• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Bargaining Unit:
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• End Date if Temporary:
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Standard Work Schedule:
• Building:
• Salary Range: $64,500 - $67,000

Position Summary

Under the guidance of the Assistant Director, Admissions Operations, the Admissions Operations Specialist is responsible for the admissions team in functional areas related to reporting, training, and quality assurance. The Admissions Operations Specialist serves as the project lead within admissions operations for the School of Professional Studies and is integral in ensuring the integrity of the admissions process from application through enrollment for the school’s growing set of offerings.  

These offerings currently include cross-disciplinary Master’s Degree Programs, Pre-Graduate, and Graduate Certificate Programs, Structured and Unstructured Certifications of Professional Achievement, take-a-class options for bachelor’s degree holders and visiting students enrolled at other institutions, High School Programs, and the American Language Programs.

Responsibilities

Application Verification Management:

• Manage the application verification process for the assigned portfolio of programs, including maintaining relationships with third-party transcript evaluation and application verification service providers used by the school, managing vendor performance to ensure contractual obligations are being met and the School is receiving the services agreed upon
• Design reporting and manage the verification reporting process for the third-party Company and provide reporting to senior leadership at the School and within centralized University offices that include insights and trends along with specific applicant cases requiring admission revocation
• Responsible for ensuring applicants within the assigned portfolio have been verified and are cleared to begin their studies at Columbia
• Own the process for placing and releasing student registration holds related to the application verification process

Data and Document Management:

• Responsible for ensuring the integrity of data across systems, conducting data and record reconciliation between the online application system in cooperation with members of the admissions team, students, and other SPS departments and external partnerships
• Become subject matter expert for international transcripts and WES evaluations, serving as a point of escalation for questions from Admissions team members
• Identify opportunities for improvement in the collection of data from applicants whether on the online application or through the use of ancillary forms created within the application tool

Quality Assurance:

• Create reports and conduct audits of applications to ensure University minimum standards are being upheld and work with team members to address any areas of improvement, including the day to day document identification work of Admissions Operations Assistants uploading application materials
• Design and execute reporting, and provide insights on application processing patterns, making and implementing recommendations for enhancements, including the build-out of workflows that create operational efficiency and effectiveness
• Design training modules and execute training to team members on fraud detection, compliance, document management, and other areas as needed based on an assessment of team member work execution, working with team members and supervisors to ensure operational aspects of the work are executed to standard

Admissions Operations:

• Complete special projects including New Award Year Set-up (NAYS) with Student Financial Services to ensure financial aid packaging is deployed within desired timeframes and new program fee collection set-up within the online application system in partnership with the Office of the Treasury within the University
• Build automated system messaging for applicants and admitted students along with SPS Marketing team
• Monitor the use of application fee waiver codes to ensure that waiver codes are being used appropriately and with their intended use
• Oversee the creation of new student records as applicants confirm their intent to enroll and the deletion of student records for applicants who initially committed but did not ultimately enroll

PERFORMS OTHER DUTIES AS ASSIGNED OR REQUESTED

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and/or equivalent related experience required
• 2 years related experience
• A resume and cover letter with salary requirements must be submitted for applicant to be considered for the position

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience handling a high volume of applications for multiple, diverse programs
• Experience reviewing transcripts from high school, undergraduate and graduate programs
• Experience reviewing and/or processing international applications and related materials
• Experience with system implementations and/or new system testing
• Familiarity with SPS program offerings overall

Other Requirements

• Background in higher education admissions or field where compliance and adherence to standards are critical
• Demonstrated experience using a relational database, online application system and/or Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool, ideally in a higher education setting
• Familiarity with SIS, OnBase, Slate, or other systems, applications, and software used by the University and the School, or with similar software
• Proven track record of identifying and implementing improvements to streamline and/or automate complex processes
• Excellent interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills
• Exceptional attention to detail, strong organization, and time management skills, and the ability to perform routine and non-routine work with changing priorities
• Demonstrated ability to problem-solve and move a project from ideation through to execution
• Proven ability to use judgment to make difficult decisions independently, and with a high risk of consequences
• Proven ability to work effectively within a collaborative team setting
• Ability to handle confidential information in a mature, professional manner
• Adaptability and flexibility in working in a fast-paced environment
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications including Word and Excel required
• Ability to work extended hours and weekends during peak application periods

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.