Summary

Temple, TX - DISCO (Discovery, Integration, Success, Community, and Outreach) is the School of Medicine’s integrative academic support program, providing holistic support to medical students. The Senior Academic Services Associate will be responsible for implementing core student services, such as academic coaching and workshops. In addition to programmatic support, the candidate will coach medical students on academic strategies to become better learners.

This is a position that the team member will be meeting independently with students and representing a program that students rely on in often times sensitive situations. This person needs to have the ability to be responsive and consistent both with team and students, and represent this role at the community level. This individual needs to be trustworthy and understand the magnitude of the conversations and scenarios that they will encounter with the students during 1:1s.

The Discovery-Integration-Success-Community-Outreach (DISCO) program was established to provide proactive, holistic student support on-site and remotely to Houston and Temple campuses. DISCO aims to: (a) engage in proactive outreach, (b) increase access to student support, (c) connect students with institutional resources, and (d) normalize seeking academic support. DISCO does this through a variety of offerings, including 1-1 academic advising and support meetings, class wide programming (including a Pro-Matriculation Program, the Acclimating to Medicine series, and other workshops supporting milestones in the curriculum) and distribution of study resources. Through ongoing partnership, we work to make sure students are connected with the many resources and supports throughout BCM.

Job Duties

Academic Coaching:

• As a learning specialist, provides 1:1 academic coaching and develops individual plans to support School of Medicine students.
• Serves as an academic coach spending approximately 50%-time coaching students on active learning strategies, test taking strategies, time management assistance, etc.
• Refers students, as appropriate, for specialized services (disability accommodations, mental health assessments).
• Supports DISCO services (e.g., peer tutoring, workshops, etc.) for BCM School of Medicine students (Temple and Houston).

Program Support - General:

• Maintains and enhances events, services, programs, and opportunities to support students during transition to medical school and throughout their program.
• As a member of the team, supports DISCO services (e.g., peer tutoring, workshops, etc.) and 3rd party resources for BCM School of Medicine students (Temple and Houston).
• Collaborates with DISCO leadership to assess and develop academic and support resources and services aligned with curriculum and academic standards.
• Ensures programs and other student services align with and meet compliance and accreditation guidelines.
• Answers student questions through e-mail, phone calls, and in-person consultations.

Program Support - Strategic:

• Supports DISCO assessment strategies by working with the team to ensure evaluation and collection of identified metrics to demonstrate quality and outcomes of programming.
• Develops marketing materials to engage learners in utilizing academic support resources and services for both print and web.
• In collaboration with DISCO leadership, develops communications for students.

Office Support:

• Provides administrative and logistical support to all BCM Student Affairs office events (Orientation, Family Day, White Coat Ceremony, Match Day, Graduation, etc.).
• Reports to Senior Manager on OSA initiatives and events. o Partners with Senior Academic Services Associate on communications and marketing.
• Partners with Coordinator, Program Management regarding events and activity logistics.
• Performs other job-related duties as assigned by Director DISCO, Senior Manager, and Student Affairs Deans.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree.
• Four years of relevant experience.

Preferred Qualifications and Skills

• Master's Degree in Education, Psychology, Student Affairs or related field with demonstrated knowledge of coaching models that support student success.
• Experience in an academic setting providing academic support or student development assistance.
• Experience in conducting educational workshops, seminars, and/or small group sessions.
• Experience in working with tutoring and/or peer assisted learning programs.
• Experience and demonstrated achievement as an academic coach or experience working with students as an educator or in another capacity to promote student academic success.
• Experience in working with individuals from varied backgrounds.
• Experience in exercising discretion and sound judgment when handling confidential issues.
• Experience working with graduate students, medical students or other professional students.
• Experience with standardized examinations (e.g. GRE, MAT, NBME Subject examinations, USMLE Step 1, Step 2 and Step 3).
• Ability to communicate and work as part of a team with students and colleagues.
• Detail-oriented and excellent time management skills.
• Ability to engage in sensitive and complex problems solving including flexibility to meeting various needs of students.