About the Position

The Student Support Advisor plays a vital role in supporting students throughout their educational journey, embodying our TEACH values and fostering a culture of CARE that aligns with our mission, vision, and purpose. Their role involves providing proactive, prompt, and accurate advising on financial, academic, and service-related matters, to ensure students receive the necessary support to reach graduation. This includes advocating for students at every stage of their academic journey by establishing personalized relationships, monitoring their financial and academic progress, and promoting their success through holistic advising.  In addition, the Student Support Advisor serves as an advocate for students and connect them with resources and support services, addressing their concerns, and working collaboratively with faculty and staff to ensure they have the tools and support they need to succeed.

In a dynamic and rapidly changing environment, Student Support Advisors operate within a state-of-the-art call center architecture, where their day is meticulously planned out.  Their objective is to offer one-call resolution while inspiring students to take ownership of their educational goals. Through various communication channels, such as incoming and outgoing calls, chats and personalized emails and SMS, they cater to the individual student needs and preferences. 

This role of a Student Support Advisor is a critical ingredient of student success, and proactive, accurate and timely support from them can have a substantial impact on the lives of their students.

Your responsibilities/What you’ll do

• Provide support for the new student enrollment process by partnering with Admissions to answer student queries, offer comprehensive information on the program and costs, and outline funding options to enable students to make informed decisions
• Develop and validate an estimated financial plan and establish clear timelines for applicants to ensure financial preparedness for the commencement of their educational journey
• Maintain a thorough understanding of all academic and Title IV financial aid programs, policies, and procedures, including institutional policies, and federal and state regulations
• Monitor student accounts, provide guidance on financial eligibility and regularly evaluate academic and financial awards to promote positive student outcomes
• Proactively identify possible academic and financial obstacles by analyzing student data, and work collaboratively with students to overcome them
• Effectively leverage data and systems to track accurate enrollment, persistence and graduation information
• Possess knowledge of resources that can aid in providing informed recommendations based on student needs, such as self-service tools, attendance in new student orientation, active participation in the online student community, and more
• Ensure precise documentation and preservation of information by capturing and recording all interactions in the designated institutional
• Employ a high level of discretion and independent judgement to proficiently evaluate intricate academic and financial situations throughout the student life cycle

How you can be successful

• Successfully complete all assessments included in the training program with a passing score, which is essential for ensuring accurate advising
• Have a genuine passion for students’ success and aiding them in accomplishing their goals is crucial
• Demonstrate the ability to analyze complex problems and develop innovative solutions through advanced critical thinking skills, resulting in improved efficiency and productivity in previous roles
• Collaborate with other departments across various functions to ensure a superior student experience, from the initial application stage to graduation
• Your success will heavily depend on being tech-savvy, as you must possess the ability to effortlessly navigate multiple systems with ease to perform your job
• Adhere with all organizational, state, federal and accrediting body policies and procedures, while actively engaging in the evolution of the organization
• Retains a comprehensive understanding of university programs, prerequisites, course materials, and academic engagement to promote support student success, persistence and program completion
• Demonstrate exceptional self-starter qualities, adeptness to prioritization, and proficiency in time management and problem-solving skills, while upholding a strong commitment to providing outstanding customer service in line with our Culture of Care
• Exhibit strong attention to detail and communication skills, with the ability to articulate and convey student account information
• Remain accountable to meeting and exceeding service level metrics
• Work effectively in a fast-paced environment

Shift Expectations

• Working flexible hours including evening and rotating Saturdays (based on  operating hours of your campus location)
  • The first 6 weeks of training require daily attendance in order to be successful in the role while working 9AM-6PM EST 
  • At the conclusion of training colleagues will work a permanent schedule as follows:

    • 3 shifts 9-5:30 EST

    • 1 shift 10:30-7 EST

    • 1 shift 11:30-8 EST

    • 1 Saturday per month  9-1 EST (flex during the week depending on coverage)  

Minimum Qualifications

• Some college coursework required
• A minimum of 1-year of exceptional customer service or prior advising experience in an education setting
• Eligible to access and maintain the NSLDS system and must not be in default of Title IV Federal aid
• Ability to proficiently use Microsoft Office suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, teams), internet applications, and database software systems
• A work environment free of distractions and interruptions, with no conflicting responsibilities during your scheduled shift
• Home office must be equipped with DSL or Cable Internet that is hardwired into a modem/router via Ethernet and provides the minimum required internet speeds (wireless, satellite or dial-up internet services are not permissible)

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience in a similar role within the higher education
• Title IV funding experience
• Knowledge and experience with online learning
• Experience working in a fast-paced, dynamic call center environment