Graduate Program Support Associate

**Schedule**
Monday - Friday, 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM

**Education Level**
Bachelor's degree in a relevant field

**Career Level**
Requires a minimum of 2 years of relevant experience

**Project Description**:
For 75 years, McMaster’s School of Nursing (SON) has delivered nursing education programs that have produced generations of professional nurses who contribute to nursing practice, research, education, policy, and administration. Within a culture of optimism and respect, we continue to transform the future of nursing practice and lead with local and global communities through visionary inclusive education and high-impact research.

The Graduate Nursing Program encourages Registered Nurses to choose pathways relevant to their career goals and shape their learning opportunities and practical experiences. Students in our three Masters streams (Course Based, Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner (PHC NP), Thesis) and PhD program are mature students and motivated to succeed.

The Graduate program offers theoretical and clinical courses; therefore, this is a great role for someone who understands the clinical environment. Courses in the Graduate Programs are offered on campus and the Graduate Program (Academic) Support Associate interacts and supports students on campus.

Working closely with the Assistant Dean and Graduate Nursing Faculty, the Graduate Program (Academic) Support Associate oversees the day-to-day administrative operations of the graduate programs. This includes full cycle educational program support from admission, curriculum handbooks, examination, and grades, processing scholarship information and coordinating online registration of courses and prerequisites. The Graduate Program (Academic) Support Associate plays a key administrative role in the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) for the PHC NP students. The Associate supports accreditation and end
- year-end reporting activities, and tracks data related to student activities and requirements.

Students in the PHC NP program have multiple clinical placements. This role will work with clinical partners, faculty, and students to secure and facilitate all student placements (clinical and community), maintain the placement database, and providing relevant information and support to students, faculty, and staff.

This role will also implement and maintain the program budget and expense reports.

**Duties and Responsibilities**
- Effectively discern appropriate action to be taken to address less complex and moderately complex student inquiries including resolving issue, forwarding to an Academic Advisor or Departmental representative.
- Deal sensitively, responsibly, and calmly with students who present with serious medical, social, and psychological issues, and refer to appropriate support.
- Identify and analyze problems and requests and prepare recommendations for review and approval.
- Collect, analyze, assess, and summarize information relevant to the decision making process and develop recommendations for final approval and implementation.
- Ensure that students understand that all course and program selections adhere to established academic, requisite, and graduation requirements for their registered or intended program.
- Advise registered students of program options and requirements which requires maintaining knowledge of course and program curriculum.
- Assist with the assessment of admission decisions for applicants to University programs based on established requirements, requisites, University guidelines, and enrolment numbers.
- Provide guidance and information to students regarding appropriate procedures and policies for the submission of Petitions for Special Consideration, Senate Student Appeals, and other processes.
- Develop customized strategies for less complex and moderately complex issues to assist students who are not academically eligible to continue in their program.
- Conduct formal reviews and evaluations of students' academic records to ensure eligibility to continue and to graduate from a program.
- Create, modify, and maintain accurate master and customized advisement reports to reflect current and past degree requirements.
- Assist in the process to ensure accuracy of eligible graduates for each convocation.
- Review, assess, and make judgement decisions regarding requests for the accommodation for missed academic work.
- Evaluate transcripts of students requesting transfer from other academic institutions for equivalencies and applicacions to degree programs.
- Assess the legitimacy of claims for additional transfer credits made by applicants from a wide range of national and international educational institutions.
- Liaise with faculty and staff to advocate on behalf of students.
- Participate in the Faculty Recruitment plan by representing the faculty at various events including, but not limited to, information sessions and fairs.
- Act as a resource to Chairs, Associate Chairs and faculty members o