About UMass Amherst

UMass Amherst, the Commonwealth's flagship campus, is a nationally ranked public research university offering a full range of undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University sits on nearly 1,450-acres in the scenic Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, and offers a rich cultural environment in a bucolic setting close to major urban centers. In addition, the University is part of the Five Colleges (including Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, and Smith College), which adds to the intellectual energy of the region.

Job Summary

The School of Public Policy's (SPP) Admissions Counselor supports all aspects of the multi-deadline application and pre-enrollment processes for the School's graduate programs, supporting the conversion of domestic and international applicants to enrolled students.

Essential Functions

• Supports the student application completion process and serves as the admission and financial aid advisor for prospective and newly accepted students. Maintains admission process tracking data and works with partners to provide student services and communications during the pre-enrollment lifecycle of a student.
• Serves as an interface between multiple university offices to provide student services that leads to a high rate of application completion and enrollment conversion.
• Creates and maintains admissions procedures for the graduate programs. Evaluates domestic and international students' academic records including foreign transcript review. Reviews admission documents for completeness. Follows up regularly with the applicants on required documents for timely completion of the application.
• Manages application triage and renders admissions decisions when appropriate based on established criteria or coordinates with admission committees for review and decisions about admissions and financial aid support to applicants.
• Tracks and manages admissions offers and deposits to optimize established enrollment yield goals. Facilitates student record creation and communicates application status and decisions.
• Facilitates visa document issuance to international students.
• Trains and supervises student staff. Supports and participates in admissions and yield related events as required.

Other Functions

• Supports special projects based on the needs of the School and other duties as assigned by supervisors.
• Serves in a back-up role for other School staff as appropriate and needed.

Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience, Certifications, Licensure)

• Bachelor's Degree and 1 year of administrative experience.
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills with the ability to create and maintain harmonious relationships with a diverse population of staff, faculty, students and off-campus constituents and work both independently and to be part of an effective team.
• Flexibility to work with initiative and willingness to take on a variety of tasks related to the successful operation and administration of the unit. Ability to work effectively under pressure and varying situations with independence, competent judgment and discretion.
• Extensive organizational skills and attention to detail with the ability to complete assignments in a timely manner, balancing the demands of concurrent and potentially competing projects.
• Excellent writing skills with the ability to effectively communicate critical messaging to a student audience.
• Ability to collect data from multiple sources and create new reports that add value to program goals. Excellent computer usage skills including email, spreadsheets (including formulas), word processing, and databases.
• Ability to investigate a situation, seek out additional information, and resolve discrepancies. Ability to think through problems, organize information, identify key factors and underlying causes to generate solutions.
• Ability to read, understand, apply and explain rules, regulations and policies/procedures related to duties. Ability to understand and follow complex oral and written instructions and create effective and efficient work processes. Ability to exercise sound judgment and maintain confidentiality.

Preferred Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience, Certifications, Licensure)

• Experience working in higher education.
• Experience in admissions and application processing.
• Familiarity with international academic documents.
• Customer service experience.
• Experience working CRM application management process.

Physical Demands/Working Conditions

• Typical office work environment.

Work Schedule

• Monday - Friday 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.
• Required to work occasional nights or weekends.
• This position has the opportunity for a hybrid work schedule, which is defined by the University as an arrangement where an employee's work is regularly performed at a location other than the campus workspace for a portion of the week. As this position falls within the Professional Staff Union, it is subject to the terms and conditions of the Professional Staff Union collective bargaining agreement.

Salary Information

Level 25

PSU Hiring Ranges

Special Instructions to Applicants

Along with the application, please submit a resume, cover letter and contact information for three (3) professional references. The search will remain open until the position is filled.

UMass Amherst is committed to a policy of equal opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, caste, creed, sex, age, marital status, national origin, disability, political belief or affiliation, pregnancy and pregnancy-related condition(s), veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, genetic information, natural and protective hairstyle and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination in employment, admission to and participation in academic programs, activities, and services, and the selection of vendors who provide services or products to the University. To fulfill that policy, UMass Amherst is further committed to a program of affirmative action to eliminate or mitigate artificial barriers and to increase opportunities for the recruitment and advancement of qualified minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and covered veterans. It is the policy of UMass Amherst to comply with the applicable federal and state statutes, rules, and regulations concerning equal opportunity and affirmative action.

Advertised: Nov 30 2023 Eastern Standard Time

Applications close: