Senior Student Academic Success Specialist

at  California State University

Job no: 536390
Work type: Staff
Location: San José
Categories: Unit 4 - APC - Academic Professionals of California, Probationary, Full Time, Student Services, Telecommute eligible (work onsite as scheduled and/or as requested and telecommute as scheduled)

JOB SUMMARY

The Senior Student Academic Success Specialist (SASS) will have a demonstrated track record of successfully advising a diverse student population, resolving complex advising issues, and will work to ensure that all students have a clear path to achieve academic success. The Senior SASS will be responsible for developing and providing materials, workshops and other programming to support students’ success and progress to degree. The Senior SASS will focus on helping the campus close the equity gap between its varied student communities by building relationships and retaining students to graduation through increased engagement and a sense of belonging to the SJSU community.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES

• Basic principles of individual and group behavior, and techniques and methods of interviewing/connecting with students for the purposes of effective holistic academic advising
• Effective communication skills (both written and verbal) with individuals/groups.
• Must be detail-oriented with strong organizational and programming skills
• Effectively develop and deliver high-quality programming to support student success
• Ability to establish trust and a strong working relationship with college students
• Ability to work independently and maintain cooperative working relationships with students, staff and faculty; function as part of a team

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Equivalent to graduation from a four-year college or university in a related field, including or supplemented by upper division or graduate coursework in counseling techniques, interviewing, and conflict resolution where such are job-related
• Three years of progressively responsible professional student services work experience
• A master’s degree in Counseling, Clinical Psychology, Social Work, or a directly related field may be substituted for one year of experience
• A doctorate degree and the appropriate internship or clinical training in counseling or guidance may be substituted for the three years of experience for positions with a major responsibility for professional career or personal counseling

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s degree in Counseling, Higher Education, College Student Personnel, Social Work, Education, or a directly related field
• Three years of experience serving diverse college students in an academic advising/counselor role
• Three years of experience working with underrepresented and historically underserved students is highly desirable
• Three years of experience establishing trust and a strong working relationship with college students and referring students to campus resources/services, as appropriate
• Three years of experience interpreting and clearly explaining university and college advising policies and procedures
• Working with staff, faculty, and administrators from a diverse background
• Three years of experience organizing and leading programming efforts in a college/university environment
• Excellent interpersonal communication, relationship building and student service skills

• Develop and implement an asset-based and strengths-based approach while using a case management strategy to establish a working relationship that includes regular meetings, careful documentation, tracking of student progress, and assessment of student success
• Introduce and orient students to their academic requirements (MyProgress, Catalog), academic planning tools (MyPlanner, Roadmap), and campus resources
• Assist students in creating educational goals and interpretation of policies and procedures in relation to their goals
• Develop and implement programming efforts and materials to support students’ transition to college, with the goal of enhancing skills and behaviors that facilitate academic success (e.g., time management, study skills, effective communication with instructors, growth mindset)
• Monitor academic progress by leveraging early support systems (EAB Navigate – progress reports) and implement systems that offer timely interventions to support student needs
• Participate in college and university-wide programs and events that support student success for frosh and sophomores and minimize equity gaps.
• Provide academic advising during frosh orientation (Sparta Camp)
• Take a lead role in designing and implementing programming efforts and materials to support students’ transition to SJSU, with the goal of enhancing skills and behaviors that facilitate academic success (e.g., time management, study skills, effective communication with instructors, growth mindset, student panel).