Academic Advisor Success Coach

Mission Driven, Community Focused About | Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (cdrewu.edu)

Charles R. Drew University is located in the Watts-Willowbrook area of south Los Angeles and was founded in 1966 in the wake of the Watts uprising. CDU was founded to address inadequate medical care in the region and to provide equitable medical education opportunities for underrepresented students.

CDU is strongly invested in the local and regional community. The university leads multiple partnerships and programs to provide equitable healthcare resources in a variety of south Los Angeles neighborhoods.

Job Summary:

The Academic Success Coach provides academic support, coaching, and guidance to undergraduate and graduate CDU students. The Success Coach serves as a point of contact for CDU students who have academic or personal challenges impacting their ability to continue in classes. This role requires regular communication with students, staff, faculty, and management, experience in academic support programs, knowledge of CDU policies and procedures, and data monitoring and tracking.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Academic Support Duties

• Consult and assist with communication to students regarding academic standing, registration timelines, major/program options, and options for leaves and withdrawals, and processes for returning to classes

• Proactively reach out to, monitor, and assist students who are on academic probation and warning, leave of absence, conditional admission, deferred admission, and returning students

• Collaborates with Offices of Registration and Records, Financial Aid, Admissions, and academic programs to identify and assist at-risk students, linking them to appropriate advising, counseling, academic support, and other resources on and off campus

• Monitors and tracks at-risk students and follows up on early alert notifications

• Collaborates with Student Academic Success team to address concerns regarding student progress and plan appropriate interventions as needed

• Assess and support student needs for academic improvement

• Assist with Student Academic Success workshops

• Serve as a point of contact for students enrolling during high-volume registration times

• Support a highly diverse student population in equity-focused health sciences programs with culturally sensitive coaching and mentoring techniques that develop students’ problem-solving abilities

• Supports First Year Seminar program regarding promotion, enrollment, and instruction.

Advising Responsibilities

• Consult with students regarding program plans, completed courses, and requirements for General Education and undergraduate major programs

• Monitor student progress throughout their program of study

• Evaluate student progress towards anticipated graduation dates

• Assist students with navigating CDU processes and policies for enrollment, adding and dropping courses, withdrawals, leaves of absence, and returning to classes after a leave

• Advocates for student-centered policies and procedures aligning with CDU guidelines

Other Duties and Responsibilities:

• Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications/Requirements:

EDUCATION:

• Completion of a Bachelor’s degree is required
• Completion of a Master’s degree is preferred

EXPERIENCE:

• A minimum of 2-3 years is required
• A minimum of 3-4 years is preferred

KNOWLEDGE/ABILITY/SKILLS:

• Strong people skills with diverse groups of individuals at all organizational levels
• Knowledge of current issues affecting higher education and innovative ways to support under-represented students
• Understanding of relevant FERPA and confidentiality guidelines
• Understanding of higher education processes and ability to quickly learn complex and changing policies and procedures
• Ability to demonstrate initiative and professional judgement
• Organizational skills and experience implementing initiatives in a team environment
• Ability to perform duties in a timely manner and to prioritize duties when faced with interruptions, distractions, and fluctuating workload
• Technical skills to learn and use online systems and tools
• Microsoft Office Suite applications knowledge, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• Ability to interpret and apply guidelines and procedures
• Demonstrated knowledge of mentoring, coaching, and motivational techniques, and the ability to apply theories, principles, and best practices
• Commitment to students; excellent customer relations skills
• Ability to demonstrate tact, diplomacy, and sensitivity to address student needs
• Knowledge of techniques for recording, classifying, interpreting, and reporting information

Compensation:

• $70,304 annual

Position Status:

• Full-Time, Exempt

COMPLEXITY:

• The ability to perform highly detailed work with sustained attention and care while providing/obtaining information on numerous inquiries is paramount to success in this position.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• Occasional stooping. Frequent standing. Constant walking, sitting, climbing, reaching high/low levels, finger movement, feeling, speaking clearly, hearing conversationally, and seeing far and near.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

• The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• Occasionally required to work in confined space.

• Position is on-site unless specific authorization from the manager.

MENTAL DEMANDS:

• The mental demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• Frequent work on a variety of unrelated tasks. Constant calculating interrupted work, work on a variety of interrelated tasks, and use of sustained concentration, reasoning, judgment, resourcefulness, analytical ability, and ingenuity.

Special Requirements:

• Ability to work effectively with a diverse community.
• As a health professions institution of higher education, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science seeks to protect the health and safety of the University community. As a condition of enrollment and employment, students, faculty, and staff must comply with the current CDU COVID-19 requirements as described on the CDU COVID-19 webpage.  Please visit the CDU Return to Campus website https://www.cdrewu.edu/covid-policy/ or email the Campus Nursing Office at nurseofficer@cdrewu.edu.

Conditional Employment:

The employment status of this position is classified as “Conditional.” Conditional employment means that the job exists contingent upon continued funding and limitations of restricted funds or, the duration of a specific program, project, grant, or contract. Since your salary is funded by Title III and has an end date 9/30/2026, your position is contingent upon the continued receipt of these funds.   Continuation of your position is dependent, in part, upon funding availability.  Furthermore, no work may be performed after the grant end date(s) unless you have received an extension in writing from a Dean, Division VP, or Human Resources.

EEO Statement: Charles R. Drew University is committed to Equal Employment Opportunity. Applicants will be considered without regard to gender, race, age, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, genetic information, marital status, disability or covered veteran status.

Fair Chance Statement: Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science will consider qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with state and local “Fair Chance” laws.

Salary : $70,304