People Strategy, Equity, and Culture

Academic Support Specialist

  • Title: Academic Support Specialist
  • Class: Academic Professional
  • Exempt Status: Exempt
  • Level: 4

Job Summary

Under the general direction of management, performs a broad range of professional-level duties related to the district-wide academic systems for the College.  Identifies, analyzes, interprets and tracks faculty-driven learning assessment and internal review of academic programs. Organizes and summarizes documentation for accreditation reporting, PCC’s Board of Directors, Administration and other stakeholders. Supports students and faculty in Credit for Prior Learning

Typical Duties and Responsibilities

  1. Organizes and maintains web-accessible repository of information documents and processes related to Academic Affairs activities (e.g., Instructor Qualifications, SAC Pages for Recommendations and Minutes, Learning Assessment instructions, reports and peer feedback, Program Review, and , key initiatives such as Gen Ed redesign, etc.).  Researches best practices and strategies for organizing   Works with relevant college committees to support assessment efforts that are meaningful, efficient and well-documented.
  2. Coordinates collection and peer review of annual assessment reports. including processes for reporting, coordinating feedback and , and assisting in providing meaningful summaries of findings. Provides excerpts and summaries of relevant assessment information as needed for various stakeholders, including faculty, administration and accreditation.
  3. Organizes and coordinates General Education assessment. Identifies student artifacts based on identified criteria, collects and redacts artifacts, organizes distribution of artifacts to scorers and collection of data, track scoring completion and prepares spreadsheets for analysis.
  4. Assists faculty in the Program Review process.  Consults, mentors, and serves as a resource person to faculty, staff and management on program review expectations and best practices. Conducts workshops, attends faculty meetings as requested, and provides one-on-one consultation on an as-needed basis. Facilitates, attends and supports various meetings relating to assessment and program review. Organizes the Program Review schedule and coordinates the distribution of templates and completed Program Reviews.  Organizes posting and archiving of Program Reviews and administrative response.
  5. Collects and organizes information related to assessment from Program Reviews to inform other relevant systems and reports
  6. Supports faculty and students in the development of new Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) opportunities, including fielding student inquiries, contacting departments to negotiate development and compensation for faculty, tracking fee payments from students, and maintaining records of CPL.
  7. Researches and responds to inquiries and requests for information from management, faculty, students and staff.
  8. Serves as a voting member on relevant college committees
  9. Performs other related duties as assigned.

Work Environment and Physical Requirements

Work is performed in an office environment.  Exposure to video display terminals occurs on a regular basis.  Work pressure from deadlines and daily interruptions of work flow are expected and occur on a regular basis.  Minimal physical effort is required.  Learned physical skill is required to perform keyboarding functions.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Education or a closely related field.   Relevant experience may substitute for the degree requirement on a year-for-year basis. Three years of professional-level experience working in post secondary education in one or more of the following areas: teaching, administration, or curriculum development.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Knowledge of:
  • Student learning outcomes and assessment;
  • Instruction and teaching methods;
  • Needs assessment and research methods;
  • Applicable local, state, and federal laws and regulations;
  • Accreditation standards.
Skills in:
  • Communicating effectively in oral and written form;
  • Project management and independent problem solving;
  • Designing and conducting workshops.
Ability to:
  • Communicate technical information in a clear and understandable manner.
  • Work independently and prioritize tasks.
  • Utilize a broad variety of web and office computer applications for communication, data gathering and reporting activities.

Revised: 3/2020

  • New: 6/2011
  • Reviewed: 12/2018