Graduate Program Coordinator

Staff - Union

Job Category CUPE 2950 Job ProfileCUPE 2950 Salaried - Grad Student Support 3 (Gr9) Job Title Graduate Program Coordinator Department Administrative Support | Department of Chemistry | Faculty of Science Compensation Range $4,959.00 - $5,532.00 CAD Monthly Posting End Date April 4, 2025

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.

Job End Date

At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.

Job Summary

The Graduate Program Coordinator is responsible for the administration of the Department of Chemistry’s Graduate Program. This position acts as Coordinator to the Graduate Advisor and Graduate Committees in both the admission of graduate students and the day-to-day administration of the MSc and PhD graduate student programs. Responsible for all graduate records and student files and related inquiries. This position is the liaison between graduate students, department faculty, staff in the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Enrolment Services and Financial Services and is the first point of welcome and information to graduate students.

By utilizing their skills in planning, problem solving and customer service, the Graduate Program Coordinator provides administrative support to ~250 Graduate Students, 40 Principal Investigators and ~500 applicants per year. This requires familiarity with the University and Department policies and procedures; ability to determine goals and objectives, to analyze and summarize statistics; to anticipate problems before they arise; to provide recommendations and take initiative.

Organizational Status

Works with the Graduate Advisor and Graduate Administration committees to improve work flow and build on the graduate program’s strengths. Reports directly to the Administrative and Human Resources Manager.

Work Performed
Oversees the career progress of ~250 graduate students by monitoring academic grades, student appointments, awards and scholarships, program milestones, thesis submissions and defenses and graduation. This position updates information systems by integrating databases and web-based programs and maintains all related files and records.

ADMISSION TO THE GRADUATE PROGRAM

1. Manages the graduate admissions process through the eVision system by revising application requirements, setting deadlines, monitoring the status of applications to ensure completeness, calculating GPAs to determine eligibility and uploading documentation as necessary. Generates pdf application files and notifies Admissions Committee when ready for evaluation.
2. Generates offers of admission (or declines) to applicants, including financial and scholarship information, based on Admissions Committee decision. Notifies applicants of the outcome. Maintains ongoing communication with admitted students.
3. Enters admitted applicant information and uploads files into internal database for Faculty access.
4. Responds to inquiries regarding program requirements, eligibility, application procedures and program information.
5. Updates graduate program information for website revision.

STUDENT APPOINTMENTS

1. Graduate Research Assistants. Following supervisor consultation and approval, acts as an HR Analyst in Workday and processes student appointments.
2. Graduate Teaching Assistants. Acts as liaison between the TA Coordinator, Payroll and GTAs. Determines eligibility based on Department policy and verifies accuracy of assignments. Acts as an HR Analyst in Workday and processes student appointments.
3. Ensure international students hold/renew valid employment authorizations as required.
4. Revises and/or terminates student appointments as required.
5. Informs students of tuition fee/payroll procedures and ensures timely submission of appointment to adhere to deadlines.

SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS

1. Identifies awards available for nominations, informs students and faculty on procedures and deadlines, collects, collates and reviews applications/nominations for eligibility, accuracy and completeness for various external/internal awards and uploads to internal database for Scholarship Committee evaluations as required. Generates internal award recommendation documentation (along with Departmental financial information) forwards to the Awards Office for processing.
2. Coordinates the NSERC Postgraduate Scholarship Competitions by interpreting NSERC policies and procedures and informs faculty and students of requirements, application procedures and deadlines. Downloads/collects documentation and reviews each application for completeness and resolves any issues with applications. Enters relevant information and generates summary sheets and ranking spreadsheet for uploading with nominations through SharePoint to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.
3. Follows up on all awards, informs students of committee decisions and ensures students receive awards.
4. Resource person for all Graduate scholarships and awards.
5. Member of the TA Coordination, Graduate Advisory, Graduate Student Admissions and the Scholarship & Awards Committees.

MSc AND PhD THESES DEFENSES

1. Remains current on policies and procedures governing MSc and PhD final oral exam and theses. Assists and advises students with graduation procedures ensuring all necessary requirements have been met.
2. Enters information on departmental website event calendar for notification of upcoming theses defenses.
3. Generates official documentation including letters, mark sheets, forms, etc.
4. Enters grades on Final Grade Submission Tool as required.
5. Reviews student eligibility for graduation, confirming eligibility with the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies and ensuring graduation lists are accurate.
6. Coordinates theses binding for students and supervisors.

OTHER DUTIES

1. Updates and maintains databases for current students and applicants.
2. Enters PhD Supervisory Committees and MSc Defense Committees in the SCMT (Supervisory Committee Management Tool).
3. Facilitates timely permission to teach (PTT) approvals through Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for graduate student employment as sessional lecturers as required by the Manager, Faculty Relations, Human Resources & Administration.
4. Compiles reports, tables and/or graphs for statistical analysis and interpretation (enrolment trends, marks, graduation data) for students, faculty, Department Head and the Faculties of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies and Science.
5. Sets up and maintains files for each student.
6. Archives files for storage and/or shredding.
7. Carries out other related duties as necessary.

Consequence of Error/Judgement

This position oversees the Graduate Program from admissions to graduation and monitors every stage of student progress. Oversights, omissions and errors could have a detrimental effect on student progress and on the credibility of the department. Such errors may also impact on administrative efficiency within the Department and on its interaction with the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, and have financial implications on faculty supporting GRAs.

Supervision Received
Works independently within the Department of Chemistry and University’s guidelines under the direction of the Graduate Advisor and the Administrative and Human Resources Manager.

Supervision Given
Supervises the progress of ~250 graduate students from admission to graduation. Trains and directs one Administrative Assistant on specific duties relating to recruitment drives, coordinating MSc exams, comprehensive exams and supervisory committee meetings; graduate student visits; graduate students payroll. Supervises student assistants as required.

Minimum Qualifications
High School graduation, plus two year post secondary diploma, plus four years of related experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own

- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Preferred Qualifications

1. Bachelors degree preferred.
2. Familiarity with course registration, academic requirements and course scheduling is preferred.
3. University experience and knowledge of UBC systems would be an asset.
4. Knowledge of University policies, procedures, governance and administrative systems preferred.
5. Must have excellent public facing skill as well as the ability to exercising tact, discretion and diplomacy in person, on the phone and in writing.
6. Ability to respond appropriately to inquiries in person, on phone and in writing and make appropriate referrals.
7. Ability to effectively and efficiently coordinate tasks and meet deadlines.
8. Demonstrated ability to identify and highlight pertinent data for processing into reports.
9. Proficient in MS Office, Workday Student, Adobe Suite, eVision, and Final Grade Submission Tool. Demonstrated proficiency in MS Excel for creation of tables, graphs and charts.
10. Ability to be thorough, accurate and have a high level of attention to detail.
11. Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing.
12. Ability to explain, assign and monitor work.
13. Ability to analyze problems, identify key information and issues and to effectively resolve them.
14. Ability to coordinate and oversee work processes.