Academic Advisor

Department: Col of Engineering and Computing
Classification: Education Support Spec 3
Job Category: Classified Staff
Job Type: Full-time
Work Schedule: Full-time (1.0 FTE, 40 hrs/wk)
Location: Fairfax, VA
Workplace Type: Hybrid Eligible
Pay Band: 04
Salary: Salary commensurate with education and experience
Criminal Background Check: Yes
About the Department:
The ECE Department's mission is to educate students and conduct research in the broad fields of Electrical and Computer Engineering. In addition to its own undergraduate and graduate programs, the ECE Dept. supports other programs in the College of Engineering and Computing through interdisciplinary collaboration in both education and research and has close ties with other departments such as Bioengineering, Computer Science, Cyber Security Engineering, Information Sciences and Technology, and Mechanical Engineering. Projects and hands-on activities are at the core of many of our educational programs where interdisciplinary projects and courses are highly integrated into the curriculum. Thousands of students have graduated from our department's accredited programs and gone on to prosperous careers in engineering and related fields.
About the Position:
This position offers an opportunity to work with highly motivated engineering undergraduate students. A motivated advisor will be able to shape the first year advising experience for our department.
The Academic Advisor performs academic advising for all current and prospective undergraduate students and replies to general inquiries about undergraduate programs offered by the department. The Advisor contributes to the recruitment and retention of students through effective advising and outreach and will be responsible for facilitating students' education, decision-making and planning. This position discusses academic interests, makes connections to career goals with the student, and provides information on academic policies, procedures and practices, including working through various academic requests, forms and appeals. The Academic Advisor represents the department in a professional manner and acts as a resource person regarding the university and department's rules and regulations while serving as a trouble-shooter and problem solver. This position contributes to Mason's strategic goals of preparing career-ready graduates, while increasing graduation and retention rates. While we are open to a hybrid work arrangement, we do expect this position to work in person on campus 3-4 days per week.
Responsibilities:
Undergraduate Student Advising

• Advises current undergraduate students in decision making and developing a plan of study consistent with students' interests, desires and abilities;
• Assists students regarding course selection, prerequisites, transfer courses, registration and overrides, career and/or educational goal and general university rules and regulations;
• Coordinates processing of graduation applications;
• Ensures that students meet departmental requirements of degree progress;
• Acts and assists in trouble shooting and problem solving (registration errors, late schedule adjustments, retroactive withdrawals, etc.);
• Communicates essential academic registration information;
• Provides information on academic policies, procedures and practices, including working through various academic requests, forms and appeals;
• Organizes and retains student records, to include advising notes and email exchanges;
• Escalates complex issues or situations with students to supervisor for guidance (any requests for policy exceptions);
• Participates in outreach initiatives organized by the college/university;
• Organizes regular outreach campaigns to reach out to students proactively; and
• Performs prerequisite checks for all ECE undergraduate courses at the beginning of each semester and verifies student eligibility for each class.

Undergraduate Student Affairs

• Provides administrative support to students and faculty;
• Distributes information and assists in implementing and performing student support services tasks;
• Assists in coordination of efforts to organize departmental functions for students, including events such as orientation or faculty-student advising meetings;
• Participates in university wide programs and events related to undergraduate students such as admissions, orientation, advising, graduation and other social and networking events;
• Assists and functions as a liaison between students, faculty, management and administrative agents in understanding the programs, university rules and regulations;
• Assists and performs the oversight of operations related to student records, graduation and student recruitment functions;
• Generates correspondence in communicating with students, faculty and other administrators and units such as the Dean's office, registrar's office, etc. in writing, via e-mail or through other communication means in response to students and other constituents' inquiries in fostering student success as needed;
• Assists in updating ECE department's advising materials (printed and on the website) prior to each catalog year; and
• Assists in creating sample schedules, transfer guides, and degree worksheets for different student populations.

