MME Graduate Administrative Associate

JOB TITLE MME Graduate Administrative Associate LOCATION Worcester DEPARTMENT NAME Mechanical & Materials Engineering DIVISION NAME Worcester Polytechnic Institute - WPI JOB DESCRIPTION SUMMARY The Graduate Administrative Associate is primarily responsible for the support of the Mechanical and Materials Engineering (MME) Department's Bachelor's/Master’s (BS/MS), Masters (MS), and PhD students from acceptance through graduation. Involved at many levels in the support of the department’s Teaching Assistants and Research Assistants.

Responsible for hourly undergraduate and graduate student payroll, including hiring, timesheet approval, and running reports as requested by the department. Assist the operations manager and faculty with the preparation and electronic storage of Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) materials for the Mechanical and Materials Engineering Program.

Provide Graduate Student Support:
Work closely with the Mechanical Engineering Graduate Committee (MEGC) and the Mechanical Engineering Graduate Coordinator to support Bachelor's/Master’s (BS/MS), Masters (MS), and PhD students from acceptance through graduation. Track the department’s graduate student population and provide routine information and ad hoc reports. Track written and oral PhD qualifying exams, PhD thesis proposals, and MS and PhD thesis defenses. Post proposals and defenses on WPI Today and advertise within the department.

Track submission of Graduate Degree Completion forms and BS/MS Double Counting forms throughout the year. Create agendas for Graduate Seminar guest speakers, and track student seminar attendance. Co-ordinate textbook orders throughout the year between faculty and WPI Bookstore. Order desk copies of textbooks for faculty and Teaching Assistant upon request. Assist the Mechanical Engineering Graduate Coordinator, and chair of the Mechanical Engineering Graduate Committee (MEGC) with assigning TAs, quarterly, utilizing instructor and TA survey responses:
Responsible for RA/TA payments in coordination with Hiring Specialist in the Office of the Provost. Responsible for TA evaluations completed by instructors and students. Sharing evaluation outcomes with the MEGC chair, as well as the Teaching Assistants and their research advisors. Responsible for hourly undergraduate and graduate student payroll, including hiring, timesheet approval, and running reports as requested by the department:
Attend Federal Work Study (FWS) Job Fair at start of academic year to recruit FWS students for the Mechanical Engineering Office and labs. Monitor monthly costing allocation reports, and proactively notify faculty of positions due to expire. Supervise student office workers; create updated schedules, by academic term. Manage Department Events:
Quarterly TA meetings, BS/MS Information Sessions, PhD Information Session for WPI undergraduates. PhD Luncheons, Holiday Luncheons, Pi-Day Celebration Annual Visitation Retreat for Prospective PhD students. Utilize 25

Live to reserve and approve requests for conference room(s) in Higgins Labs. Make reservations outside of Higgins Labs for departmental events. Provide administrative support:
Manage Department Head’s outlook calendar, schedule zoom meetings, assist with IT and office equipment. Assist students, faculty, staff and visitors with information about the MME department and maintain a liaison with other WPI departments. Reply to inquiries on shared email alias MME. Submit work orders for department and request keys through maintenance. Request card swipe access to department labs, for students, through IT.

Process expense reports using Workday. Assist new faculty with office set-up (furniture, keys,…