As the Assistant Director of Student Support this position reports to the Dean of Students and works to coordinate services designed to increase student retention and success by directly focusing on support for students experiencing a variety of challenging life circumstances. The Assistant Director manages a caseload of students, provides follow-up services, and provides training and education to the campus community. The role has a direct institutional impact as it is designed to provide crisis intervention as necessary to connect students with on/off campus emergency services including but not limited to hospitals, parents, community mental health care providers, the Student Counseling Center, the Student Health Center, Housing & Residence Life, Disability Services, Student Accounts, Student Conduct Financial Aid, University and local police and other administrators as needed.
1. Provides individual care case management: Manage a caseload of students with medical, mental health, socialization, and/or behavioral needs to ensure they access appropriate on and off campus resources. Review Housing and Residence Life morning report and compare Care referrals to ensure proper entry of data. Work with Housing and Residence Life staff on case concerns, monitor staff cases and provide guidance to staff. Meet with students, individually or in a group, to gain understanding of concerns presented and to develop an intervention plan for moving forward and/or implement a behavioral plan. This includes analysis and determination of next steps in student care. Assist students with social services needs including, but not limited to, referral to community resources, facilitating access to medical care, including coordination of hospitalizations, discharge, planning, and crisis intervention. Maintain factual and sensitive case records and prepare necessary statistical reports. Perform psychosocial needs assessment. Maintain a directory of community resources available to students. Follow up on prior cases to ensure compliance with recommendations. Approve medical withdrawals and readmissions of students to the university, due to psychological or medically related matters. Facilitate communication between parents and the University to address/resolve student issues while maintaining confidentiality and adherence to FERPA. Collaborate with the SRU Foundation and Financial Aid to assist students experiencing financial concerns due to emergency circumstances. Communicate with hospital staff, medical personnel and/or other specialists to review university procedures for return to campus post-hospitalization. Interpret University policy regarding students and make recommendations when policy changes are needed. Serves on the university’s Care Coordination and Behavioral Intervention and Response teams provides case follow up as directed by the team. May assist with Critical Incident Debriefing as needed or required. Collect additional case data and analyze information to determine the most appropriate intervention options. Provide support and guidance to university personnel in matters pertaining to case management maintenance and access to records, when appropriate. Collect and utilize Care assessment data to identify trends in student need, success, and retention. Maintain strict confidence with personnel files, student records, student health and counseling records, etc.
2. Provides campus community-wide education: Trains divisional staff on how to respond to Care cases and how to enter and follow up on referrals. Provide consultation to faculty and staff to provide guidance on intervention strategies. Collect and utilize assessment data to create and implement trainings for specific departments with specialized areas of response including, but not limited to, Housing and Residence Life, Student Health Services, Campus Recreation, Student Involvement and Leadership, Student Affairs Graduate Assistants, FYRST Seminar, Faculty, etc. Represent Student Support on appropriate departmental committees, and community task forces, especially those related to emotional wellness, suicide prevention, and mental health.
3. Completes other duties as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications
A bachelors degree in education, psychology, social work, public health or a related field. Three to five years in higher education or closely related setting. Ability to work within and assist others in navigating through complex systems and ability to communicate difficult/sensitive information.
Preferred Qualifications
A master’s degree in education, counseling, social work, public health or a related field. Three to five years in higher education or closely related setting. Demonstrated knowledge of systems; experience managing response to crisis situations; experience working as part of case management support team. Computer skills are a priority.
