Student Success Coach (Two Positions)

Working Title: Student Success Coach (Two Positions)
State Role Title: Education Support Specialist III
Position Type: Full-time Staff (Classified)
Position Status: Full-Time
College/Division: Student Academic Success & Enrollment Mgt
Department: 100756 - Student Success Analytics
Pay Rate: Pay Range
Specify Range or Amount: $46,000 - $50,000
Is this a JMU only position? No
Is this a grant-funded position? No
Is this a Conflict of Interest designated position? No
Beginning Review Date: 10/30/2024
About JMU:
James Madison University is a publicly funded university with a beautiful campus and a supportive community that is committed to preparing students for the future. The university offers excellent comprehensive benefits which include paid vacation, sick, parental, and community service leave in addition to 19 paid holidays a year; affordable health insurance; retirement through the Virginia Retirement System. We also offer a work-life balance and integration program, Balanced Dukes, that is designed to support the overall wellbeing of our employees and a Tuition Waiver Program that allows employees to have tuition waived for undergraduate and graduate level courses taken at JMU.
Visit our Prospective Employee site to learn more about what makes JMU a great place to work: bit.ly/JMUEmployment
General Information:
Student Success Analytics (SSA) at James Madison University is accepting applications for two Student Success Coaches. These positions report to the Director and support the strategic vision of a new Student Success Analytics team, leveraging data and technology to proactively reach out to and support students across all colleges. These positions represent a strategic partnership between Academic Affairs and Student Affairs to pursue a holistic approach to student success at JMU.
These newly created positions will provide transformational experiences to students, especially those identified through Early Student Success initiatives, working with the Dean of Students Office, and JMU advising community. Student success academic support at JMU promotes a relationship-rich experience, positive well-being, self-efficacy, and progress toward students' individual goals. Understanding the complexity of each student and their pathway, coaches may serve as a motivator to help inspire students to reach their potential; a guide to help develop goals and planning documents; or an advocate to students navigate people, resources, and offices for additional support.
The persons in these positions will join at an exciting time as efforts are underway to scale up existing, develop new, and institutionalize student success and retention efforts across the university. Competitive applicants will be able to demonstrate how they have been successful in fast-paced, evolving, and dynamic university environments, using innovation and serving as a change-agent to support more sophisticated approaches to student success.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Serve as a Student Success Coach 70%
- Support students' success through facilitating conversation, reflection, and goals across a student's academics, sense of belonging, well-being, and basic needs
- Maintain a minimum, dedicated student caseload of students that is driven by predictive analytics, institutional data, and partner referrals that show students with the greatest academic need; the caseload will be identified by SSA (working with partners) assuring effective, individualized support, driven by internal studies and effectiveness data
- Collaborate with and empower students in their adjustment to college academic life, by establishing trust, addressing knowledge gaps, and bridging students to various campus resources
- Exercise professional discretion and judgement to provide student support tailored to the strengths, needs, and goals of each individual student
- Utilize MyMadison Connect (Constituent Relationship Management or CRM) for appointment scheduling, documentation, and making student referrals, including maintaining accurate and up to date records for each student
- Serve as a liaison to the Learning Centers as part of the student success coaching program
- Collaborate with other members of the advising, coaching, and student success support community, including mentorship of peer educators as appropriate
- Identify students' academic strengths and opportunities for development across student success characteristics, e.g., academic decision-making, learning strategies, academic motivation, and commitment to degree
- Empower students to design and build connections with a variety of campus and community partners based on students' needs, interests, and goals
- Respond to inquiries from students, faculty, advisors, and other partners regarding institutional policies, procedures, and requirements, making referrals as appropriate
- Provide ongoing accountability and support a sense of belonging by monitoring student progress, providing follow up outreach, primarily through leveraging MyMadison Connect
- Help students, families, advisors, faculty, and other administrators interpret policies for attendance, enrollment, academic progress, accommodations, withdrawal, and other issues related to student success
- Create reports and reporting as necessary for individual students, student segments, and the student success advising program in general
Support Institutional Student Success Initiatives 30%
- Collaborate with colleagues across campus to support students and develop data-informed programming across campus
- Serve as student success resource for advisors, faculty and administrators, building and maintaining effective partnerships with academic departments and offices across campus
- Develop workshops and group student success support to supplement individual student success support
- Contribute to campus-wide initiatives and priorities, committees, orientation processes, and recruitment events
- Contribute actively to Student Success Analytics team and campus student success network through regular meetings, information sharing, and professional development opportunities
- Identify and share institution and/or system-wide barriers to inclusive student success and retention, providing recommendations for changes in policy, norms, and culture
- Collaborate with colleagues to ensure student support resources, campaigns, tools, and information online and in-print is updated and aligned with a holistic, asset-based, and positive approach to student success
- May teach student success seminars designed for incoming first-year students, incoming transfer students, and students on or returning from academic probation, academic suspension alert, or academic suspension
- Use data for continuous improvement and commitment to inclusive excellence
Qualifications:
Required Qualifications
• Demonstrated professional experience in student success (e.g. advisor, coach)
• Experience working with and supporting diverse student populations
• Awareness of and commitment to inclusive excellence in student success and enrollment
• Awareness of and commitment to the value of data privacy, security, and ethics
• Experience in analyzing complex situations and making responsible and appropriate decisions
• Experience establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with individuals and groups and to work successfully as a member of a team
• Knowledge of academic coaching, student success, and retention strategies, especially understanding barriers and opportunities that different student populations experience
• Willingness to work independently, collaboratively, and under supervision
Additional Considerations
• Student success experience within a higher education context
• Experience leading or working with an assessment plan in a higher education context
• Experience leveraging technology and data for communications, case management, and student success (Customer Relationship Management, Learning Management Systems, etc.)
• Experience facilitating training and workshops
• Experience teaching in post-secondary education
• Strong student development orientation. Ability to troubleshoot problems that interfere with students' academic progress and experience working to resolve them effectively
• Experience implementing programs that meet the complex needs of multiple stakeholders
• Experience with learning, interpreting, and articulating complex academic requirements, policies, and procedures
Additional Posting Information:
Conditions of Employment:
Employment is contingent upon the successful completion of a criminal background check.
E-Verify Notice: After accepting employment, new hires are required to complete an I-9 form and present documentation of their identity and eligibility to work in the United States. James Madison University uses the E-Verify system to confirm identity and work authorization.
EEO Statement:
James Madison University is committed to creating and supporting a diverse and inclusive work and educational community that is free of all forms of discrimination. This institution does not tolerate discrimination or harassment on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic information, national origin, parental status, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or veteran status.
We promote access, inclusion and diversity for all students, faculty, staff, constituents and programs, believing that these qualities are foundational components of an outstanding education in keeping with our mission. The university is interested in candidates whose experience and qualifications support an ongoing commitment to this core quality.
Anyone having questions concerning discrimination should contact the Office for Equal Opportunity: (540) 568-6991.
Reasonable Accommodation:
If you are an individual with a disability and need assistance searching or applying for jobs please contact us at (540) 568-3597 or You may also visit the JMU Human Resource Office, located at 752 Ott Street, Harrisonburg, VA 22807 and we will be happy to assist you.