Edtech.com's Summary

The Mercile J. Lee Scholars Program is hiring an Academic Advising Manager to provide leadership and oversight for advising services while maintaining a direct advising caseload. The role involves managing advising-related programs and collaborating with campus stakeholders to support the academic and personal success of over 500 scholarship recipients at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Highlights

Lead and oversee academic advising services and staff within the Mercile J. Lee Scholars Program.
Maintain a direct advising caseload and support scholars in their academic, leadership, and personal development.
Develop and implement workshops, retreats, academic coaching, and community-building events.
Partner with university stakeholders to connect students with resources and opportunities.
Requires at least 2 years of professional experience serving student populations and skills in Microsoft Office.
Bachelor's degree required; master's preferred, ideally in higher education or related fields.
Preferred experience includes advising, student affairs, supervisory roles, and working with academically talented students.
Salary starts at $60,000 with comprehensive benefits including health insurance, paid time off, and participation in Wisconsin Retirement System.
Functions within the Division for Teaching and Learning, supporting a scholarship program serving over 500 high-achieving undergraduate students.
Responsible for maintaining confidentiality and compliance with FERPA regulations.

MJLSP Academic Advising Manager Full Description

Job summary:

The Mercile J. Lee Scholars Program (MJLSP) has an opening for an Academic Advising Manager. MJLSP is a merit-based scholarship program serving more than 500 high-achieving students who receive full tuition at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Grounded in scholarship, leadership, and service, the program provides proactive, high-touch, and holistic advising that supports scholar success, development, retention, and graduation.

The Academic Advising Manager provides leadership and oversight for advising services, supports academic advising staff, and maintains a direct advising caseload. The role also leads advising-related programs and initiatives, including academic coaching, leadership development, retreats, workshops, and community-building events. In partnership with campus stakeholders, the manager helps connect scholars to resources and opportunities that support their academic and personal success.

This position reports directly to the Director of MJLSP.

This position is full-time, 100% FTE. Ongoing/Renewable.

This position is eligible for partial remote work. Remote work requires an approved flexible work agreement (FWA). A FWA requires successful candidates to possess their own high-speed internet and phone to perform the work on a university provided computer. Per University policy, transportation between home and assigned work location is not payable/reimbursable and will be at the expense of the employee.

Key job responsibilities:

Proactively engages students as needed
Maintains expertise with advised curriculum and may assist in developing and recommending exceptions for policy and curriculum
Receives, processes, and responds to academic inquiries according to established policies and procedures
Supports students in their leadership, academic, personal, social, and career development through the planning and execution of co-curricular activities
Participates in the campus-wide advising community providing input to leadership regarding the development of advising, recruitment, and co/curricular programs offered by the school/college
Supervises unit staff and/or plans, organizes, allocates resources, assesses performance, and leads the operational activities of a function within the advising or academic services portfolio, such as program management and/or curriculum management
Maintains confidentiality and accurate student records and processes and responds to academic inquiries according to established institutional and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) policies
Develops and implements academic advising events such as workshops, panel discussions, and guest speakers
Serves as a main point of contact for students and provides information about educational options and academic requirements; assists with identifying and assessing interests, skills, and values to match appropriate field of study/career options, and refers students to appropriate institutional resources

Department:

Division for Teaching and Learning, Mercile J. Lee Scholars Program

About the Mercile J. Lee Scholars Program

The Mercile J. Lee Scholars Program (MJLSP) serves over 500 high-achieving undergraduate students. With a philosophy of “Excellence in Scholarship, Leadership and Service”, the program is at the forefront of providing intensive and consistent levels of direct support to talented students who as a cohort are admitted to UW–Madison. Since its creation in the early 1980s (originally named Chancellor’s and Power-Knapp scholarship), the MJLSP has established itself as the premier scholarship program on campus. Scholars benefit from individualized advising, a supportive peer network, leadership development opportunities, mentorship, alumni connections, and more. In addition to the structured support provided by the programs, scholars also receive a full tuition financial award.

About the Student Engagement and Scholarship Portfolio (SESP)

The Student Engagement and Scholarship Portfolio (SESP) houses four student scholarship programs (PEOPLE Program, Posse Program, Mercile J. Lee, and First Wave/OMAI) with an infrastructure dedicated to support college attainment. Through intentional programming, personalized advising, and scholarship support, the SESP portfolio prioritizes student success, focusing on academic excellence, leadership, community building, and service. SESP prepares students to enact the Wisconsin Idea, growing as ethical and responsible leaders who can thrive in a world that is diverse, global, and interconnected.

Compensation:

The minimum salary for the position is $60,000. Actual pay is determined at hire and is based on experience and qualifications.

This position offers a comprehensive benefits package, including generous paid time off, competitively priced health/dental/vision/life insurance, tax-advantaged savings accounts, and participation in the nationally recognized Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) pension fund.

Required qualifications:

Minimum of 2 years of full-time professional experience serving student populations
Familiarity with supporting students' pathways and/or success in K-12 and/or college (including but not limited to experiences in teaching, access, tutoring, coaching, advising, retention initiatives, or college readiness services)
Demonstrated experience in planning and execution of curricular and co-curricular programming serving undergraduate students
General knowledge of academic disciplines, programs, and resources
Demonstrated ability to promote an understanding and respect of cultural and human values and abilities
Excellent interpersonal, customer service, communication (oral and written), and organizational skills
General knowledge of and skills with Microsoft Office Software and in other computer software and tools
Manage a workload in a fast-paced, high traffic area and the ability to multitask

Preferred qualifications:

Professional work experience in advising, student affairs, student services, counseling, or related field
Some supervisory/management/mentorship experiences
Experience working with academic support programs and services supporting academically talented students
Ability to exercise initiative and creativity to enhance programming for undergraduate students
Knowledge and understanding of the preparation for graduate and professional school opportunities
General knowledge of quantitative and qualitative measures for program evaluation

Education:

Bachelor's Degree Required

Master's Degree Preferred; focus in higher education, administration, student personnel, counseling, psychology, sociology, social work, or relevant areas of study

How to apply:

To apply for this position, please click on the "Apply Now" button. You will be prompted to upload a Cover Letter and Resume.

Cover Letter Required Prompts: In your application materials, please include a cover letter (max. 2 pages) that specifically includes responses to the two required prompts/questions listed below, reflecting upon the required and preferred qualifications listed for the position.

How have your educational/professional/leadership experiences prepared you to support students with their educational goals (particularly students that MJLSP serve)?
How have your professional/leadership experiences prepared to create/lead/organize programming initiatives that support student retention/persistence?

Please note when applying, there will be only one attachment field. You must upload all your documents in the attachment field. Applicants are to submit a cover letter and resume detailing their training and experience relating to the required and preferred qualifications referenced above. A cover letter is required to guarantee consideration. Failure to adequately demonstrate experiences aligned with the required qualifications in either a cover letter or resume will result in your application not being considered for employment. The application reviewers will be relying on your written application materials to determine which qualified applicants will advance in the recruitment process.

The deadline for assuring full consideration is September 07, 2026, at 11:59 PM (CST).

Please note that successful applicants are responsible for ensuring their eligibility to work in the United States (i.e. a citizen or national of the United States, a lawful permanent resident, a foreign national authorized to work in the United States without need of employer sponsorship) on or before the effective date of appointment.

Contact information:

Emma Voight, [email protected], 608-262-8152

Institutional statement on diversity:

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply.

To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division you are applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you.

Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment.

The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7).

Original Job Description