The Placement Exchange Job Board

Position Overview:

Academic advisors working within the Student Success Center support the mission of the University of Minnesota Crookston by assisting students to draw upon cultural, communal, and identity-based ways of knowing, being, and doing to achieve educational outcomes through developing holistic academic success plans, engaging in course selection and planning, and meeting graduation requirements.  Advisors work with students to develop course plans that support their career choices and degree requirements; recommend and/or approve exceptions to registration and other related academic policies and procedures; assist students through their college transition and academic milestones; teach and manage student success resources and initiatives; provide support through academic difficulties and learning, psychological, or physical challenges. 

In addition to their advising assignment, this position will partner with academic support professionals to support UMN Crookston’s First-Gen Initiatives through advocacy for our first-generation college student population and by collaborating with campus partners to build programming targeted toward first-gen students both on-campus and online. Academic advisors are responsive to UMN Crookston’s strategic initiatives in the areas of enrollment management; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and student engagement. 

   Functions, Duties, and Responsibilities:

Leadership (10%)

• Demonstrate a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and belonging by creating and establishing practices that are appropriate for students' individual needs and identities.
• Demonstrate self-awareness of one's own cultural beliefs, perspectives, and privileges as a part of meeting the needs of all students in a fair, caring, and non-discriminatory manner.
• Remain current and involved with comprehensive and function-specific student affairs professional associations and emerging trends in the field.

General Advising (60%)

• Recognize, affirm, and help students to draw upon cultural, communal, and identity-based ways of knowing, being, and doing to achieve educational outcomes.
• Apply thorough knowledge of curricular options, requirements, policies, and academic planning skills to assist a caseload of 200-400 on-campus and/or online students in making registration choices that promote degree progress and attainment while optimizing collegiate engagement experiences.
• Monitor and document student progress in order to proactively and, when necessary, intrusively intervene, advocate, and recommend resources and solutions to academic difficulties and barriers student experience in policies and processes.
• Demonstrate self-awareness of one's own cultural beliefs, perspectives, and privileges as a part of meeting the needs of all students in a fair, caring, and non-discriminatory manner.
• In collaboration with faculty mentors, coach on-campus and online students through major and career decision-making processes to assist students in degree completion.
• Create and utilize a network of relationships with faculty, and student affairs educators to effectively deliver advising and support services.
• Apply strong interpersonal techniques including active listening, empathetic responses, and questioning through in-person and virtual interactions to develop trusting relationships with students in order to promote their sense of belonging to campus.
• Demonstrate a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion by creating and establishing practices that are appropriate for students' individual needs and identities.
• Critically apply various student development theories and advising practices to assess readiness and then appropriately challenge and support students with diverse assets, needs, backgrounds, and talents to make informed decisions about personal, academic, and career goals.
• Review student records and progress to certify degree completion and determine academic standing related to satisfactory progress policies and guidelines.
• Evaluate and act upon requests for exception to policy through petitions; consult as appropriate with colleagues, faculty, and academic administrators in making final decisions.
• Execute detailed degree planning through the use of technology and interpretation of data to communicate accurate information about students.
• Counsel students using independent judgment and problem-solving skills.
• Document meetings and email conversations with and regarding students on APLUS
• Assist in the development of advising procedures for SOAR (new student orientation) and serve as advisor during all SOAR dates as well as critical advising times
• Offer new, creative, and innovative approaches and practices to accomplish academic advising goals including the use of group modalities.

First-Gen Initiatives (20%)

• Collaborate with the Director of Student Success and Academic Advising on the development, implementation, and assessment of a comprehensive set of programs targeting first-generation college students enrolled at UMN Crookston. 
• Participate in the planning and implementation of student success initiatives, workshops, orientations, and other programs.
• Collaborate with a small team to develop and modify first-generation and first-year experience curriculum and programming for new students.
• Provide student success coaching and mentoring of first-year and first-generation students, guiding them from orientation through matriculation and onward to completion.
• Serve as a secondary contact for UMN Crookston’s involvement with the First Scholars program coordinated by NASPA. 
• Recognize, affirm, and help students to draw upon cultural, communal, and identity-based ways of knowing, being, and doing to achieve educational outcomes.

General Programming and Initiatives (10%)

• Provide input on the development, evaluation, and continuous improvement of advising systems and processes.
• Contribute toward program development and evaluation metrics.
• Leverage existing technology to foster better outreach to students to promote timely academic progress toward a degree.

    Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in education, counseling, or a closely related area.
• Four years of related professional work experience.
• Demonstrated self-awareness, cultural competence, and achievement in working with diverse student populations.
• Final job offer is contingent upon a completed background check, receipt of official college transcripts and authorization to work in the United States.

      Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in higher education, student affairs, counseling or a closely related field strongly preferred.
• At least one year of experience working with first-year experience courses and student success programs.
• Demonstrated commitment to the land-grant mission of the University of Minnesota Crookston, especially as related to access and student success.
• Proficiency in a second language, preferably Spanish.

About University of Minnesota Crookston

The University of Minnesota Crookston (UMN Crookston) is one of five campuses comprising the University of Minnesota system. UMN Crookston is a four-year public university with an enrollment of 1,800 students, approximately half on campus and half in online degrees.  The student body is diverse and comes from over 40 states and over 30 countries. Thirty-four baccalaureate degrees are offered, 15 of which are also offered online.  UMN Crookston proudly carries on a tradition of over a century of educational service to northwestern Minnesota, beginning in 1906 as a regional residential high school, changing to a two-year college in 1966 and to a four-year college in 1993.  UMN Crookston is a small student-centered community of learning and scholars known for providing personal attention to every student.  UMN Crookston makes a commitment to each individual student’s achievements and offers a hands-on approach and experiential learning that put students ahead of the competition. Integral to the university's statewide land-grant mission, UMN Crookston provides applied, career-oriented learning programs including internships and connects its teaching, research, and outreach to local, co...unty, and regional economic development agencies in support of the global economy. UMN Crookston delivers world?class University of Minnesota degrees in an affordable, close?knit campus setting where faculty and staff personally invest in the success of each student. UMN Crookston has been recognized for its quality programs by such organizations as U.S. News & World Report, which ranked the campus as #1 in the category Top Public Regional Colleges–Midwest for 2020.  U.S. News has ranked UMN Crookston among the top four in this category for the past 23 consecutive years.

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