Director of Advising

As a part of a diverse community of faculty and staff who represent many faith systems and worldviews, Marian University seeks a Director of Academic Advising to promote our Catholic Franciscan mission and identity by leading, coordinating, and strengthening academic advising practices that support student success, engagement, retention, persistence, and holistic development across the university.

The Director of Academic Advising provides leadership, coordination, and support for advising practices across the university with a focus on developmental advising, faculty and staff advisor support, and student success initiatives. This position partners closely with faculty, staff advisors, academic units, Student Success & Engagement, and the Registrar to strengthen advising systems, processes, and student support structures institution-wide. Additionally, the Director advises a cohort of exploratory or undecided students, designs and facilitates advisor training and development opportunities, supports advising-related programming and initiatives, and uses advising and institutional data to evaluate effectiveness, inform decision-making, and promote continuous improvement in academic advising practices. The ideal candidate is a collaborative leader with strong communication, organizational, and relational skills who can effectively engage diverse populations while fostering a student-centered advising culture.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

• Actively engage the Catholic Franciscan mission and identity of Marian University by modeling the Franciscan Sponsorship Values and honoring the legacy of the founding congregation through transformative education, unity in diversity, leadership through service, integrating faith and life, and institutional policies.
• Coordinate & Strengthen Advising Practices: Provide leadership and coordination for advising practices across the university by supporting a developmental advising model that emphasizes student growth, purpose, vocation, engagement, and success.
• Advise & Support Students: Advise a cohort of exploratory or undecided students through coaching, mentoring, and developmental advising conversations that help students navigate academic pathways, personal decision-making, and vocational exploration.
• Design & Facilitate Advisor Training: Design, organize, and facilitate training and professional development opportunities for new and returning faculty advisors and professional staff advisors focused on effective advising practices, university systems, student support strategies, and developmental advising approaches.
• Support Faculty & Professional Advisors: Serve as a liaison and resource for faculty advisors, academic units, and Student Success & Engagement staff by providing consultation, guidance, and support related to advising challenges, student concerns, and difficult advising conversations.
• Advance Advising Strategy & Consistency: Support the development and communication of advising strategies, practices, and resources that promote a consistent advisor-student experience across academic programs and align with institutional goals related to retention, graduation, and student engagement.
• Lead Advising Initiatives & Student Engagement Programming: Support or coordinate advising-related initiatives and student engagement programming such as orientation activities, academic exploration events, faculty-student engagement opportunities, and other programs that foster intellectual curiosity, belonging, and student connection.
• Support Advising Infrastructure & Processes: Partner closely with the Registrar and other university offices to support advising systems, policies, processes, four-year academic planning efforts, and advisor understanding of curricular pathways, sequencing, and university requirements.
• Use Data for Assessment & Continuous Improvement: Monitor advising outcomes and utilize institutional and advising-related data to assess effectiveness, evaluate interventions, enhance advising practices, improve SPARK alert utilization, develop advising dashboards and reports, and support accreditation and student success initiatives.

University Expectations:

• Knowledge of and commitment to the mission of Marian University
• Adheres to Marian University’s policy and procedures
• Shows courtesy and respect in interactions with fellow employees, students subordinates, and supervisors
• Communicates regularly with supervisor about department issues
• Meets department productivity standards
• Participates in developing department goals, objectives, and systems
• Assists to establish department measurements that align and support the accomplishment of the University’s strategic goals
• Adheres to the department budget

Required Qualifications:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.  The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Master’s degree required. Degree in Higher Education, Student Affairs, Counseling, Educational Leadership, or related field preferred. Candidates with significant experience in academic advising in higher education are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Minimum of 3–5 years of professional experience in academic advising, student success, higher education, or related student-facing roles required.
• Knowledge of developmental advising models, NACADA core competencies, student development theory, and best practices in academic advising.
• Experience designing and facilitating training, workshops, or professional development initiatives.
• Demonstrated understanding of developmental advising practices that support student growth, persistence, engagement, and vocation exploration.
• Demonstrated ability to build supportive relationships with students, faculty, and staff through effective interpersonal communication, empathy, active listening, and collaborative problem solving.
• Ability to interpret curriculum requirements, academic policies, and degree progression requirements and effectively communicate them to students and advisors.
• Experience using data to assess student success initiatives, advising effectiveness, and/or retention outcomes.

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.   

For Consideration All Applications Require:  

1. Cover Letter
2. Current resume or CV
3. Contact information of three professional references.  The reference contact information must be entered after the application is submitted in the "My Presence" section of the applicant profile.
4. Responses to the supplementary mission & identity questions.

Please Review Marian University’s Mission & Identity Statement before responding to the supplementary questions on your application:  

https://www.marian.edu/faith 

Essential Functions:
Work hours necessary to perform job requirements satisfactorily on a regular basis.  Manage absence from work in responsible manner to ensure service to clients, work teams, and coworkers.  Comply with Marian University policies and practices and seeking clarification of them when necessary.

Physical Requirements:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use their hands to handle or feel objects, equipment, or controls; and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, reach with their hands and arms, climb or balance, and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.

The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.  Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment:
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Limitations and Disclaimer:
The above job description is meant to describe the general nature and level of work being performed; it is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required for the position.

All job requirements are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities.  Some requirements may exclude individuals who pose a direct threat or significant risk to the health and safety of themselves or other employees.

This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee occupying this position.  Employees will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform other job-related duties requested by their supervisor in compliance with Federal and States Laws.

Requirements are representative of minimum levels of knowledge, skills and/or abilities.  To perform this job successfully, the employee must possess the abilities or aptitudes to perform each duty proficiently.  Continued employment remains on an “at-will” basis.

Marian University is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All individuals, including minorities, women, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply.