Academic Program Assistant Jobs in Delaware (NOW HIRING)

PAY GRADE: 27N

CONTEXT OF THE JOB:

Under general supervision of the Business Administrator II, the Academic Support Coordinator provides comprehensive administrative and operational support to the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology (ENWE). This position is responsible for managing the day-to-day functions of the department's academic programs, including graduate and undergraduate student support, course scheduling, teaching collections organization and oversight, training workshop coordination, overseeing the ENWE Graduate Student Organization, and academic records management. The role also supports key post-award functions, such as monitoring grant budgets, reviewing expenditures, and maintaining compliance with University and sponsor policies. Additionally, this role supports contract tracking, appointment renewals, and visa-related documentation for researchers, postdocs, and affiliated faculty. The Academic Support Coordinator works closely with students, faculty, staff, and central University offices, and is expected to operate with a high level of independence, confidentiality, and attention to detail while supporting departmental operations and special projects as assigned.
MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Manages operational aspects of the departmental undergraduate program. Assists undergraduate students and faculty advisors with registration, scheduling issues, drop/add overrides, transfer credit evaluations, change of registration, registration hold, and general advisement questions, in coordination with department faculty, the business administrator, and the department chair.
• Independently manage all aspects of course scheduling in UDSIS for the department. This includes course scheduling, updating existing courses, creating new course entries, resolving scheduling conflicts, coordinating classroom assignments, and serving as the primary liaison between the department, the Registrar's Office, and faculty. Provide direct support to graduate and undergraduate students on registration issues, including drop/add requests and course permits for ENWE, while ensuring compliance with University academic policies.
• Manages operational aspects of the departmental graduate program. This includes maintaining graduate files and check sheets, assisting graduate students with questions, processing GSCRFs, SFAFs, updates in the SEMU system and JEDs for the graduate students, and tracking graduate student tuition as required by the college and university. Serves as the primary liaison between the department, the faculty, the Registrar's Office, and the Graduate College.
• Conducts and/or facilitates data analysis using COGNOS, UDSIS, and other systems as needed for the purpose of curriculum planning and assessment, annual department reporting, and for academic programmatic reviews.
• Serve as a secondary reviewer for ProCard transactions and reimbursements, ensuring charges are appropriate, allowable under sponsor regulations, and compliant with university policies. Maintain audit-ready financial documentation for grants, contracts, and other sponsored projects.
• Assist the Business Administrator post-award contract and grant administration support, independently monitoring project budgets, reviewing expenditures for allowability and accuracy, processing journal vouchers, and preparing grant closeout reports as needed.
• Assist the Business Administrator with submitting non-catalog requisitions in UDExchange by confirming supplier eligibility, coordinating supplier onboarding as needed, and obtaining supporting documentation such as quotes and justification. Monitor requisitions through the full approval workflow, and conduct regular audits to ensure timely invoice submission, confirm payments have been processed, and proactively identify and resolve outstanding or incomplete purchase orders.
• Assist the faculty in maintaining, organizing, and updating our teaching collections and field equipment for lab courses such as Insects and Society, Ornithology, Insect Taxonomy, Mammalogy, Wildlife Research Techniques, Aquatic Insects, Pollination Ecology, and Insect Research Methods.
• Assist in the general maintenance of the department spaces including the apiary used for teaching Apiology and the Ecology Woods used for Ornithology, Wildlife Research Techniques, Wildlife Habitat Management, Introduction to Insect and Wildlife Field Studies, and by other departments in the College and Agriculture and Natural Resources.
• Acts as the point of contact for the ENWE Graduate Student Organization (GSO) to assist with all aspects of the department GSO including but not limited to; coordinating weekly seminars, working with invited speakers to assist with travel logistics, working with the GSO events planning and implementation.
• Assist the Business Administrator (BA) II in managing contract tracking and renewal documentation for the department, including Limited-Term Researchers (LTRs), Postdoctoral Researchers (PDRs), Visiting Scholars, Affiliated, and Adjunct Faculty. Maintain accurate records of appointment dates, contract terms, and renewal deadlines to ensure timely processing and compliance with University requirements.
• Support the BA II in preparing and coordinating visa-related documentation for new and current employees requiring visa sponsorship. Assist with initial applications, renewals, extensions, and liaising with the College HR department to ensure accurate and timely submission of materials.
• Provides additional administrative support to the department as needed. This includes but is not limited to answering phones, assisting customers with questions, distributing mail and keys. Requires cross-training with other administrative staff to ensure competency in all administrative functions of the Entomology and Wildlife Ecology department.
• Performs special projects as assigned by the Department Chair and Business Administrator II.
• Responsible for complying with university policies, procedures, and best practices regarding protecting data and following UD data governance rules
• Performs other job-related duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• High school diploma or GED, Associate's degree preferred, and three years of experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Excellent and demonstrated organizational skills
• Knowledge of or willingness to learn about ENWE curricula for undergraduate and graduate curricula.
• Ability to represent the department in a professional manner.
• Ability to analyze and interpret data, make independent decisions.
• Experience with University systems such as Concur, UD Exchange, COGNOS and UD Student Information System (UDSIS) preferred but not required.
• Proficient with word processing, spreadsheets, scheduling, database and presentation software.
• Demonstrated excellence in interpersonal, communication, and customer service skills.
• Ability to effectively interpret and communicate departmental policies, practices, programs and procedures.