"Graduate Program Coordinator"

A cover letter is required for consideration for this position. Your cover letter should be at most 1 page and should be attached to your resume. The cover letter should address your specific interest, skills, and experience related to the position.

The Department of History at the University of Michigan is one of the premier and largest History departments in the world. We are a diverse intellectual community dedicated to excellence through research and teaching; learn more about the department at http://www.lsa.umich.edu/history/.

We seek a team member who:

• embraces the mission and vision of LSA and the department of History, and the principles of integrity & trust, accountability & sound judgment, collaboration & innovation, and positive & engaged community.
• has an innovative and flexible approach to work.
• enjoys working with quickly evolving projects and is comfortable taking action in a growing and changing workplace.
• has a high level of initiative, discretion, accountability, and sound judgment regarding sensitive and confidential matters.

The Graduate Program Coordinator has operational responsibility for monitoring academic progress and maintaining academic records for the Department of Historys graduate program, our interdisciplinary program, Anthro-History, and joint programs in Ancient History and Womens and Gender Studies. This position is also responsible for troubleshooting any problems graduate students may have in relation to academic progress. The Coordinator works closely with the Director of Graduate Studies to provide support for the graduate program in History and serves as the first point of contact for all prospective and current graduate student inquiries. The History Department depends on our staff to work successfully in a team environment as well as work independently with minimal supervision.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

Directly reporting to the Student Services Manager, the Graduate Coordinator oversees the graduate admissions (300-325 annually) process. The Graduate Coordinator is the first point of contact for applicants for both the History and Anthro-History programs; triaging inquiries, ensuring applications are complete, and monitoring the admissions information on the History and Anthro-History websites. This position provides support to the admissions committees. This includes managing the application evaluation process, providing reports as needed, and maintaining admissions statistics. Additional responsibilities include entering admission decisions and running admission evaluation queries in Wolverine Access and communicating with applicants throughout the decision process.

15% Manage Graduate Recruitment: coordinate, along with the relevant History staff, travel, lodging, and event planning for students during visit weekend; prepare packets for each visitor; organize individual appointments for each visitor with several faculty and current graduate students; monitor budget and expenditures.

20% Maintain Graduate Student Records: audit and maintain student files; track and monitor students progress to degree; interpret policies and advise students regarding Rackham and departmental requirements; assist students with problems concerning registration, records and other matters; assist off-site students through email and/or Zoom; assist students and faculty with scheduling departmental exams and defenses; provide students with letters for off-campus research and/or introduction; maintain department alumni database.

65% Provide Support Services to the Graduate Program:

• Assist the Student Services Manager and the Director of Graduate Studies with special initiatives.
• Manage student progress milestones (screening, prelims, prospectus defense, and dissertation defense) and correspondence; design and revise databases, forms, and spreadsheets.
• Answer all inquiries from prospective students regarding the graduate program.
• Update admissions information and the graduate student handbook.
• Communicate with student services staff for the joint/history programs concerning student progress and admissions activities.
• Coordinate orientation activities for incoming graduate students.
• Coordinate the PhD Graduation Ceremony
• Compile data for program surveys and in the preparation of annual student reviews.
• Plan and supervise the work of student employees when they are working in the graduate area.
• Maintain email groups and mailboxes.
• Edit the graduate program and student profiles on the departments website and update/design recruiting and reference materials related to the graduate program.
• Interpret University, College, Rackham, and Departmental policies for faculty, staff, students, and student applicants.
• Other related duties as necessary.
• It is expected that the Graduate Coordinator will participate in annual and monthly trainings/meetings to stay current on University and College policies and best practices, such as the Rackham Graduate Coordinator Forum and LGrad (LSA Graduate Staff) meetings. As a member of our student services team, they must be willing to assist in any area of student services if needed.

The successful candidate will have experience working in a higher education environment, preferably in graduate student affairs. This position requires an extremely high level of organizational skills and a high degree of confidentiality. Outstanding interpersonal, professional conduct, and communication skills are required.

Excellent communication skills are required. The successful candidate will have demonstrated ability to maintain a professional manner under stress, to set priorities while working on multiple projects, to maintain accuracy through repeated interruptions; the ability to produce accurate work with strong attention to detail; and the ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing to a diverse group, including prospective and current students, faculty, and staff. The candidate must be a self-starter; have excellent organizational skills; be able to set priorities and handle multiple assignments and deadlines; learn quickly; show initiative; have the desire to identify opportunities for changes to processes, procedures, and duties; and be willing to assume additional responsibilities. Strong computer skills are necessary, including proficiency with Microsoft Excel and Word, and Google products such as its mail, calendar, spreadsheets, forms, and shared docs.

A bachelors degree or equivalent combination of education and experience, with a minimum of four years experience in an academic setting, is strongly desired. Previous work experience in student services administration, with experience with graduate student programs a plus. Experience with M-Pathways student administration systems, M-Pathways financial systems, and knowledge of University and Rackham policies and administrative procedures is highly preferred.

A successful candidate will be a critical thinker, an innovative problem-solver, and will demonstrate the initiative to suggest, develop, and enact improvements to our programs. This person should be flexible and comfortable with the reasonable level of change that accompanies and enables our departments success. An interest in a career in student services and higher education is expected. A background or interest in historical studies is a plus.

The salary range for this position is $47,600 to $59,500, please note a higher salary may be offered for highly qualified candidates.