Academic Advisor, CS Chicago Programs - Computer Science - 1024004-6689

at University of Illinois in Urbana, Illinois, United States

Job Description

• Advise current Chicago students on the fulfillment of degree requirements and other academic needs.
• Work with other graduate academic advisors and professional staff in advising Computer Science graduate students on the fulfillment of degree requirements and other academic needs.
• Coordinate the orientation activities of incoming students, such as departmental check-in activities and welcome sessions.
• Maintain familiarity with departmental and university graduate program procedures and ensure graduate program policies are in compliance with those of the University.
• Serve as a departmental contact for Optional Practical Training (OPT) and Curricular Practical Training (CPT) requests for international students in the Chicago academic programs in compliance with ISSS guidelines.

• Coordinate and participate in activities of application processing, such as independently evaluating transcripts and standardized test scores which meet departmental requirements and managing the flow of application information.
• Maintain familiarity with departmental and university admissions policy requirements and procedures.
• Receive, review and process applications to the Chicago MCS program, including reviewing of credentials. Follow up with applicants on missing items and receipt of required documentation and respond to applicant inquiries for information. Respond to inquiries from prospective students via email and other virtual communication methods such as periodic office hours. Communicate with the Graduate College to address applicant needs and process admissions.
• Serve as staff liaison in Chicago for the CS Graduate Admissions Committee. Organize, schedule, and attend meetings pertaining to graduate admissions and initiatives. Maintain the departmental application databases with application status. Advise the admissions committee and other CS faculty to maintain accurate admissions policies that are consistent with University admissions requirements.
• Support maintenance of the graduate program's admissions pages on the website and assist with various publications providing admissions information for prospective students. Develop tools for scaling the admissions review process. Provide input for development of new admission procedures, policies, and practices when requested by senior management.
• Prepare various correspondence for newly admitted graduate students and follow up through matriculation.

• Collaborate with the CS Director of External Relations on the Urbana campus to maintain and grow the Corporate Connections activities in Chicago. Facilitate networking activities between CS students and faculty and corporate partners, assist with marketing and outreach activities to engage new corporate partners, communicate regularly with existing partners, etc.
• Collaborate with the DPI, Engineering City Scholars, IQUIST and other University of Illinois programs and activities in Chicago.
• Serve as backup for site management: support all aspects of daily operations including classes, seminars, workshops, research meetings, and networking activities.

• Develop/compile/maintain statistics pertinent to the Chicago MCS program.
• Curate, track, and communicate language proficiency requirements for admitted and continuing students.
• Data management, analyses, and reporting. Curate the admissions data for the graduate programs. Conduct periodic surveys of applicants, admitted students, and other stakeholders. Prepare reports on the graduate program, applications, and admissions for the Department, Grainger College of Engineering, and Graduate College.

• Coordinate activities associated with Chicago MCS student recruiting events such as Q&A sessions, meeting with visiting students, organizing internal and external informational events for prospective students, collaborating with departmental stakeholders to organize and deliver programming for recruits.
• Work outside of regular business hours as required to facilitate and attend special events, including evenings and occasional weekends.
• Assume additional appropriate related duties to further the mission of the department.

• Bachelor's degree.
• A total of two (2) years (24 months) in education, training and/or work experience in student academic support in a higher education setting.
• Experience working with students from diverse backgrounds.
• Experience working independently, and as part of a team, while meeting multiple deadlines.

• Master's degree in higher education or related field.
• Three or more years of relevant work experience.
• Demonstrated effective management of programs and staff.