Assistant Director of Graduate Academic Advising

• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Bargaining Unit:
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• End Date if Temporary:
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Standard Work Schedule:
• Building: Morningside
• Salary Range: $74,000 to $82,000

Position Summary

The Assistant Director of Graduate Academic Advising supports the academic success and overall experience of Columbia Engineering graduate students. The role enhances advising capacity across master's and doctoral programs, with added emphasis on master's level support. It focuses on providing academic policy guidance, supporting partnership and dual-degree programs, and coordinating responses to student concerns. In addition to advising master's students, the position contributes to selected doctoral processes and assists with routine doctoral student-related inquiries. The Assistant Director works closely with departments and campus partners to ensure students receive consistent information, timely assistance, and a clear path toward degree completion.

Responsibilities

Graduate Student Advising (50%):

Advises graduate students, with an emphasis on MS students, on various aspects of their studies, including school-level degree requirements, academic policies, and procedures.

Meets with students individually, responds to their inquiries, and connects them to resources as appropriate.

Advises students interested in or enrolled in the school's various MS specializations, such as the Advanced Master's Research specialization.

Supports student advising needs for partnership and dual-degree programs, coordinating requirements, documentation, and routine communications with students.

Coordinates onboarding and support for incoming partnership and dual-degree program students, including orientation materials and transition guidance.

Serves as an advisor for designated Columbia Engineering MS programs, including but not limited to MBAxMS and the MS in AI program. Tracks and provides guidance to students on curriculum requirements, registration issues, and academic planning.

Refers students to their respective faculty advisors and Career Placement Officers to address electives, career-related questions, and other issues.

Serves as a liaison with Columbia Engineering departments in supporting all aspects of student affairs to ensure student success.

Assists with escalated student cases from Columbia Engineering departments on complex academic policy issues, providing high-touch support and case management.

Collaborates with other schools, offices, and departments (GSAS, ISSO, Registrar, Health Services, Student Financial Services, and Columbia Residential) on student cases as needed.

Maintains a very high level of knowledge of school academic policies and procedures.

Attends, assists, and presents at new-student orientation, relevant school-level or program-specific meetings and events, and other events throughout the year.

Tracks, assesses, and reports on student data. Identifies students who are not meeting satisfactory academic progress. Recognizes and advises on trends in advising cohorts.

Graduate Student Affairs (30%):

Assists in monitoring and tracking MS and doctoral students' degree progress, registration status, academic standing, and changes in status.

Identifies students who are not meeting satisfactory academic progress.

Provides support and coordinates with department student affairs officers on academic plans for students who require monitoring or intervention.

Identifies trends on a larger scale and works to address them through school policy and at the program level.

Serves on the Engineering Student Affairs graduate student on-call team, providing crisis intervention for graduate students experiencing difficulty.

Responsible for engaging with the student/s and then connecting the student to the appropriate resources for further engagement. Assists with responding to urgent situations.

Supports key onboarding, orientation, and professional development programs for doctoral students, including Engineer Your PhD (EYP), Three Minute Thesis (3MT), and PhD Connect.

Partners with other Engineering Student Affairs teams, including Student Life and Professional Development and Leadership (PDL) teams, to innovate programming to meet evolving student needs.

Assists with partnership and dual-degree program student recruitment efforts, such as but not limited to open house events and yield programming.

Liaises with admitted students to address admissions, academics, and registration inquiries.

Graduate Academic Affairs (15%):

Reviews graduation clearances for MS and MPhil degree levels.

Maintains advising resources, program guides, and communication templates for both MS and doctoral audiences.

Supports departmental outreach by sending reminders about upcoming deadlines, policy changes, and required actions.

Additional duties as assigned (5%)

Minimum Qualifications

• A bachelor's degree and or its equivalent.
• A minimum of 2-3 years of related experience is required.
• Understand student and academic affairs opportunities and challenges affecting constituents, comprising a diverse population, both domestic and international.
• Ability to represent the Program and School professionally at events.
• Demonstrated ability to take initiative and work independently, accepting responsibility and accountability for assignments, within a team environment.
• Ability to balance multiple tasks with competing deadlines, demonstrated ability to pay strict attention to detail, and exercise discretion in handling confidential information.
• Experience working in a team environment, and the ability to work independently.
• The ability to interpret and apply standards and the ability to communicate complex policies and procedures to students, faculty, staff, and other stakeholders.
• Strong technical competency is required; demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of student services database software and online resources, and the willingness and enthusiasm to respond to students' needs in an increasingly technologically dynamic society.
• Proficiency with Google suite of products, MS Office (Excel with pivot tables, vlookup), PowerPoint, publishing software, social media, etc.
• Ability to analyze and work with a large volume of student, course, and other types of data.
• Must be willing to work on occasional evenings and weekends, on a needed basis, especially when on-call and student crises arise.
• Possess excellent interpersonal and administrative skills.
• Ability to work independently and under pressure, with a high level of attention to detail.
• Candidate must exercise good judgment and flexibility.
• Must be able to prioritize multiple tasks with minimal supervision.
• Must be able to communicate effectively and tactfully with staff, faculty, students, employers, and alumni in small and large group settings.
• Must be able to exercise good judgment, diplomacy, and flexibility, with a student-wellness mindset.
• A positive, mission-oriented, and forward-thinking attitude, along with a sense of humor, is a must.

Preferred Qualifications

• Graduate-level work is preferred.
• Knowledge of advising and counseling techniques.
• Knowledge of University-specific computer application programs and pertinent databases.
• Prior experience in student affairs or academic advising in higher education.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.