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Director, Office of Exploratory Advising & Academic Coaching

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Posting Details

 Posting Summary 

Logo  |

Posting Number  | STA00306PO25
Job Family  | Academic and Career Counseling
Job Function  | Academic Advising
USC Market Title  | Academic Advising Director
Link to USC Market Title  | https://uscjobs.sc.edu/titles/131705
Job Level  | E0 - Directors and Executives
Business Title (Internal Title)  | Director, Office of Exploratory Advising & Academic Coaching
Campus  | Columbia
Work County  | Richland
College/Division  | Division of Academic Affairs and Provost
Department  | PROV University Advising Center
State Pay Band  | 8
Approved Starting Salary  | $72,093
Advertised Salary Range  | $72,093 - Salary commensurate with qualifications
Location of Vacancy  |
Part/Full Time  | Full Time
Hours per Week  | 37.5
Work Schedule  | Standard working schedule: 8:30am – 5:00pm

Must be willing to work a flexible schedule to meet the needs of the department.


Basis  | 12 months
Job Search Category  | Student Services

 About USC 

About University of South Carolina  | From the Upstate to the Lowcountry, the University of South Carolina system is transforming the lives of South Carolinians through the impact of our eight institutions and 20 locations throughout the state. More than 50,000 students are enrolled at one of eight institutions, including the research campus in Columbia and comprehensive four-year universities in Aiken, Upstate and Beaufort. In addition, our Palmetto College campuses in Salkehatchie, Union, Lancaster and Sumter enable students to earn associate or bachelor’s degrees through a combination of in-person, online or blended learning. All of our system institutions place strong emphasis on service — helping to build healthier, more educated communities in South Carolina and beyond.

 Benefits for FTE Positions 
The University of South Carolina (USC), through the State of SC and Public Employee Benefit Authority (PEBA), offers employees a valuable benefits package, including health and life insurance, generous paid leave and retirement programs. To learn more about USC benefits, access the "Working at USC" section on the Applicant Portal at https://uscjobs.sc.edu. Research Grant or Time-limited positions may be eligible for all, some, or no benefits, based on the grant or project funding.

 Position Description 

Advertised Job Summary  | The Director of the Office of Exploratory Advising & Academic Coaching leads the only centralized advising office on campus. Under limited supervision, this position independently manages key advising programs available to all undergraduate students, including major change advising, major choice guidance for incoming students, advising for the Undeclared-Undergraduate Studies (UGS) program, and academic coaching aimed at retaining at-risk undergraduate students. This position oversees a team of senior-level advisors who provide multiple levels of support for students and ensures these advisors maintain a comprehensive understanding of all undergraduate academic advisor job duties and all (160+) undergraduate majors. The position serves as a primary point of contact for analytics software and oversees training and use/dissemination of data and information for over 5,000 academically at-risk and/or students in transition per year. The Director is integral to the planning, development, and implementation of a new campus-wide centralized major change process and has oversight of multiple campus-wide policies and mandates. This position serves as the advising authority to campus partners including faculty, academic departments, college advising directors, and advisors in matters of degree progression, successful major selection, and escalated student concerns. The Director also serves as the curriculum application and information source for faculty committees to align curriculum change with advisement.
Job Related Minimum Required Education and Experience  | Requires a bachelor’s degree in a job related field and at least 8 years of job related experience, including some prior management experience.
Required Certification, Licensure/Other Credentials  | No additional certifications, licensures, or other credentials are required for this position.
Preferred Qualifications  | PhD preferred. Professional work experience within a public higher education setting in an academic advising and/or retention-related position preferred. Prior experience working with curriculum also preferred.
Knowledge/Skills/Abilities  | Strong critical thinking,communication, and supervisory skills, as well as the ability to work independently while developing strong collaborative relationships with student affairs and academic affairs units. Ability to exercise excellent professional judgment and discretion, making decisions on a regular basis that impact student welfare and the institution. Demonstrated success in the following:
• Strong supervisory and mentorship skills.
• Working in a leadership role within an academic advising and/or student success program in higher education.
• Directly advising students and facilitating retention and student success initiatives.
• Working with students transitioning to college (first time, transfer, and returning) and guiding students through successful transition and major selection.
• Working with “at-risk” students and targeting support and resources specific to individual needs.

