LECTURER.2.01 - Academic Advisor at Lecturer level (AC08)

Job Description

The Faculty of Commerce, Law, and Management (CLM) at the University of the Witwatersrand invites applications for the position of Academic Advisor at Lecturer level. The primary focus of the job is to provide holistic support to undergraduate students in the faculty, in order to enhance the learning environment and improve student success by being responsive to student needs and challenges. Candidates will work closely with members of the CLM Teaching and Learning Unit, including other advisors and the Assistant Deans for Teaching and Learning, as well as a range of faculty and institutional stakeholders.

Qualifications and Experience

• A master’s degree, preferably in higher education or a cognate disciplinary field.
• Evidence of completing the Academic Advising Professional Development (AAPD) short learning programme offered by the UFS would be an advantage.
• Experience working as an academic advisor in the South African public higher education sector for at least two years.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the student lifecycle within South African public higher education contexts.
• Proven ability to develop proactive student initiatives and interventions

Academic Advising Duties

• Student advising in one-on-one and group settings, on a variety of topics (e.g., curriculum planning, excellence skills, psychosocial matters, socioeconomic matters).
• Referring students to appropriate interventions and/or stakeholders.
• Creating opportunities for CLM undergraduate students to reflect on the causes of the challenges they face, or to pursue objectives and goals toward their personal success.
• Enabling student agency by providing ongoing guidance and advice to CLM undergraduate students.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Data

• Capturing student engagement data on the Wits Student Success Intervention Portal.
• Developing strategies to monitor and track student progress and success in CLM.
• Proposing, developing, and implementing new student success and support initiatives.
• Monitoring, evaluating, and modifying existing and new student success and support initiatives.
• Assisting with data management and analysis to create reports that will help clarify the needs and challenges of CLM students.
• Monitoring course pass rates and identifying problem areas.

Engagement and Interaction

• Participation in training, workshops, and symposia.
• Participation in relevant committees, working groups, and task teams.
• Participation in the CLM orientation and registration programmes.
• Participation in curriculum development within CLM.
• Liaising with student governance structures.
• Liaising with academic developers in support of Teaching and Learning excellence.
• Working closely with academic, non-academic, and Teaching and Learning Unit staff in CLM to help enhance the holistic experience of CLM undergraduate students.
• Interacting with school and faculty teaching and learning committees, as well as institutional student success stakeholders.

Research

• Conducting research on the scholarship of student success, academic advising, and related topics.
• Publishing research on the scholarship of student success, academic advising, and related topics.
• Attending conferences and symposia, and presenting papers at conferences and symposia about student success and academic advising.
• Demonstrate an ongoing commitment to scholarship through the attainment of higher degrees.

Administrative Duties

• General administration, record keeping, workshop planning, and reporting duties.
• Improving awareness of academic advising within the faculty.
• Manage faculty student success sites on the institutional Learning Management System.
• End-to-end management of projects assigned to individual academic advisors.
• Participate in group project conceptualization, planning, and rollout, which includes taking responsibility for project components assigned to individual advisors.

How to Apply

Submit a covering letter together with a CV that includes the names, addresses and contact details (as well as email addresses) of three referees, and certified copies of qualifications by registering your profile on the Wits i-Recruitment platform located at https://irec.wits.ac.za and submitting your application.