POSITION IDENTIFICATION
TITLE Success Coach - Graduate College
CLASSIFICATION NUMBER 2390
GRADE 42
CLASSIFICATION Exempt
IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR Dean of the Graduate College
GENERAL FUNCTION
The Success Coach - Graduate College reports to the Dean of the Graduate College and is a key player in supporting the success and persistence of graduate students. The Success Coach manages a caseload of graduate students and works proactively with these graduate students and graduate program directors to promote academic planning connected to long-term career goals. The Success Coach monitors academic progress and graduate student success and prioritizes graduate students accordingly in determining levels and methods of outreach to employ. The Success Coach ensures graduate students are best positioned for success and provides proactive outreach to graduate students on college policies, procedures, and program requirements. Utilizing highly responsive, holistic success coaching, the Success Coach focuses on individual graduate student needs and barriers to success inside and outside the classroom - including learning strategies, time management and organization, self-regulation, and self-efficacy.
MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE QUALIFICATIONS
Education/Experience: A Master’s degree and at least one year of experience with teaching, mentoring, advising, career counseling, and/or providing graduate student services is required. Experience in a higher education setting is preferred. An equivalent combination of years of education and experience may be considered for substitution of educational requirements.
Skills: Ability to work interactively with graduate students using best practices for advising, Success Coaching, graduate student seminars, academic support, and/or career development is required. Highly collaborative, with proven ability to work collegially with graduate students, faculty, and staff is required. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, written and verbal, in individual and group settings, including ability to deal tactfully with and motivate graduate student integrity and encourage good organizational skills is required. Graduate student-centered commitment to the goals of education is required. Ability to work independently and handle multiple tasks is required.
Other: Position is contingent upon funding with a current limit of 2 years..
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Engages and supports graduate students through proactive referral to appropriate resources, intrusive interventions, timely reminders, and other targeted individual and group communications using texting, phone calls, voice mail, and social media.2. Works with graduate students, in collaboration with faculty and staff, to promote the planning of intentional academic pathways.
3. Ensures graduate students are aware of university procedures and policies, including registration, faculty advising, and academic standing, through proactive outreach.
4. Evaluates individual graduate student progress and work collaboratively with other university graduate student support and graduate student alert processes.
5. Coordinates with faculty and staff to provide training programs tied to academic success and persistence, skill development, and exploration of career pathways.
6. Fosters graduate student retention and graduate student degree completion by maintaining a caseload of graduate students and monitoring progress of graduate students with check-ins, scheduled meetings or proactive outreach and communication, responding to graduate students’ questions, concerns and needs.
7. Conducts success coaching through individual or group sessions that help graduate students assess their own performance and develop academic success plans.
8. Assists graduate students in developing self-efficacy by identifying and overcoming obstacles that may be impeding academic success; works with graduate students to learn strong time management and organization skills; motivates graduate students to practice self-regulation and take ownership of their academic success.
9. Leads graduate students in identifying, developing, and implementing learning strategies and study skills specific to course materials.
10. Serves as a liaison between graduate students and academic personnel and support resources and collaborates with others to monitor and accelerate the academic progress of the graduate students referred.
11. Will assist transfer graduate students with comprehensive information that will promote completion or undecided graduate students in accessing resources to help with career planning and decision-making.
12. Remains competent and current through self-directed professional reading, developing professional contacts with colleagues, attending professional development courses, and attending training and/or courses required by the supervisor.
13. Contributes to the overall success of Graduate College by performing all other duties and responsibilities as assigned.
SUPERVISION
The Success Coach - Graduate College may sometimes supervise student workers.
OFFICE OF HUMAN RESOURCES
FEBRUARY 2026
