College Academic Advisor
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga · Martin, Tennessee, United States
The Academic Advisor provides proactive, holistic, and student-centered advising and academic support for undergraduate students. Alongside faculty mentors who provide career development support and guidance, the advisor serves as a critical member of a 2-person team for individual students, promoting persistence, belonging, and timely progress toward graduation. This position helps students successfully navigate their transition to college, clarify academic and career goals, develop effective learning strategies, and make informed decisions about academic pathways. The advisor monitors student progress, connects the student to impactful resources, provides appropriate academic interventions, and keeps records that support progression and on-time graduation. The advisor also works closely with other campus partners and student support offices to impact student outcomes and success at UTM.
Advising
Deliver comprehensive, developmental academic advising to an assigned population of undergraduate students through individual appointments, drop-in advising, outreach, and other student-engagement initiatives. This includes guidance with navigation of degree requirements, general education curriculum, academic policies and procedures, course selection and registration processes, institutional resources, and pathways to major selection and graduation.
Support students in setting academic, personal, and career-related goals; developing academic plans; monitoring progress; and identifying appropriate next steps when challenges arise.
Use a holistic advising approach that recognizes the interconnected academic, financial, social, wellness, family, and career factors that affect student success and prioritizes connecting students with co-curricular and extracurricular activities to support their development, academic plan, and/or career path.
Coach students in academic success skills, including time management, study strategies, goal setting, self-advocacy, use of campus resources, and preparation for academic decision-making; collaborate with colleagues to develop and deliver workshops, presentations, and information sessions on academic success, study skills, and degree planning.
Retention and Student Success Efforts
Conduct retention and student success campaigns, including monitoring and analyzing student progress, using performance data and predictive tools, and conducting outreach, to provide guidance and intervention techniques that promote progression and retention; utilize proactive and appreciative advising practices to identify at-risk students and advocacy to help students mitigate barriers to success, including early outreach, intervention, follow-up, and referral to appropriate campus and community resources.
Interpret academic records and advising data to monitor student progress and support retention and completion initiatives.
Outreach and Programming
Maintain regular communication with faculty and staff partners to coordinate support for students, especially when students face academic or personal challenges (e.g., collaborate with faculty, academic departments, residence life, financial aid, counseling and wellness services, accessibility services, career services, tutoring, and other campus partners to coordinate effective student support).
Participate in orientation, registration, recruitment, retention, and student-success programming, including events that support first-year students.
Records Management, Reporting, and Assessment
Maintain accurate, timely, and confidential student records in accordance with institutional policy and applicable privacy regulations, including advising notes and records of student meetings, contributions to reports and summaries related to student success, student progress reports, etc.
Contribute to assessment, continuous improvement, and reporting efforts related to advising effectiveness, student learning, retention, and persistence.
Professional Development and Other Duties
Engage in ongoing training to stay current with advising best practices and institutional approaches; maintain a deep and thorough working knowledge of all curricular elements and changes in assigned areas, institutional policies, issues affecting student success and software systems used for all job duties (e.g., Banner or other student information system, Slate, Degreeworks, etc).
Participate in committees, advising councils, or project groups as assigned
Perform other duties related to student success as assigned
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution and two years of relevant experience, or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.
- Knowledge of developmental and holistic advising practices and the academic and personal needs of first- and second-year college students.
- Skill in interpersonal communication, relationship building, presentation, and problem-solving.
- Ability to establish supportive relationships with students from diverse backgrounds and experiences.
- Ability to provide student-centered guidance and support that promotes academic progress, student engagement, and retention.
- Ability to organize and manage a student caseload, prioritize competing responsibilities, and maintain accurate records.
- Ability to exercise sound judgment, maintain confidentiality, and adhere to professional and ethical standards.
Preferred Qualifications
- Knowledge of academic policies, degree requirements, registration processes, and campus resources that support student success.
- Ability to identify potential barriers to student success and connect students with appropriate academic and support services.
- Knowledge of student retention strategies, early intervention practices, and student success initiatives.
- Ability to interpret academic information and use student data to inform advising and support efforts.
- Ability to facilitate student workshops, presentations, or group advising sessions.
- Ability to work effectively with students experiencing academic difficulties or challenges adjusting to college.
Application Process: Qualified applicants must apply online and attach a cover letter and resume.
Application Deadline: Applicant review will begin immediately and will continue until a candidate has been identified.
Hiring range $40,000.00 - $50,000.00 annually (Market Range 07) - Salary is commensurate with education and experience.