Senior Academic Advisor

The Office of Student Academic Services at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University is seeking a full-time Senior Academic Advisor / Assistant Director.  

Job Summary

The Senior Academic Advisor provides comprehensive academic advising, individualized learning support, and academic intervention services to students enrolled in the University's health sciences programs. The incumbent promotes student achievement, retention, and success by identifying learning challenges, developing academic improvement strategies, and implementing programs to strengthen student performance.

Working collaboratively with students, faculty, academic leadership, and institutional support services, the Senior Academic Advisor also assists in the development, coordination, and evaluation of academic support initiatives, oversees student tutoring services, and supports departmental operations.

Key Responsibilities and Duties

Academic Advising and Student Success

• Provide individualized and small-group academic advising and coaching to students seeking to improve their academic performance and strengthen their learning skills.
• Assess students' academic challenges and develop individualized strategies addressing study techniques, note-taking, time management, test preparation, examination performance, and stress management.
• Proactively identify and engage academically at-risk students to support academic achievement, retention, and successful progression through their respective programs.
• Provide ongoing academic coaching, monitoring, and follow-up support to students experiencing academic difficulties or placed on academic probation.
• Develop individualized academic improvement plans, conduct follow-up sessions, and maintain accurate documentation of student progress and outcomes.
• Collaborate with faculty, academic departments, and appropriate University personnel to identify barriers to student success and recommend academic interventions.
• Assist students in the School of Public Health with organizing, structuring, and editing written academic assignments while maintaining institutional academic integrity standards.
• Refer students to appropriate external evaluators for assessment of potential learning disabilities or other specialized learning needs, as appropriate.

Academic Intervention and Learning Support

• Develop and recommend individualized academic intervention strategies for students experiencing academic difficulties.
• Provide academic support and learning strategies tailored to students enrolled in academically rigorous health sciences programs.
• Coordinate academic support services and related needs for students with documented accommodations in collaboration with appropriate University offices.
• Assist students in accessing available tutoring, academic resources, and other institutional support services.
• Monitor the effectiveness of academic interventions and make recommendations for adjustments based on student progress and demonstrated needs.
• Identify recurring academic challenges, difficult curricular topics, and student learning trends and communicate findings to academic support leadership.

Academic Support Programs and Workshops

• Develop, coordinate, and facilitate academic success workshops, study strategy sessions, and other educational activities designed to improve student learning and academic performance.
• Provide instruction and guidance on effective learning strategies, academic organization, examination preparation, and study skills development.
• Assist the Associate Vice President in identifying, developing, and implementing new academic support programs to address the needs of students in the School of Health Professions and College of Nursing.
• Participate in evaluating existing academic support programs and recommend enhancements to improve student engagement, program effectiveness, and academic outcomes.
• Assist with the implementation and assessment of approved program improvements, initiatives, and modifications.
• Collaborate with faculty and academic departments to ensure academic support programming is responsive to student learning needs and curricular challenges.

Tutoring Services and Student Staff Supervision

• Coordinate and oversee student tutoring services to support academic achievement across designated academic programs.
• Supervise, schedule, train, and provide ongoing guidance to student work-study tutors.
• Monitor tutoring activities, student participation, and service effectiveness to ensure appropriate academic support is available.
• Identify opportunities to improve tutoring resources, scheduling, and service delivery based on student needs and program demand.

Program Assessment, Administration, and Collaboration

• Assist in collecting, organizing, maintaining, and analyzing academic support data to evaluate program utilization, student progress, and service effectiveness.
• Prepare student progress reports, program activity summaries, and other documentation to support departmental planning, assessment, and continuous improvement.
• Provide feedback and recommendations to the Senior Assistant Director and Associate Vice President regarding curricular challenges, student academic performance trends, and opportunities for program improvement.
• Assist the Associate Vice President in evaluating existing academic support programs and coordinating the implementation of recommended enhancements.
• Collaborate with academic departments, faculty, student services, and other institutional stakeholders to coordinate academic support initiatives.
• Support the daily administrative operations of the Office of Student Academic Services, including scheduling, recordkeeping, data management, and coordination of student support activities.
• Maintain the confidentiality of student academic records, advising information, and accommodation-related documentation in accordance with applicable institutional policies and federal requirements.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Master's Degree from an accredited college or university in School Psychology, Educational Psychology, or a closely related field.
• 2+ years of professional experience providing academic advising, academic coaching, learning support, or academic intervention services to students in a higher education or related educational setting.
• Demonstrated knowledge of learning strategies, academic assessment, study skills development, and intervention techniques designed to improve student academic performance.
• Experience working with students experiencing academic difficulties, including developing individualized academic improvement strategies and monitoring student progress.
• Strong interpersonal, organizational, analytical, and written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively with students, faculty, academic administrators, and institutional support services.
• Demonstrated ability to handle confidential student information and maintain accurate records.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications and familiarity with student information systems or related academic support technology.
• Or, a satsifactory equivalent combination of experience, education and training. 

Preferred Qualifications

• PhD in School Psychology, Educational Psychology, or a closely related field.
• Experience providing academic advising or student support services within a health sciences university or institution offering nursing, allied health, public health, or other professional health sciences programs.
• Experience developing and facilitating academic success workshops, learning strategy programs, and individualized academic interventions.
• Experience supporting academically at-risk students, including those placed on academic probation.
• Experience coordinating academic tutoring programs and supervising student employees.
• Familiarity with learning disabilities, academic accommodations, and appropriate student referral procedures.
• Experience evaluating academic support programs and utilizing student performance data to recommend improvements.