Manager, Student Support & Advising

Manager, Student Support & Advising

The Manager, Student Support & Advising supports UBC’s strategic plan as it pertains to the University’s goals to lead and enable student excellence through advising, while also achieving agility in academic support and administration through well-designed service improvements. The Manager, Student Support & Advising will develop and assess innovative financial assistance programs, collaborate on the implementation of Indigenous strategic projects, increase student engagement, support system renewal and operationally lead a high-quality service to students and recipients of award funding at UBC. Further, this position supports UBC’s goals to attract, engage and retain a diverse and outstanding student population.

The Manager, Student Support & Advising is a key member of the Student Support & Advising Management team, often representing Student Support & Advising in efforts with other Enrolment Services and UBC units, faculty, and staff across both UBC campuses, in addition to external campus partners. The Manager, Student Support & Advising reports to the Associate Registrar and Director, Student Support & Advising and works collaboratively with other members of the Student Support & Advising Management Team, managers from other units within Enrolment Services on continuing initiatives such as debt relief programs, advising and technology implementation for BC based students, as well as on projects when required, and liaises with senior administrators within the Faculties and within other units to ensure accurate and efficient delivery of Student Support & Advising practices.

Provide Leadership & Expertise within the Student Support & Advising Office - Leads, motivates, and supervises team of Enrolment Services Advisors, Associate Enrolment Services Advisors and Enrolment Services Coordinators within Student Support & Advising to achieve the University’s service excellence and student engagement goals. Directs priority setting, distribution of work, attendance management, and mediation of issues and conflict amongst team members. Responsible for the screening and interviewing of applicants for permanent and contract M&P and CUPE2950 staff positions. Designs, implements and evaluates staff training and orientation and ongoing staff development. Provides performance feedback to direct reports in line with Enrolment Service’s performance development conversations approach. Proactively evaluates existing Student Support & Advising processes and identifies opportunities for improvement. Develops business practices designed to facilitate provincial, territorial and federal student loan funding for qualified applicants. Develops, recommends and implements changes to Student Support & Advising procedures with the support of the Associate Director in order to support the unit’s goal of accurate and timely advising to student population groups. Monitors output against unit key performance indicators to ensure achievement of high-quality service to students and strategic student support goals for the institution. Effectively prioritizes work, and the work of team members, to successfully manage high volumes of inquiries and challenges throughout the entire calendar year. Collaborates internally with colleagues to debate and test understanding of external (i.e. federal loan policies for each province) and internal (i.e. BC student loan funding) factors to build consensus. Builds capacity and provides leadership to oversee the evaluations of a particular applicant group.

Evaluate and Manage Awards, Financial Assistance Programs and Related Projects - Conducts comprehensive applicant assessment (academic and non-academic) to determine eligibility for over 8,000 applicants to multiple direct-entry and continuing award programs which can range to over $100,000 in value per student. Applies complex evaluation criteria and independent judgement to render Student Support & Advising decisions that support student success and align with Senate-mandated award policies and credit load criteria. Provides oversight to Student Support & Advising Advisors on assessment and acts as first point of escalation for extremely sensitive or unusual matters. Conducts qualitative evaluation of the applicant’s personal profile to assess non-academic variables designed to assess students’ potential for success at UBC. Presents expertise on federal and provincial loan policies across Canada, and federal loan administration for the USA. Includes outreach to the US Department of Education government agencies responsible for public and private student loan funding to evaluate the appropriateness of funding for American students studying at UBC. Stays current on a variety of reference materials available in print, on the web, higher education literature, and through professional development workshops and conferences. Independent reading of journals and other reference materials is required. Stays current on emerging trends in post-secondary financial aid in Canada and the USA to anticipate the development of new Student Support & Advising practice/policy. Uses sound judgement and analysis to provide advice to senior administration in Enrolment Services, Faculty administrators, and departments on more complex cases. Includes the creation of case-by-case Student Support & Advising protocols for students who cannot present traditional award documentation and do not meet prescribed award eligibility policies. May require liaison with external partners to render a decision. Acts as point of escalation for other Student Support & Advising staff on especially complex cases. Assesses an applicant’s holistic award application in order to proactively make an alternate award offer (i.e. an offer of award that the applicant did not apply to) that aligns with both the applicant’s educational goals and the institution’s enrolment goals. Works strategically with varying external bodies and internally through analysis of applicant and school information to create policy and practice that identify fraudulent award applicant behaviour that may damage the university’s reputation and protect against financial losses. Identifies individual cases of applicant fraud for internal assessment of student misconduct. Manages $10M sponsorship portfolio in support of both the Vancouver and Okanagan campus. Must be familiar with international funding practices and Indigenous band funding policies. Works cooperatively with members of the university community to assist in adjudicating high value awards, loan eligibility and program of study for a variety of purposes, including partnership and exchange programs, scholarships, and awards. Conducts subsequent analyses (both quantitative and qualitative) to evaluate award and bursary decision offers against student performance and retention. Uses analyses to advise Faculties, update funding policy and practice for merit, needs based and hybrid awards.

Advise Prospective Students and Applicants - Advises prospective students, parents, staff, educators, and the general public about current awards and loan requirements, changing policies, bursary programs, and alternate funding options as they relate to applications for admission in a variety of settings (Welcome Centre, recruitment events on- and off-campus, counsellor events, etc). Recruitment events require effective, professional public speaking in front of large or small audiences. Applies expert-level knowledge and understanding of complex award / loan program requirements and policies in making appropriate responses to inquiries from applicants and key stakeholders. Offers advice based on individual assessment of each student’s unique situation as it relates to their needs of the University. Investigates and resolves complex, often sensitive, problems relating to obtaining financial information, immigration documents, prior loan history, availability of tax information and University regulations. Advises applicants of unfavorable decisions and provides counselling on alternative funding opportunities and how to prepare for studies at UBC. Explains in detail the reasons the application was not successful to applicants, counsellors, and when appropriate, parents. Develops and delivers presentations on various aspects of Student Support & Advising to various audiences including prospective students, counsellors, faculty, staff and external audiences including colleagues from other institutions both nationally and internationally (conferences), government, and others.

Reviews Policy and Drafts proposals for Policy Change - Reviews awards and loan criteria to ensure consistency with UBC’s mission statement, academic objectives, and organizational strategies. Identifies areas where existing policies are a barrier to achieving the University’s strategic goals, and makes recommendations for improvements to ensure that UBC remains competitive in the recruitment and retention of applicants from around the world. Establishes and maintains thorough knowledge and comprehension of all UBC policies related to awards and loans to students in all undergraduate, graduate and professional programs. Interprets University and Faculty policies and procedures and provides guidance and interpretation of same to students, counsellors, and staff. Conducts research, and directs the research of team members, on loan policies from various countries in support of policy change. Summarizes complex information in concise documents and presentations for Senate Awards Committee and other bodies as appropriate. Performs other related duties as required.