Graduate Officer

McMaster University; Hamilton; On-site; CAD 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading Canadian educational institution in Hamilton, Ontario, is seeking a full-time Graduate Officer to coordinate the graduate admissions process for the Medical Sciences program. The role involves providing information to prospective students, monitoring admissions, and preparing statistical reports. Applicants should have a Community College diploma and four years of relevant experience, ideally within an academic setting. Strong interpersonal and communication skills are essential as the position also requires engagement with applicants during recruitment events.

Qualifications

• Requires 4 years of relevant experience in an academic setting.
• Experience in student progress tracking and record keeping.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate the admissions process for graduate programs.
• Provide information and assistance to prospective students.
• Monitor admissions and prepare forecasts for returning students.
• Write correspondence, procedure manuals, reports, and minutes.
• Engage potential applicants in discussions at recruitment events.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Customer service

Problem-solving

Event planning

Communication technologies

Education

2-year Community College diploma in Office Administration or related field

Tools

Mosaic or similar ERP systems

Learning Management Systems (e.g., Avenue 2 Learn)

Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

Job description

Unit/Project Description

The Medical Sciences Graduate Program, comprised of 5 distinct areas of study relevant to human health, is the longest running research-based graduate program within the Faculty of Health Sciences. Offering degree programs at the MSc, PhD and MD/PhD levels, Medical Sciences offers a wide range of study options for graduate students.

Reporting to the Program Manager, Education Services is seeking a full-time Graduate Officer to provide support for the Medical Sciences graduate program. This student-facing position also provides support for and contributes to the vibrant culture within the Medical Sciences program with active involvement in many facets of the graduate student experience.

Job Summary

Responsible for coordinating the admissions process for programs within the department. Reviews and summarizes applicant files for committee acceptance decisions. Provides program information and general assistance to prospective students and applicants.

Purpose and Key Functions

• Plan, coordinate, and organize admission procedures for students applying to departmental programs.
• Monitor admissions and prepare forecasts of returning students to determine if enrolment targets will be met.
• Review and evaluate applications to ensure academic requirements and pre-requisites have been met.
• Ensure all applications are complete and prepare admissions files for distribution and rating.
• Inform prospective students and applicants of the application process, procedures, academic and program requirements, program suitability, and potential eligibility for admission.
• Provide information, answer questions, and discuss academic interests with applicants.
• Engage potential applicants in discussions at recruitment events.
• Provide information to international applicants on the academic criteria required from their country of origin.
• Deal with applicants who are not qualified for admission and explain the application process and offer viable alternatives without discouraging the applicant from applying to other programs.
• Write responses to prospective students regarding their applications, which consists of offer letters to successful applicants and refusal letters to individuals who do not meet admissions requirements.
• Write a variety of documents such as correspondence, procedure manuals, reports, and minutes.
• Monitor budgets and reconcile accounts. Complete financial forms including, but not limited to, travel expense reports, electronic cheque requisitions, purchase orders and journal entries.
• Monitor student status’ and review registrations for accuracy.
• Review student records to ensure that they have met the degree requirements specified for degree completion and convocation.
• Update material included in department brochures, websites, and other informational material.
• Compile admissions and completion statistics for various internal and external reports.
• Ensure accuracy and uniformity of materials sent to applicants throughout the admission cycle by monitoring information including email communications and comprehensive packages that are mailed and couriered during the acknowledgment, offer, and confirmation stages of the admission process.
• Ensure adherence to relevant policies and procedures including those surrounding admission procedures and exam processes.
• Work with faculty instructors to coordinate the online registration for courses which involves determining the prerequisites and limited enrolment functions for each course offered.
• Coordinate and organize the PhD comprehensive exam process.
• Address extenuating circumstances regarding medical documentation from students’ physicians for accommodations, extensions, or deferments.
• Review documents for forged transcripts and falsified reference letters and maintain a list of fraudulent applications.
• Assign each new student to a faculty supervisor.
• Process graduate student scholarship information in collaboration with the School of Graduate Studies and program scholarship committee members.
• Determine initial funding in the form of an annual student stipend and initiate the payment authorization process.
• Input financial information required to process payroll.
• Update and maintain information in databases.
• Review transcripts from domestic and international universities and use existing documentation to convert grades to the comparable University standards.
• Calculate domestic and international student grade point averages.
• Calculate the initial sources of funding required to make up each student's annual stipend or salary.
• Obtain information from the Office of International Affairs regarding foreign applicants.
• Arrange and attend admission’s committee meetings.
• Maintain and ensure the confidentiality of student admissions records and committee files.

Supervision

• Provide lead hand supervision and is responsible for the quality and quantity of work of others.

Qualifications

• 2-year Community College diploma in Office Administration, or related field.
• Requires 4 years of relevant experience.

Assets

• Previous experience using the FHS-Database or similar CV management software.

Additional Information

• Experience working in an academic setting and/or a familiarity with McMaster University and its policies regarding graduate studies.
• Strong experience in student progress tracking and record keeping.
• Familiarity of McMaster University privacy policies related to student information.
• Strong experience in the use of Mosaic or similar Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system (Campus Module).
• Experience in the use of Learning Management Systems (i.e. Avenue 2 Learn).
• Experience in the use of admissions systems (e.g. Slate or similar).
• Experience in processing payments and completing other financial transactions (i.e., vouchers, travel awards, expense reports, PCard and Diners Card Reconciliation).
• Strong skills in the use of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, the Adobe software suite, website content management and social media platforms.
• Experience in planning and coordinating events both in-person and in a virtual environment.
• Excellent interpersonal and customer service skills, both in-person and in a virtual environment.
• Strong experience in the use of communication technologies including electronic listservs, M365 distribution groups, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams.
• Ability to prepare and disseminate timely communications regarding matters relevant to graduate students (E.g., academic and scholarship deadlines, thesis defenses).
• Experience organizing and maintaining of detailed records and knowledgeable of those that pertain to graduate students (i.e., admission materials, academic requirements/prerequisites, scholarship applications, thesis defenses, committee meetings, milestone updates, etc.).
• Ability to problem solve, work independently, and as part of a team to support students and the administrative needs of the department.
• Ability to effectively manage multiple priorities with concurrent deadlines by effectively prioritizing competing demands with a high degree of professionalism.

This position may require you to travel and to work outside of your regular work schedule including evenings and weekends to meet operational demands.

Should the successful applicant be a Unifor Unit 1 bargaining unit member, who meets the eligibility conditions of Article 19.02 of the Unifor Unit 1 Collective Agreement, then the Limited Term Assignment will be defined as a Career Growth Opportunity in accordance with Article 19 of the Unifor Local 5555 Unit 1 Collective Agreement.

How To Apply

To apply for this job, please submit your application online.