"First Year Academic Advisor and Success Coach"

JOB SUMMARY

The First-Year Academic Advisor provides proactive, holistic support to first-year undergraduate students at New Mexico Tech. This position provides information and advice to students concerning academic plans and progress, academic schedule, choice of major, and other academic activities and career goals. The Advisor supports students through their academic and social transition from high school to college, with an emphasis on personalized advising, early intervention, and student engagement. The Advisor helps students with the planning of schedules, recommending courses, and determining appropriate education solutions; assists with new student orientations; and helps students select major and minor programs and develop study plans. The advisor serves as a key resource in fostering a sense of belonging, academic confidence, and progress toward retention, persistence, and degree completion. This position reports to the Dean for Student Success Initiatives and collaborates closely with faculty, staff, and campus partners to design, implement, and assess programs that improve student success metrics. The Advisor contributes to institutional efforts to enhance retention, course completion, and graduation rates, while maintaining accurate records and leveraging technologies to monitor student progress.

JOB FUNCTIONS

First-Year Academic Advising

• Provide individualized academic advising for all incoming first-year students, including course planning, registration, and guidance on institutional policies and degree requirements.
• Assist students in identifying academic strengths, interests, and goals that support their transition and success.
• Monitor academic performance and proactively reach out to students experiencing difficulty, connecting them to appropriate resources.
• Maintain accurate advising records in institutional systems (e.g., DegreeWorks, CourseDog).
• Data management Track student participation, retention outcomes, and advising touchpoints for continuous improvement of first-year initiatives.
• Assist in the assessment of advising and coaching programs to ensure effectiveness and student satisfaction.

First-Year Success Coaching

• Conduct one-on-one student success coaching sessions focused on academic skill-building, time management, motivation, study habits, and goal setting.
• Collaborate with faculty and staff to support early-alert interventions and design individualized success plans.
• Foster student development through meaningful conversations that promote resilience, self-efficacy, and personal responsibility.
• Stay informed on national best practices for first-year support and academic advising.
• Consistent communication with faculty advisors to facilitate the transition to the faculty advisor within academic department

First-Year Programs and Transition Support

• Support the coordination and delivery of first-year experience initiatives such as orientation, welcome week, academic skills workshops, and first year learning communities.
• Develop and deliver programming to promote academic engagement and a sense of belonging, particularly for underrepresented and first generation students.
• Serve as a liaison with residence life, faculty advisors, and campus support offices to streamline support for first-year students.

Student Support

• Serve as a resource for students, identifying at-risk scenarios, advocating for their needs.
• Proactively connecting them with campus services, such as Financial Aid, Tutoring, and Counseling.
• Coordinating and facilitating success programming with Student Success Services and the Office of Student Learning.

Other duties as assigned included but not limited to

• Serve on relevant institutional committees and contribute to strategic planning for student success.
• Participate in ongoing professional development related to advising, student development, and first-year success.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Education, Counseling or STEM related field.
• At least two (2) years of progressive experience in academic advising, student success coaching, counseling, or related support services in a higher education setting.
• Demonstrated ability to support first-year students in a holistic, inclusive, and strengths-based manner.
• Strong communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s degree in Education, Counseling or STEM related field.
• Experience working with first-generation, underrepresented, or STEM students.
• Knowledge of first-year transition theories, advising models, or high impact practices.
• Proficiency in advising and student information systems (e.g., DegreeWorks, Ellucian, Slate).
• Bilingual in English and Spanish.