Academic Advisor - Future Outstanding Cohort of University Students (FOCUS

Job Description Summary

Organization’s Summary Statement:
The Center for Access and Academic Success at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore invites applications for a full-time, twelve-month, exempt position. This position requires flexibility to attend and schedule events and meetings, as well as promote campus activities.

Benefits: UMES offers exciting opportunities for professional growth. Generous benefits include health benefits (medical, prescription, dental, flexible spending accounts), retirement (State or Optional Retirement Plan with Fidelity or TIAA), supplemental retirement accounts with $600 annual state match, life insurance, tuition remission, employee assistance program, paid holidays, paid leave (Exempt positions start at 22 days annual, sick leave 15 days per year, personal leave 3 days per year).

The Academic Advisor-Future Outstanding Cohort of University Students (FOCUS) ensures that all elements of CAAS’s FOCUS program are completed and delivered. The Academic Advisor for FOCUS will primarily work with students on probation and provide proactive, student-centered advising and support to undergraduates.

This position ensures that students receive consistent guidance, resources, and accountability to promote academic recovery, retention, and progression toward degree completion. The FOCUS Advisor will conduct one-on-one meetings with probation students to develop individualized Academic Improvement Plans (AIP), review academic records to identify contributing factors to probationary status, monitor students’ progress and implement interventions as needed, collaborate with faculty, tutors, and support offices to connect students with appropriate resources, maintain detailed advising documentation, provide academic coaching on time management, study skills, and goal setting, facilitate workshops and group advising sessions, prepare progress reports for the Director of CAAS and stakeholders, and support data collection and assessment activities related to student retention and success initiatives.

A successful candidate will have experience and demonstrated success in working with college-level students, developing and coordinating student academic programs and activities, taking initiative in coordinating and planning to provide relevant platforms for student learning and success, providing creative and resourceful solutions to complex challenges in a way that engages and motivates students, demonstrating student leadership skills, collaborative and participative team building skills, effective interpersonal communication, attention to detail, problem-solving capabilities, and respectful customer service.

The Academic Advisor-Future Outstanding Cohort of University Students reports to the Director/Assistant of CAAS or as directed.

• Coordinate communications plans, logistics and marketing for FOCUS students.
• Track, prepare written reports on FOCUS students’ satisfactory academic progress (SAP) participation and progress reports.
• Create Academic Improvement Plans (AIP) with students on academic probation.
• Help to plan and organize courses via pre-advising or block scheduling as needed.
• Group and one-on-one student advising.
• Coordinate and planning for FOCUS programming and activities.
• Create and analyze student surveys, evaluate program success and track student progress.
• Collaborate across the university to connect students to campus resources.
• Teach ARSS-188 courses for FOCUS students online or in-person as needed.
• Perform recruit back efforts at the end of the first year.
• Program planning for student engagement.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

• May require extended periods of standing, bending, stooping, sitting at a desk.
• May require lifting up to 25 lbs.
• Requires communication with a variety of constituents externally and internally.
• Requires operation of a variety of office equipment.

• Master’s degree in a relevant discipline, working in higher education, K‑12 system, counseling/human services, or related field.
• A minimum of two years of experience.
• Experience and demonstrated knowledge of student advising and…