MSc Distance Learning Student Support Officer

IMPORTANT:  This Advertiser has requested that applicants MUST be National Residents / Valid Work Permit-holders.  Other applicants need not apply.

 

Hours: 40 hours per week. Flexible working required including some evenings and weekend work.

Responsible to: Overview Management Group

Responsible for: None

Status: Full member of CAT management system

Salary: £16,653

This post is subject to a 6 month probationary period and will be reviewed after 2 years.

Scope:

This is an exciting opportunity to establish the student support service of the new Distance Learning course in one of the UK’s largest, most vibrant Master’s programmes. The new MSc Architecture: Advanced Environmental and Energy Studies by Distance Learning, is currently being developed for launch in September 2008. Its curriculum is broadly equivalent to that of the long-established MSc Architecture: AEES, a collaborative programme with the University of East London, in which modules are delivered by student attendance at CAT for five days each month.

About this course, the January 2008 external examiner’s report stated: “On the evidence presented to me, the course maintains its reputation as one of the best Masters courses in the environmental field. The staff team is to be congratulated on providing a course which is both rigorous and clearly inspirational.”

You will play a vital role in ensuring that, through a pro-active approach to student support and course administration, the quality of the students’ overall experience is as good, and their success as great, as we can make them. Your immediate colleagues will be the DL tutors, and, then also the tutorial, student support and administrative staff of the other MSc courses.

You will be working with the DL course’s relational database and the excellent Virtual Learning Environment, ‘UEL Plus’ [based on the Blackboard’ system].

The duties of the Student Support Officer are:-

Control of student records

• Enrolment
• Liaison with the University of East London
• Student records management
• Communications with students on records
• Answering administrative enquiries from current DL-only students
• Liaison with other GSE admin. staff on MSc admin. matters

Management of MSc modules

• Placing of module contents, activities, etc, on UEL+ VLE
• Monitoring & responding to queries on current module contents
• Liaison with DL tutors

Pro-active student support

• Placing & sending of notices and announcements
• Issuing regular reminders re coursework matters
• Facilitating student self-help groups
• Fielding enquiries from students needing help
• Fielding enquiries from students with special needs
• Liaison with DL tutors

DL course development work

• Continuous updates of course materials, in liaison with DL tutors
• Editing and DTPing of supplementary materials, in liaison with DL tutors

Marketing

• Answering email enquiries with pre-prepared responses
• Answering phone enquiries from prospective students
• Continuous updating of web adverts
• Managing Google-click
• Mailings to business and other potential sources of new students.

Training for tutorial work
For the appropriate candidate, it is anticipated that opportunities will be given for training and experience in tutorial work. By this we mean acting as a “tutorial assistant” – conducting DL seminars, tutorials and module discussions, all under supervision, and parallel marking with one of the DL tutors.

Wider Management:

• Following the completion of a six month probationary period, to participate in the wider organisational management structure, including relevant meetings, taking part in recruitment panels, carrying out duties according to agreed rotas and assuming periodic membership of the Overview Management Group and various sub-committees.
• To be responsible for Health and Safety issues within the area defined in liaison with the health and Safety Committee
• Any other duties as requested by the elected Management Group

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential:

• Graduate or professional experience equivalent
• Computer literate
• Excellent communication skills
• Commitment to quality of student experience
• Excellent self-organiser, able to work independently & flexibly
• Strong record of continuous attention to detail
• Able to demonstrate a record of high level of team skills.

Desirable:

• Experience of Virtual Learning Environments
• Experience in student support or customer service
• Strong interest in one of the main areas of the MSc AEES
• H.E. qualification in one of the main areas of the MSc AEES
• DTP experience
• Strong interest in own professional development & training