College Adviser, NC Hybrid Program
Join us in our mission to empower low-income, first-generation college, and underrepresented high school students to identify and pursue higher education opportunities. At College Advising Corps (CAC), we believe that every student deserves the opportunity to enter and complete higher education and work to support their journey as they navigate the complex processes of admissions, financial aid, and enrollment.
Through our university affiliates, CAC matches advisers from our corps of recent college graduates with under-resourced high schools to help students find and pursue their best higher education path. CAC near-peer advisers are embedded into low-income, underserved high schools for a 1–2-year service engagement or work virtually as full-time college advisers that serve all students.
Our work is not just a vocation. It is a mission. Higher education remains the most effective and sustainable path to boost economic mobility, transform lives, and increase civic engagement to drive a more equitable society. By increasing access we are changing the life trajectories of young people nationwide. Learn more at https://collegeadvisingcorps.org.
POSITION SUMMARY
Advisers serve as full-time college advisers for underserved high schools focused on assisting low-income, first-generation college and underrepresented students by delivering personalized, knowledgeable guidance on college admission, financial aid, and enrollment. Advisers become part of their school community, collaborate with teachers and administrators, devise creative approaches to reach and connect with students and families, and play an integral role in changing the lives of the students they serve.
DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
- Provide consultation to students and their families throughout the college application, selection, and enrollment processes through both individual contact and/or by organizing events and activities
- Engage frequently with students and families both in-person and virtually
- Visit classrooms, assemblies, and student organization meetings to present and offer college advising services
- Respond to student responses to the CAC chatbot
- Connect students to resources and services in support of individual student success
- Coordinate information to assist students and parents with navigating the financial aid process
- Proactively work with students in post-secondary planning
- Maintain records on a weekly basis in CAC’s GRACE database regarding college advising services delivered to students to track progress on CAC’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Generate reports to inform data-driven advising practices and monitor progress toward student milestones.
- Update stakeholders verbally, visually, and digitally on caseload progress
- Collaborate with colleagues to build helpful tools, best practices, and approaches to problem-solving, and codify student milestone attainment
- Fully participate in meetings, committee work, and training sessions to collaborate with internal and external peers and partners and advance professional knowledge
QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor’s Degree
- Prior experience with college access field
- Recent college graduate and earned high school diploma no earlier than 2017
- Proficiency and comfort with Microsoft Office (particularly Teams, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint); data management platforms; social media platforms; basic web technology; and Google tools (Hangouts, Google Voice, Drive, Forms, etc.)
PREFERRED PROFESSIONAL QUALITIES & SKILLS
- Highly motivated, organized, and independent
- Results-driven
- Outstanding interpersonal communication skills – both verbal and written
- Strong desire to serve and support diverse populations
- Ability to motivate and inspire high school students and confidently engage their parents/guardians
- Dedicated to an interdisciplinary, collaborative approach
- A team player who is energetic, hard-working and enthusiastic
- Passion for maintaining programmatic excellence
- Enjoys working with individuals of diverse backgrounds
- Ability to manage multiple projects and assignments simultaneously, often with competing deadlines
- Willingness to engage digitally to establish rapport and grow relationships with colleagues in a virtual work environment
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
- Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer
- Ability and willingness to travel both in and out of state
- Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times