The UTCVM mission is focused on advancing animal, human, and environmental health, which is accomplished through educating students in the art and science of veterinary medicine and related biomedical sciences, discovering and disseminating new knowledge to veterinarians and others, and providing exceptional veterinary care to animals. The primary purpose of this position is to provide inspiring and strategic leadership for the team of academic professionals involved with veterinary student admissions, enrollment, and financial aid, from recruitment through graduation. The Director is expected to be a visionary and proactive leader, effective manager, and skilled communicator, developing, implementing, and evaluating programs and strategies for veterinary student admissions, enrollment, scholarship distribution, academic progress and graduation. The Director serves on and advises multiple critical committees. The position develops processes and strategies and manages distribution authorization of over $700,000 in scholarships and financial aid. Position supervises and provides work direction to a team of three admissions/financial assistants and closely advises several other team members including the Coordinator of Curriculum and Assessment, Preclinical Program Coordinator, and Clinical Placement Coordinator. The Director and the team must collaborate and work well with the Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, the Assistant Dean for Students and the rest of academic leadership within and outside the college. The Director maintains the UTCVM admissions website, ensuring the information is correct on the national veterinary medicine admissions service and related websites. The position completes degree audits for graduation requirements and responds to escalated inquiries from prospective students and parents, visitors, current students, staff, and faculty. Prepares ad hoc reports and information for budget officers and senior leadership.
Supervises, trains, and provides vision to staff, including hiring, corrective action, professional development, performance assessment, and termination. Contributes to training of other academic staff in relevant procedures. Commits funds for staff recruitment. Maintains and directs office business processes, sets staff priorities, trains, coordinates and provides work direction on the following delegated activities: 1. Processing of student applications including verification of applications 2. Calculation of GPAs 3. Completion of applicant prerequisite checklists 4. Assigning decisions to applicant for further processing 5. Reviewing outside courses and course descriptions for prerequisite approval 6. Generating and analyzing excel charts for Assistant and Associate Deans and Admissions Committee 7. Setting up interviews and materials needed for applicant interviews 8. Setting up access to WebAdMIT admissions software and assisting faculty reviewers with WebAdMIT admissions software 9. Admitting and registering students for their courses utilizing the UTK/Banner software 10. Answering inquires regarding student loan deferment forms. 11. Monitor and verify scholarship accounts 12. Maintain class rank charts and class rolls 13. Conduct degree audits and registration verification for clinical clerkship courses.
Serves on college executive Leadership Council and is a member of the leadership of the Office of Academic and Student Affairs. Serves as ex officio member and advises CVM Admissions Committee and Scholarship and Awards Committees regarding contemporary strategies and practices. Analyzes, organizes, and shares appropriate candidate material and recommendations for Admission Committee action. Oversees the overall process and preparation of student data collection and aggregation for presentation to the Scholarship Committee. Serves on and advises college Scholarship Committee regarding selection process. Serves as a liaison between UTK offices (Bursar, Financial Aid, Registrar, Marketing) & CVM. Serves as primary contact for policy interpretation regarding registration, financial aid, residency, veterans status and the graduate school. Keeps deans and UTK/CVM representatives informed of major issues and policy changes at all levels. Serves as first contact for escalated student or parent issues. Verifies and provides the Registrar's office with the final graduating class information.
As an independent contributer, develops, implements, and administers programs that support the recruitment and selection of highly qualified applicants to the College of Veterinary Medicine's DVM program. Develops, implements, and reviews processes and strategies for an admissions process with a pool of over 2,300 applicants, including assignment of applicant status for offers, alternate pool, or denials. Collaborates with the Office of Academic and Student Affairs and the Admissions Committee during this extensive process. Interprets and communicates admissions standards to admissions staff and to college faculty and leadership. Leads assessment of application review, grade point average conversions, live virtual interviews, and score review related to final selection of offered students and alternates for each cohort of approximately 100 students, with plans to grow enrollment in the next few years. Prepares or modifies training materials and training sessions for all involved in application and interview review processes. Independently makes decisions for Admissions Committee and Dean action and implementation. Oversees review and confirmation of prerequisite completion for admitted candidates. Monitors and analyses results of each recruitment/application cycle and shares data and recommendations with the Associate Dean, college committees, accrediting bodies and faculty. Liaisons with national admission policy and practice group within the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges. Attends annual AAVMC Conference in Washington, DC.
Interprets federal and university policy and oversees staff who develop materials to advise prospective and current students on federal and other financial aid options, scholarships, loan deferment and other issues. Advises deans on federal and university policy changes and impact. Trains and oversees staff who guide students with financial aid or scholarship related issues and triages systemic issues to staff to trouble shoot and resolve. Oversees staff who maintain admissions, financial aid and residency classification websites and publications. Communicates and works directly with university financial aid office and college budget director and managers to ensure appropriate management of hundreds of scholarships and awards and over $700,000 in scholarship funds, with significant growth expected in the next 5 years.
Required: Bachelor's degree and 3-5 years of relevant experience in a student services/admissions setting or a setting using related/transferable skills.
Preferred: Experience working in a university setting. Experience with student service and enrollment management best practices, ideally in a healthcare or other professional program. Experience or knowledge related to current national trends in veterinary medical applications and enrollment.
The UTCVM mission is focused on advancing animal, human, and environmental health. The mission is accomplished through educating students in the art and science of veterinary medicine and related biomedical sciences, discovering and disseminating new knowledge to veterinarians and others, and providing exceptional veterinary care to animals. Through these acts, the UTCVM supports our stakeholders (e.g. alumni, veterinarians, producers, animal enthusiasts, Tennesseans, and others) through outreach activities and life-long learning.