral role in increasing student retention, engagement, and completion through the execution of a range of student-centric initiatives in collaboration with the College’s Dean’s office as well as with partners across campus.

Central to this role will be an inclusive mindset to acknowledge the unique identities of students, and the ability to interpret relevant data to design and implement culturally appropriate and equitable programmatic interventions to support retention and completion for identified groups of students. This role will also lead efforts to promote a superior student experience from orientation through graduation and play a supporting role in promoting the college and its programs to prospective students and their families.

We are particularly interested in candidates who have experience working with people having diverse backgrounds, working in teams, and working in a matrixed organization. Candidates should be aware that this position requires limited evening and weekend work, occasional travel, and access to a vehicle.

Upon successful completion of the onboarding process and continued satisfactory performance, a customized work arrangement (such as flexibility with hours and remote work) may be possible.

Minimum Qualifications:

- Bachelor's Degree
- At least two years of experience in education. Will consider graduate assistantship or graduate level internship(s) when calculating years of experience
- Experience with, and enthusiasm for, collaborating with diverse student, staff, faculty, and community constituencies

Preferred Qualifications:

- Master’s Degree
- 2+ years of experience within academic advising in higher education or a related higher education content area
- Working knowledge of the principles, practices and techniques of academic advising and the ability to apply such principles, practices and techniques to
academic advising, retention, and student success
- Strong interpersonal, oral, and written electronic communication skills sufficient to prepare, explain, and present messages and materials for diverse audiences and maintain positive relationships
- Strong organizational skills and an ability to maintain accurate, detailed records.
- Capable of managing projects with competing priorities and deadlines
- Provide responsive, accurate, and detail-oriented student-centered support
- Ability to build cooperative, collaborative partnerships across the University to support student retention and success

Job Duties:

• 55% - Academic Advising and Registration: Facilitate students’ transition to Drake by providing general information about university academic requirements, policies, processes, and resources. Facilitate introductions to faculty mentors/advisors as appropriate. Advise an assigned caseload of students and provide support in making recommendations regarding program of study, degree requirements, course offerings, education planning, and necessary testing and pre-requisites for curricular requirements. Provide accurate, detailed information about applicability of transfer credits and time and path to degree. Provide support and outreach for registration preparation. Track and monitor progress toward degree. Maintain accurate and detailed student records, including degree audits, academic petitions and substitutions, and curricular files using various technology systems (i.e.; Banner, Starfish, etc.). Assists with graduation applications, candidacy petitions, and degree verifications. Serve as a member of the university advising council. Collaborate with Director of Advising, advising specialist colleagues internal and external to home academic college, and faculty mentors/advisors to implement advising policies, procedures, communications, and training as agreed upon by the university advising council. Assist various campus offices with the operational aspects of advising, including faculty mentor training and support, study abroad planning and equates, NCAA athletic certifications, transfer credit evaluations, etc.
• 40% - Student Success and Retention: Collaborate on academic unit and university initiatives to support retention and persistence, including but not limited to summer melt mitigation, bridge programs, academic recovery plans and proactive student interventions. Serve as a resource for academic support such as time management, study skills, and approaching professors and connect students to, key student support resources and make referrals as appropriate. Participate in new and continuing student programming, including but not limited to orientation planning for new student transition and implementing the college advising and registration process for continuing students. Assist college/school with the student academic standing process, including probation and suspension, dismissals, withdrawals, reinstatements, and re- enrollments. 
• 5% - Other duties as assigned.