 Job Duties 

Job Duty  | Direct University-wide Academic Policies, Mandates, and Centralized Major Change Processes: Direct a team of 14+ senior-level academic coaches/exploratory advisors and three administrative staff to interpret, design, implement, and provide planning and direction for comprehensive, university-wide advising. Serves as the authority for comprehensive academic advising of 5,000+ current students who are at-risk, including but not limited to, students who are undeclared, academically deficient, and/or changing their major. Serves as authority for academic coaching for all students, specifically targeting underserved populations such as first-generation, underrepresented minorities, and non-traditional degree-seeking students. Implement and lead new academic advising initiative for incoming students before, during, and after New Student Orientation. Oversee the development, implementation, and assessment of a campus-wide centralized major change process in collaboration with college advising directors and Department Chairs. Manage Memorandums of Understanding with each college/school, regularly collaborating with campus-wide advising partners to ensure success. Oversee multiple student populations and compliance procedures, including students referred and mandated through university/college policy. Oversee university-wide initiatives aimed at increasing retention and graduation rates through student success initiatives, campaigns and outreach strategies. Leads Exploratory Advising and Academic Coaching team to provide both transactional/prescriptive advising and developmental/appreciative coaching. Serve as national leader in best practice in effective advising techniques aimed at student success.
Essential Function  | Yes
Percentage of Time  | 40Job Duty  | Office Management and Supervision: Lead a large centralized advising office available to the entire undergraduate student population. Recruit, supervise, mentor, and evaluate EA advisors. Promote and implement Advisor career ladders program within EA and provide individual development plans with EA staff. Provides on-going training and information to team in areas including but not limited to, Academic Coaching, Exploratory Advising, Undergraduate Studies, and Four-Year Advising. Ensure advisors maintain a running knowledge of undergraduate advisor job duties to assume an undergraduate advising caseload in times of UAA vacancies. Maintain mastery of 160+ majors from all 11 colleges/schools to ensure accurate advisement. Triage and resolve high volume and time-sensitive queries, complaints and issues from students, parents, faculty, and staff. Understand the implications of student participation in special academic programs on timely degree completion, such as Honors College, Opportunity Scholars, Galen Health Fellows, Capstone Scholars, Life Scholarship, Palmetto Fellows and general scholarship recipients.
Essential Function  | Yes
Percentage of Time  | 20Job Duty  | Curricular Revision, Recommendations and Policy Revision: Serve as the curriculum “application” and “information source” for faculty committees, including the Course Needs Committee, Carolina Core Review Committee, Interdisciplinary Studies Committee, and other faculty senate subcommittees as needed. Inform several topics related to undergraduate course needs projection and provide guidance on course/section/seat enrollment management, technology usage, major enrollment, changing majors, minors, etc., and procedure review (waitlisting, overrides, course restrictions, etc). The Director is responsible for conducting 120+ credit hour audits and uses curricular analytics to identify curricular barriers to graduation. Work with faculty to identify graduation barriers related to the curriculum and provide recommendations for clear degree pathways. This position is entrusted with the authority to change the curricula for multiple colleges accounting for over half the undergraduate degree granting programs at USC. Co-manage implementation of university academic probation and suspension with the Office of the University Registrar and federally mandated satisfactory academic progress with the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships. Collaborate with faculty across campus to inform and align exploratory advising initiatives to educate students on informed major selection. Serve as the primary liaison between academic departments and exploratory advising. Partners with college officials to ensure accuracy of curricular information and identify target populations for academic intervention
Essential Function  | Yes
Percentage of Time  | 15Job Duty  | Campus Leadership: Partners with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Office of New Student Orientation to coordinate major changes of incoming freshmen and transfer students. Maintain and operationalize existing partnerships and policy mandates. Identify, design, and implement new partnerships and mandates. Collaborate with student support offices, including financial aid, bursar, registrar, career center, success center, etc. Provide ad hoc support to the Office of Student Advocacy for sensitive and escalated student cases. Manage general and hardship withdrawal coaching in collaboration with the Dean of Students Office.
Essential Function  | Yes
Percentage of Time  | 15Job Duty  | Assessment, Evaluation, and Reporting: Monitor, track and analyze major migration patterns. Assess academic outcomes of academic coaching and other retention strategies. Develop and execute assessment and evaluation of Exploratory Advising. Maintain and track progress related to annual plans and goals for advising exploratory students. Provides reports for supervisor and campus partners. Collaborate with faculty and staff in the colleges to assess effectiveness of EA program. Maintain knowledge of retention, enrollment, and student trend data.
Essential Function  | Yes
Percentage of Time  | 5Job Duty  | Advising Support: Meet individually with students who are seeking exploratory advising, Academic Coaching, Undergraduate Studies advising degree progression, and academic skill development. Advise a student caseload for academic departments in need of additional advising support. Participate in undergraduate admissions or other student events on behalf of the UAC as needed.
Essential Function  | Yes
Percentage of Time  | 5

 Position Attributes 
Employees in Safety-Sensitive or Security-Sensitive positions will be subject to pre-employment and post-employment drug testing in accordance with University policy HR 1.95 Drug and Alcohol Testing.

Safety Sensitive or Security Sensitive  | No
Hazardous weather category  | Non-Essential

 Posting Detail Information 

Number of Vacancies  | 1
Desired Start Date  |
Job Open Date  | 04/24/2025
Job Close Date  | 05/31/2025
Open Until Filled  | No
Special Instructions to Applicant  | Positions are advertised for a minimum of five (5) business days on our job website. After five (5) business days, positions can be closed at the discretion of the department at any time. This employment site is updated on a regular basis. The length of the recruitment and screening process may vary from position to position, depending upon a variety of factors. Should review of your qualifications result in a decision to pursue your candidacy, you will be contacted by phone or email.



We are only accepting applications submitted by May 31, 2025.


Quicklink for Posting  | https://uscjobs.sc.edu/postings/186347
EEO Statement  | The University of South Carolina does not discriminate in educational or employment opportunities or decisions for qualified persons on the basis of age, ancestry, citizenship status, color, disability, ethnicity, familial status, gender (including transgender), gender identity or expression, genetic information, HIV/AIDs status, military status, national origin, pregnancy (false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy, childbirth, recovery therefrom or related medical conditions, breastfeeding), race, religion (including religious dress and grooming practices), sex, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other bases under federal, state, local law, or regulations.

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