Director of Advising

As a part of a diverse community of faculty and staff who represent many faith systems and worldviews, Marian University seeks a Director of Academic Advising to promote our Catholic Franciscan mission and identity by leading, coordinating, and strengthening academic advising practices that support student success, engagement, retention, persistence, and holistic development across the university.

The Director of Academic Advising provides leadership, coordination, and support for advising practices across the university with a focus on developmental advising, faculty and staff advisor support, and student success initiatives. This position partners closely with faculty, staff advisors, academic units, Student Success & Engagement, and the Registrar to strengthen advising systems, processes, and student support structures institution-wide. Additionally, the Director advises a cohort of exploratory or undecided students, designs and facilitates advisor training and development opportunities, supports advising-related programming and initiatives, and uses advising and institutional data to evaluate effectiveness, inform decision-making, and promote continuous improvement in academic advising practices.

The ideal candidate is a collaborative leader with strong communication, organizational, and relational skills who can effectively engage diverse populations while fostering a student-centered advising culture.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

* Actively engage the Catholic Franciscan mission and identity of Marian University by modeling the Franciscan Sponsorship Values and honoring the legacy of the founding congregation through transformative education, unity in diversity, leadership through service, integrating faith and life, and institutional policies.

* Coordinate & Strengthen Advising Practices:
Provide leadership and coordination for advising practices across the university by supporting a developmental advising model that emphasizes student growth, purpose, vocation, engagement, and success.

* Advise & Support Students:
Advise a cohort of exploratory or undecided students through coaching, mentoring, and developmental advising conversations that help students navigate academic pathways, personal decision-making, and vocational exploration.

* Design & Facilitate Advisor Training:
Design, organize, and facilitate training and professional development opportunities for new and returning faculty advisors and professional staff advisors focused on effective advising practices, university systems, student support strategies, and developmental advising approaches.

* Support Faculty & Professional Advisors:
Serve as a liaison and resource for faculty advisors, academic units, and Student Success & Engagement staff by providing consultation, guidance, and support related to advising challenges, student concerns, and difficult advising conversations.

* Advance Advising Strategy & Consistency:
Support the development and communication of advising strategies, practices, and resources that promote a consistent advisor-student experience across academic programs and align with institutional goals related to retention, graduation, and student engagement.

* Lead Advising Initiatives & Student Engagement Programming:
Support or coordinate advising-related initiatives and student engagement programming such as orientation activities, academic exploration events, faculty-student engagement opportunities, and other programs that foster intellectual curiosity, belonging, and student connection.

* Support Advising Infrastructure & Processes:
Partner closely with the Registrar and other university offices to support advising systems, policies, processes, four-year academic planning efforts, and advisor understanding of curricular pathways, sequencing, and university requirements.

* Use Data for Assessment & Continuous Improvement:
Monitor advising outcomes and utilize institutional and advising-related data to assess effectiveness, evaluate interventions, enhance advising practices, improve SPARK alert utilization, develop advising dashboards and reports, and support accreditation and student success…