Office Specialist

Office Specialist – Florida International University

About FIU

Florida International University is a Top 50, preeminent public research university with 55,000 students from all 50 states and more than 140 countries, as well as an alumni network of more than 340,000. Located in the global city of Miami, the university offers more than 200 degree programs at the undergraduate, graduate and professional levels, including medicine and law. FIU faculty are leaders in their fields and include National Academy members, Fulbright Scholars and Mac Arthur Genius Fellows.

A Carnegie R1 institution, FIU drives impactful research in environmental resilience, health and technology and innovation. Home to the Wall of Wind and Institute of Environment, FIU stands at the forefront of discovery and innovation. With a focus on student success, economic mobility and community engagement, FIU is redefining what it means to be a public research university.

Job Summary

Provides support to University Graduate School (UGS) and the Office of Research & Economic Development (ORED) by providing excellent customer service to graduate students and the graduate community regarding filing of forms, policies and procedures, assistantships and fellowships. Serves as the point of contact for University Graduate School and ORED. Processes dissertation/thesis milestones forms for approval or return.

Responsibilities

• Provides customer service to current students, faculty and staff via telephone, email, and in person. Works to answer inquiries and resolve them in a timely and efficient manner. Refers matters to leadership and personnel when appropriate.
• Supports various processing activities within the University Graduate School. Processes dissertation and thesis milestones forms for final approval, or return to academic units, viewing and updating student checklists and milestones including dissertation/thesis committee tables in the system.
• Prepares all dissertation/thesis milestones forms, change of graduate degrees, assistantship contracts, fellowships letters, Graduate Faculty applications and letters, Academic Misconduct documents.
• Answers questions regarding graduate policies and procedures, graduate assistantships and fellowships. Follows-up on student, faculty and staff questions to ensure problems are resolved.
• Advises students concerning the filing of dissertation/thesis milestone and change of graduate degree forms. Reviews forms and supporting documentation for accuracy.
• Meets with departmental staff to provide thorough reviews of doctoral dissertation/thesis and graduate forms, policies and procedures and general guidance. Provides detailed guidance on requirements and processes for dissertation/thesis forms and reviews general timeline of all of these forms, including deadlines.
• Assists with workshops on dissertation/thesis forms to current students and faculty/staff regarding requirements and deadlines to help ensure a smooth and timely graduation.
• Provides support in training student assistants for front-desk support operations, in-depth internal procedures of submission of dissertation/thesis milestones forms, graduate forms, and deadlines.
• Provides office and logistical support to UGS leadership, including monitoring of office supplies usage, providing feedback and suggestions for customer service improvements.
• Assists the Associate Director with preparation of logistics related to doctoral commencement as well as assistance during commencement ceremonies. Assists to ensure that all Ph.D/Ed.D. Candidates are in the correct regalia.
• Supports various processing activities within the University Graduate School. Assists the UGS team with processing dissertation and thesis forms for final approval, viewing and updating student checklists and milestones including thesis committee tables in the student information system. Provides office and logistical support to the Coordinator and Associate director, including monitoring of office supplies usage, providing feedback and suggestions for customer service improvements to UGS managers.
• Maintains a high level of public relations and customer service with the university, community,…