Academic Advisor Training and Professional Development (Academic Advisor Senior)

The Advising Training and Development Senior Advisor position will coordinate and design training and professional development programs through close collaboration with the Executive Director of UAEA and Academic Advising Administrators throughout the statewide system. This position is responsible for the design, development, delivery, implementation, assessment, and maintenance of all training programs and resources. The training program will support the onboarding needs of new advisors and the professional development growth of all advisors throughout the statewide system.

The UAEA training and professional development program will incorporate the comprehensive knowledge of the job responsibilities and practices that contribute to improving student success through academic advising. Training will be aligned with Appreciative Advising, best practice standards, and competencies articulated by the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA), the Council for the Advancement of Standards (CAS) in Higher Education, and other adjacent professional organizations. Training will leverage and promote the centrally coordinated support for USU’s decentralized advising system. Training will be delivered through a variety of methods, including synchronous, asynchronous, virtual, and in-person. The position leads the coordination of the yearly USU Advising Conference. This position reports to the Executive Director for University and Exploratory Advising.

In addition to the training role, this position will support the overall mission of University and Exploratory Advising. University Advising is the centralized support unit for over 100 academic advisors across 30-plus campuses. University Advising works to bring the USU advising community together through standards of practice, centralized advising initiatives, leadership, and communication coordination.

This position is eligible for hybrid telework within the State of Utah.

Advisor Training and Professional Development Specialist (70%):

• Lead efforts to provide campus-wide training and professional development for academic advisors, positioning advisors to understand and promote student development, persistence, and completion.
• Incorporate Relational, Conceptual and Informational components of advising in training and professional development.
• Serve as an expert resource by being aware of and up-to-date on all content applying to academic advising. This knowledge is consistent with, but not limited to, software knowledge, policies, and procedures of all advising roles, as well as customer service skills, persistence, retention, and completion initiatives.
• Assist in developing and maintaining documentation regarding advising processes, systems and resources.
• Coordinate with Student Achievement Collaborative, Student Affairs, and Academic and Instructional Services units who interface with advising to ensure advisors have up-to-date information related to these units and resources for students.
• Implement strategies for advisor growth. This could include but not limited to summer book club, guest speaker event invites, etc.
• Onboard new academic advisors: Collaborate with the supervisor to develop a training schedule for new hires that consists of Appreciative Advising, technology systems (Degree Works, Achieve, Inspire for Advisors, Banner SSB, Banner INB), Designating check-in times for new hires to revisit questions, concerns, feedback throughout the training process.
• Responsible for the ongoing assessment of training/professional development efforts.
• Serves as an active member of leadership committees in the academic advising community.
• Assist in managing and developing processes/initiatives that support and are heavily utilized by the advising community.
• Assess advisors frequently to determine and assist with efficiency, best practices, etc.
• Assess student feedback by conducting surveys, focus groups, etc.
• Sit in on appointments and assess what the advisors find went well, challenging, and need more training, etc.

Provide Advising Support for UAEA and Other Units (20%): 

• Supports advising units when there is an advisor departure, or extended leave using institutional and unit best practices.
• Advises a small caseload of approximately 30 Bridge Program students.
• Assist with walk-in 1:1 advising services during high-traffic times.

Provide Systemwide Leadership Coordination (10%): 

• Serve on committees as assigned by supervisor.
• Organize and facilitate the USU Advising Conference.
• Support the Executive Director in communication with the advising community through the weekly newsletter.
• Facilitate bi-weekly Council of Lead Advisors meeting
• Engage in continuous professional development by staying current with resources from NACADA, CAS Standards, and other related organizations.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree plus two years of relevant experience is required
• Experience creating, developing, and assessing training activities and onboarding
• Experience creating, developing, and assessing proactive advising interventions
• Demonstrated leadership in the advising community
• Demonstrated effectiveness working collaboratively across campus units
• Demonstrated experience with LMS platforms and advising technology

Preferred Qualification:

• Master’s Degree plus five years of experience in academic advising

Along with the online application, please attach:

1. Resume to be uploaded into the candidate profile.
2. Contact information for 3 professional references.
3. Cover letter to be typed/pasted into a text box at the end of the application.
4. Leadership Philisophy to be typed/pasted into a text box at the end of the application

**Document size may not exceed 10 MB.**

Employees work indoors and are protected from weather and/or contaminants, but not, necessarily, occasional temperature changes.  The employee is regularly required to sit and often uses repetitive hand motions.

The Office of University and Exploratory Advising aims to provide an exceptional advising experience for every student at USU. Our advising team works to help students identify their strengths, values, and goals, working together to design a path toward graduation. Our Office supports the advising community across the statewide system to ensure USU’s advising services meet the needs of all students. To learn more, please visit: https://www.usu.edu/advising/

Founded in 1888, Utah State University is Utah’s premier land-grant, public service university, with a strong commitment to excellence, access, and inclusion, empowering people to lead successful lives of involvement, innovation, and impact. Utah State provides high-quality education to 27,500-plus students locations throughout the state, including at three residential campuses, eight statewide campuses, and 23 education centers. USU Online educates students from all 50 states and 55 countries. For over 25 years, USU Extension has served and engaged Utahns in all of Utah’s counties. As an R1 research institution, Utah State is dedicated to advancing knowledge through research and scholarly activities, providing a high-quality undergraduate and graduate education at an affordable price.

Utah State is committed to cultivating a community of inclusive excellence where all perspectives, values, cultures, and identities are acknowledged, welcomed, and valued. We seek to recruit, hire, and retain people from all walks of life who will champion excellence in education, research, discovery, outreach, and service. We believe that promoting a strong sense of community and belonging empowers and engages all members of USU to thrive and be successful. Forbes recognized our commitment to employees when they named Utah State the best employer in Utah in 2023. Learn more about USU. 

The university provides a Dual Career Assistance Program to support careers for partners who are also seeking employment. Additionally, USU is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities. To request a reasonable accommodation for a disability, contact the university’s ADA Coordinator in the Office of Human Resources at (435) 797-0122 or hr@usu.edu. 

About the Region

U.S. News and World Report ranked Utah first for its strong economy, fiscal stability, education, and health care. Outstanding outdoor recreational opportunities abound throughout the state, including five national parks, 43 state parks and recreation areas, and 15 alpine ski resorts. The home of USU’s main campus, Logan, is a city of 54,000-plus people in a picturesque mountain valley 80 miles north of Salt Lake City. The Logan metro area claimed the top spot in the Milken Institute’s 2022 ranking for best-performing small cities in the nation. 

*updated 04/2024

In its programs and activities, including in admissions and employment, Utah State University does not discriminate or tolerate discrimination, including harassment, based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other status protected by University policy, Title IX, or any other federal, state, or local law.

The following individuals have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the application of Title IX and its implementing regulations and/or USU’s non-discrimination policies:

Executive Director of the Office of Equity Matthew Pinner, discrimination@usu.edu, Distance Education Rm. 401, 435-797-1266

Title IX Coordinator Cody Carmichael, titleix@usu.edu, Distance Education Rm. 404, 435-797-1266

Mailing address: 5100 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322

For further information regarding non-discrimination, please visit https://equity.usu.edu/, or contact:

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 800-421-3481, OCR@ed.gov

*updated 09/2023