Penn State Job Catalog

The defined natural career progression within or between job profiles.

Graduate Enrollment Services

The Graduate Enrollment Services (GES) Coordinator is responsible for graduate student records from graduate programs, University-wide. Positions in this job profile have three distinct functions that follow the graduate student lifecycle: Admissions, Records, and Theses and Dissertations. To maintain the academic integrity of graduate education, the GES Coordinator interprets and applies graduate education policy throughout the lifecycle from admissions, matriculation, degree milestones and benchmarks, to graduation. The Coordinator verifies applications and records for eligibility and compliance, addresses non-compliance, resolves complex issues, and handles a large volume of inquiries from prospective students, graduate programs, and graduate students.

• Serve as the point of contact for a cohort of graduate students and college partners
• Manage a large volume of complex graduate student records
• Make independent decisions on the resolution of student issues, collecting information on academic policy and applying that to graduate student milestones
• Evaluate and analyze data for exceptions to academic and administrative policies and academic milestones
• Lead the collection of data to address academic issues
• Communicate solutions to academic programs and students to resolve issues
• Participate in ongoing quality control conversations and provide feedback and solutions to problems about best practices for graduate records
• Serve as a liaison between the Graduate School, Registrar, Bursar, World Campus, and academic departments and programs regarding all graduate student record issues
• Develop and deliver training on system and policy interpretation and application regarding academic and administrative policy and technology processes
• Understand and explain complex and ever evolving academic policies to college program partners, students, and internal graduate school colleagues
• May process graduate admission decisions including credential verification; research information on educational graduation documents from domestic and foreign institutions
• May evaluate academic records for authenticity; approve admission of applicants for all specialized programs
• May identify duplicate records; approve and process re-enrollment applications, change of major/degree requests, and admission deferrals and revocations
• May oversee the milestone processes for graduate students including exams, committees, Integrated Undergraduate/Graduate Programs (IUG), minors, dual degrees, options, multi-step graduation verification process, and specialty processes, such as degree certifications
• May manage a portfolio of complex IUG/Joint degrees and validate external transfer credits
• May review and approve theses and dissertations for required standards; identify corrections needed to comply with the Office of Theses and Dissertations guidelines and provide ongoing communication with students through the completion of the thesis and dissertation approval process
• May develop creative solutions to resolve problems regarding formatting and submission issues; update submission guides; maintain and update the Graduate School website on Thesis and Dissertation Information
• May present at formatting workshops and trainings in support of theses and dissertations, as needed
• May supervise staff members, including hiring, development, and performance management

Level:

– Supervisor

Base Description:

– Supervises direct reports, but primarily completes activities, tasks, and/or projects of a functional nature.

Level Summary:

– Demonstrates appropriate knowledge to perform own work; spends majority of time on tasks related to own job responsibilities. Demonstrates baseline planning, organizing, directing, and facilitating skills. Reviews completed work of others to verify accuracy and quality. Follows recommended approaches to assigned work. Supervises assigned staff and coordinates routine work activities. Monitors employee interactions and facilitates a productive working environment. Communicates instructions and policies in a consistent, effective and timely manner. Identifies and addresses concerns appropriately. Makes recommendations for possible solutions.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

– Typically oversees at least 2 full–time direct reports or equivalent team of part–time and/or student workers (for Support track, performs work at Senior Support level or higher; for Professional track, performs work at the Advanced Professional level or higher)

Fiscal Responsibilities:

– May validate and pay invoices
– May monitor/track budgets for specific area and/or grant(s)

Problem Solving:

– Encounters generally routine problems with progressively more complex and/or varied problems
– Typically follows standard operating procedures to resolve problems
– May apply specialized knowledge and skills to resolve complex and/or varied problems
– Applies proven and tries new approaches when solving problems

Independence of Action:

– Works with minimal supervision on difficult work assignments, conferring with manager on unusual matters
– Follows precedents and procedures
– Organizes work of direct reports and may set priorities within general guidelines established by manager
– Reviews the work of others to verify accuracy, quality, and conformance to required procedures and special instructions

Communication and Collaboration:

– Communicates internally within working unit and the University
– Communicates with external audiences for scheduling/coordination
– May communicate with external audiences for business purposes
– Collaborates closely with team members; may interact with other staff outside of area
– Utilizes a communication style that is appropriate for a given situation
– Interprets and communicates information, ideas and instructions clearly and accurately both verbally and in written materials

• Comp Grade – 7
• Minimum – $46,400.00
• MidPoint – $56,800.00
• Maximum – $67,300.00