Student Success Coach, Military and Veteran Services

General Summary This position can be located at either our Westminster Campus in Westminster, CO or our Larimer Campus in Fort Collins, CO.

Who We Are

With three campuses along Colorado’s Front Range, FRCC is the state’s largest community college. We enroll close to 28,000 students annually from our diverse service area, which offers a variety of cultural and recreational activities.

Each year approximately 5,000 FRCC students transfer to four-year universities and FRCC offers more than 36 career training programs that prepare students for immediate employment and rewarding careers.

Last year, more than 5,000 high school students took concurrent enrollment classes with us, earning college credit without having to pay college tuition.

And we were recently ranked as one of the Top Online Colleges in the country by Newsweek.

One of FRCC’s main goals is to offer educational excellence for everyone. The college’s strong commitment to student success means we start by creating an inclusive and equitable environment one where both students and employees feel they belong and are supported.

FRCC’s focus on diversity, equity and inclusion is woven into the fabric of our college conversations and decision-making processes.

We are actively seeking to hire a workforce that reflects the diversity of our student body.

The college is also an emerging Hispanic Serving Institution. For us, becoming an HSI is an intentional commitment to being a college where our Latinx (and other historically marginalized) students thrive.

FRCC employees and leaders work hard to create a culture of collaboration, innovation and pride. We’re looking to hire people who share these values along with our commitment to student success, equity and excellence.

Who You Are

As the Military & Veteran Success Coach, you will assist veterans, their dependents, and active duty military members as they transition to college in their pursuit of educational, career, and personal goals.

You will act as mentor and advocate in meeting the needs of veterans, serve as a liaison to veteran organizations within the community, and show professional judgement in providing career development and retention services support.

You will also coordinate the administration of all veteran educational benefits as well as develop and implement programming activities designed to increase veteran / dependent enrollment, retention, and graduation rates.

You will also have opportunities to participate in committee assignments and other academic and institutional support activities and serve as the leader of a continually growing and dynamically inclusive organization at Front Range Community College.

Please note : This is an on-campus position with an opportunity for hybrid remote work. You need to be a Colorado resident on your first day of employment.

SALARY : $50,100 - $52,605 / annually

BENEFITS : Please click here to find more information about APT & Faculty Benefits

SELECTION PROCESS : Position will remain open until filled with a priority deadline of August 6, 2023. This posting may be used to fill multiple or similar positions.

Preliminary screening will be made on the basis of completed application package submitted by candidate. In your application please include a resume and cover letter that specifically addresses how your background and experience align with requirements, qualification and responsibilities of the Military & Veteran Success Coach . Primary Duties

Caseload Management & Support for Military & Veterans Students

• Serve as the primary contact for veterans, their dependents, and active duty military who have questions regarding VA educational benefits.
• Provide information to veterans, their dependents, and active duty military who have questions regarding changes that were made to VA enrollment certifications.
• Remain current with information regarding laws, policies, and procedures related to VA educational benefits and serve as the primary contact to communicate these to veterans, their dependents, and active duty military.
• Responsible for collecting all required paperwork from students to ensure VA certification files are complete and accurate prior to VA certification.
• Inform veterans, their dependents, and active duty military, information on the College Opportunity Fund (COF) and in-state tuition classification.

This includes any outreach for these students in collaboration with the SCO, Fiscal Department, and other VS coaches.

• Meet with students for in-take appointments, continuing student appointments, and drop-in appointments.
• Assist students who have fiscal issues, balances on their account, and any debt funneled by the VA through FRCC. Connect students to resources to help resolve any of these issues.
• Assist in planning and coordinating Orientation and / or Open Houses for veteran and military-affiliated students.
• Serve as primary contact for guest students using VA education benefits at FRCC while attending another institution and for students who wish to transfer VA educational benefits to / from FRCC.
• Oversee the Veterans Resource Center and supervise student staff as necessary.
• Demonstrate and promote inclusion, equity, and diversity to create and sustain an environment where students and employees are welcomed, valued, and affirmed.
• Develop and implement programs and activities for military, veterans, and their families to engage with each other.

College-wide Collaboration

• Work closely with the college-wide Director of Military & Veteran Services / School Certifying Official (SCO) and the Military & Veteran Services (MVS) Coaches college-wide and participate in monthly College-Wide Veteran Services Team meetings.
• Work collaboratively with the College-Wide Military & Veteran Services team to create policies, procedures, forms, and develop the FRCC Military & Veteran student website.
• Work collaboratively with the College-Wide Military & Veteran Services team to provide training to faculty regarding serving veterans in the classroom.
• Serve as the primary contact for working with staff / faculty on veterans, their dependents, and active duty military student service related topics.
• Represent the department or the division for campus, college, and community activities and committees.

Academic Planning

• Partner with veterans, their dependents, and active duty military assigned Pathways Advisors to resolve academic issues that could affect VA benefits.
• Review class schedules via the Student Veteran Certification process to ensure courses are in compliance and can be certified.

Contact students to communicate any required changes or need for additional documentation.

• Maintain knowledge of the curricula for FRCC degrees, certificates, courses and issues relevant to transferring to Colorado four-year institutions.
• Refer students to appropriate community resources (e.g., training programs, social services, mental health services, etc.).

Required Competencies

• Mission, Vision & Values : Embrace the mission, vision and values of FRCC. Understand the importance of the work that you do to support institutional goals.
• Student Centeredness : Place the student at the center of your work. Adopt a philosophy that makes the ability to serve the student the cornerstone of the work that you do.
• Data Usage : Look at data within the department, paying particular attention to what the data shows about the department's performance and student impact.

Work with the next level supervisor to brainstorm changes that can be implemented to improve a program or service that the department provides.

• Cultural Self-Awareness : Willing to examine own beliefs and acknowledge own biases and how they have impacted or may impact the ability to serve students.
• Cultural Competence : Recognize the need to become knowledgeable about the ways to communicate and support students of other backgrounds.

Change approach to reflect the new learning.

Equity Mindedness : Learn to view department operations through an equity lens. Be willing to call attention to processes that lead to inequity in serving students.

Understand the College's equity goals and how your role supports FRCC's ability to achieve those goals.

Operational Planning : Have an understanding and knowledge of the college's various strategic plans and understand how your work supports each of them.

Understand the department's expectations to find proactive ways to support the goals of the department.

• Leading from the Middle : Lead from your position by not only closely examining your responsibilities for the department, but in bringing forward ideas to your supervisor the college should consider to be more student centered.
• Team Building : Participate in team-building exercises and strive to build positive and collaborative relationships with colleagues both within the department and in other departments within the college.
• Collaboration : Willingness to work with colleagues across departments to further student engagement.

Qualifications

Required Education / Training & Work Experience :

• Associate’s degree and two years of experience working in the military or with veterans.
• Bachelor’s degree
• Experience engaging students, clients and / or customers in a helping role.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.
• Experience working with a diverse population.
• Proficiency learning and utilizing technology such as Microsoft Suite, Banner, and EAB Navigate.
• Knowledge of academic advising or higher education and student affairs models.

Welcoming. Respectful. Inclusive. Together, we are FRCC.