"Degree Compliance Specialist"

About the Department:

The Office of the University Registrar will actively support and lead change while serving as a strategic partner to those the Office serves, focusing on the ways to become more efficient, effective, and improving services to University constituents.

About the Position:

This position is one of five-degree compliance specialists for the university responsible for reviewing and maintaining accurate degree evaluations. The position also requires performing automated and manual degree compliance reviews. The essence of the position is to accurately review students for graduation, to automate degree requirement checking for university academic programs, and to provide excellent customer service to the campus community. Provide additional and secondary support in administering NCAA compliance and process support.

Responsibilities:

• Process complex academic records transactions that will have a special effect on the degree audit. This includes but is not limited to: BAM transition forms; Part-time/full-time certification of master’s and PhD students; Plans of study, and Advancement to Candidacy.
• Ensures that subsequent graduation processing is not held up or jeopardized by inaccurate handling of these transactions;
• Ensures that the transactions are clear to other staff and the students for whom they are processed;
• Helps to manage Post degree process. This includes but is not limited to: Resolves issues impacting graduation for students in their last semester running reports of students who do not pass their degree evaluation and contacting and working with the department advisor, chair and/or the student; Helps to ensure that graduation processes are run in an accurate and timely manner. All eligible students -- and no ineligible students -- are graduated; and Ensures that graduation information on students’ transcripts is accurate;
• Develops and maintains a highly detailed level of knowledge regarding all academic programs at the university;
• Maintains expertise on BAM requirements, requirements students must fulfill to graduate and the university and college academic policies which affect those requirements;
• Accurately identifies the academic requirements of Mason’s degree programs, especially as they may change with each catalog year;
• Provide high quality customer service in all aspects of the position in spite of an often difficult and aggressive student and faculty clientele;
• Stay within your role, which does not include providing academic advisement to students;
• Promptly return calls/e-mails to department representatives who seek your advice;
• As necessary, meet with students who visit the Registrar’s Office;
• Assist with cross-functional support inside the Registrar’s Office;
• Respond to student emails and other requests;
• Assure that a proactive customer service stance is maintained, in part by predicting problem areas for students;
• While keeping within academic policy and FERPA, say yes as often as possible to student or faculty requests;
• Listen for and answer the unasked parts of questions. Be aware that sometimes the correct answer is a referral to your supervisor or another supervisor in the office;
• Assist in providing the best possible unified service to students from the Registrar’s Office as a whole;
• Assist with degree compliance reports, diploma orders, NCAA support and special projects as they arise; and
• Other related duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree, or an equivalent combination of education and experience;
• Customer service experience, especially with an assertive clientele;
• Experience with degree evaluation and/or student information system software;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills;
• Demonstrated ability to employ logic to solve problems;
• Demonstrated ability to process large volumes of work, while maintaining a high level of accuracy; and
• Be detail-oriented.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with the Ellucian Banner student information system;
• Experience with academic programs and their requirements;
• Experience utilizing degree evaluation software, particularly Degree Works, is strongly preferred;
• Work or other experience that required logic in dealing with complexity; and
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment with conflicting priorities.

Instructions to Applicants:

For full consideration, applicants must apply for Degree Compliance Specialist at https://jobs.gmu.edu/. Complete and submit the online application to include three professional references with contact information, and provide a Cover Letter/Letter of Intent with Resume for review.