Other Related Duties as Assigned

• Serves on committees and other projects as assigned related to advising and student support as needed;
• Participates in university-wide advising training and ongoing professional development; and
• Utilizes the chosen university platform for tracking and reporting student interactions and making referrals.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Higher Education, College Student Personnel, Counseling or related field or the equivalent combination of education and experience;
• Experience (typically 1-3 years) or demonstrated knowledge in one or more of the following areas: academic advising, success coaching, counselling, orientation, disability services, veteran's services, career services, student involvement, and student rights and responsibilities;
• Experience serving and supporting diverse student populations;
• Experience in working with multiple complex projects simultaneously;
• Experience with computer data entry, email, and Microsoft Office suite including Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel;
• Outstanding verbal and written communication, organizational and outreach skills;
• Knowledge and experience in assisting students in a college setting in academic advising/support;
• Strong working knowledge of student transitional issues;
• Ability to meet deadlines, working accurately and quickly with attention to detail, and being able to manage multiple complex programs and projects simultaneously;
• Ability to provide strong customer service;
• Conflict resolution skills;
• Ability to work with a culturally and ethnically diverse population of students, faculty, and staff;
• Strong interpersonal skills and professionalism in communicating with faculty, staff, students, visiting students, families and public;
• Proven ability to work collaboratively;
• Comfortable with technology; and
• Flexibility to work evening and weekend hours, as needed for Orientation and Admissions events, is a position requirement.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Prior experience working in a higher education setting;
• Prior experience in working with science/engineering students;
• Experience with leadership, communication, program development, and administrative activities; and
• Experience with educational database management systems, customer relationship management systems (CRM).

Instructions to Applicants:
For full consideration, applicants must apply for Academic Advisor at ; complete and submit the online application; and provide a cover letter, resume, and a list of three professional references with contact information. Full consideration will apply to applicants who submit their completed application by thefull consideration date; however, review of applications will continue until the position is filled.
Posting Open Date: October 14, 2024
For Full Consideration, Apply by: October 28, 2024
Open Until Filled: Yes
Mason Engineering: The Future of Engineering is Here
About the College
The College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) at George Mason University is a fast-growing force for innovation in research and education. Ranked nationally in the top 100 in both undergraduate and graduate education, the CEC enrolled a record high of 10,933 students in fall 2023. The college has 34 undergraduate, master's and doctoral degree programs including several first-in-the-nation offerings. Of its 320 full-time faculty, 93 are tenured, 77 are tenure-track, 90 are term faculty, and 60 are research faculty. As part of a nationally ranked research university, CEC research teams expended $65 million in sponsored research awards in the past year and had projects with over $119 million in current and anticipated awards. The college stands out for its leading research in areas such as artificial intelligence, data analytics engineering, cybersecurity engineering, biomedical imaging and devices, healthcare, autonomous systems, 5G/Next G communications, systems architectures, computational biomedicine, advanced materials and manufacturing, sustainable infrastructure, and more. The college encourages and supports multidisciplinary research and provides ample opportunity for faculty to work with other disciplines.
About the University and the Region
George Mason University is the largest and most diverse public research university in Virginia, with an enrollment of more than 40,000 students studying in over 200 degree programs. Mason is an innovative, entrepreneurial institution with national distinction in a range of academic fields. It was classified as an R1 research institution in 2016 by the Carnegie Classifications of Institutes of Higher Education. The university has campuses in Fairfax, Arlington, and Prince William County. Its proximity to Washington, D.C. provides unmatched geographical access to federal agencies and national laboratories. Northern Virginia is also home to one of the largest concentrations of high-tech firms in the nation, providing excellent opportunities for interaction with industry. The region is consistently rated as being among the best places to live in the country and has an outstanding local public school system.
About the Future
In conjunction with Amazon's decision to establish a second headquarters in Northern Virginia, the Commonwealth of Virginia announced a multi-year plan to invest in the growth of degree programs in computing. As a result, Mason has committed to accelerate its plans to grow its capacity in computing and high-tech fields. Among the university's exciting initiatives are the launch of the Institute for Digital Innovation-a university think tank and incubator to serve the digital economy-and the expansion of Mason Square home to its Arlington facilities. In 2025, Fuse a new 355,000 square foot building, will open to students, faculty, and research teams. This net-zero facility will house the Institute for Digital Innovation, state-of the-art classrooms, labs, and collaborative spaces. It will also include retail space, and leasing opportunities for local businesses. These initiatives reflect hundreds of millions of dollars in new investment by Mason that will rapidly elevate the university's already leading national position in computing and related areas.