Specialist, International Admissions
Title: Specialist, International Admissions
Pay Rate: $51,170 - $63,600.00/per year. Pay will be determined based on related work experience above required. To be considered in determining pay, all related work experience must be listed on the application.
Number of Positions: 1
Position #: 100960
Classification: 3m
Department: TnCIS
Type of Appointment: Full-Time
FLSA Status: Exempt
Required Documents Needed to Upload at Time of Application:
· Resume
· Unofficial Transcripts
· Three Professional References (See below)
Reference check requirements:
· Non-supervisory roles: three (3) current or former supervisors
· Personal references (friends, co-workers, clergy, customers, relatives) are not considered acceptable references
Culture and Diversity
Knoxville claims a wide range of forward thinking national and international talents. The scholarly influence on the Knoxville metropolitan area bred literary greats including James Agee, Cormac McCarthy, and Nikki Giovanni. Knoxville is home to one of the largest sculptures dedicated to an African American in the country. Located in Haley Heritage Square is a 13-foot high bronze statue of author and Pulitzer Prize winner Alex Haley who chose to spend the last several years of his life in Knoxville. Renowned artists Beauford Delaney and Joseph Delaney hailed from Knoxville. Musicians Roy Acuff, Chet Atkins, the Everly Brothers, and RB Morris called Knoxville home during their careers. Women’s suffragist Lizzie Crozier French was active in the ratification of the 19th amendment and was born and raised in Knoxville.
The lasting influence of these artists and activists leaves the Knoxville area as a welcoming area to live and work. More about the area and support groups can be found at Visit Knoxville https://www.visitknoxville.com, the Beck Cultural Exchange Center https://www.beckcenter.net, the Knoxville Urban League https://thekaul.org, Knoxville City https://knoxvilletn.gov, Knox County https://knoxcounty.org, My Knox Village http://myknoxvillage.com/business-directory/wpbdp_category/special-needsdisability-services/, Knox Pride https://knoxpride.com/equality, Centro Hispano de East TN https://www.centrohispanotn.org, and Knoxville chamber https://www.knoxvillechamber.com
Position Summary: The overall purpose of this job is to oversee the processes related to international student admission and ensure the College is in compliance with federal immigration regulations. To provide prompt service and accurate information to international students regarding admissions requirements and immigration regulations. To assist international students as they acclimate to life in the U.S. and facilitate connection with campus support services.
Essential Functions:
25% Immigration Regulations
· Ensure that the College is in compliance with INA § 101(a) (15) (F), 8 CFR § 214.3, 8 CFR § 214.4, and all other regulations concerning sponsoring foreign students to come into the United States for academic study.
· Serve as Principal Designated School Official (PDSO) approved by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to issue immigration documents and grant immigration benefits to students in F-1 visa status.
· Ensure institutional compliance by performing timely and accurate registration and reporting of all F-1 students to DHS and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
· Track and advise non-US citizen students in other lawful visa categories.
20% Recruitment and Admissions Process
· Develop strategic short- and long-term international student recruiting plan.
· Develop a recruitment plan for international and ESL/ESOL (English as a Second Language) recruitment.
· Collaborate with Athletic Director and coaches for international athlete recruitment.
· Develop and update the content for the college catalog and web pages that pertains to International Student population.
· Develop and maintain relationships with marketing agencies for international students.
· Develop and maintain relationships with domestic and international schools (high schools, colleges, and universities).
· Evaluate international educational qualifications (international transcripts and test scores) and make admissions decisions based upon this evaluation.
· Work with faculty in ESOL courses to determine admissible scores for TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) and IELTS (International English Language Testing System) scores to facilitate student success at Pellissippi State.
· Advise international students and their dependents and help them maintain lawful immigration status through continuous education based on immigration regulations, policies and procedures.
20% Enrollment and Retention
· Develop and implement new student orientations for International Students.
· Monitor and evaluate academic progress of international students and report this information to DHS on a regular basis, using the Student Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) web-based tracking system.
· Assist students with registration and payment issues and explain college policies and procedures.
· Assist international students in locating and interpreting support services on-campus to facilitate success, such as tutoring services, library, service-learning, counseling, and student life. Given the differences in cultural traditions, it is necessary to ensure students know about and understand the capabilities of campus support services.
10% Reporting and Training
· Meet with federal agents from United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (USICE) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and provide student information as required when a student has been detained by USICE.
· Train other campus staff regarding federal regulations as they relate to international students’ work limitations, legal status, and academic requirements. Analyze and submit detailed statistical reports for F-1 students at Pellissippi State Community College.
5% Provide intercultural national resources and activities for faculty, staff, and students on-campus by preparing and implementing programming that builds connections between international students and domestic students, faculty, and staff.
10% Serve as a contact to new students. Counsel and inform high school, transfer, and re-entry students regarding potential enrollment and requirements at PSCC. Serve as contact for refugees, English as a Second language, and other non-US citizen students during application process.
5% Assist with TnCIS activities and study abroad related events.
5% Other duties as assigned.
Note: The College reserves the right to change or reassign job duties, or combine positions at any time.
Key Result Areas:
The International Admissions Specialist’s primary duties are to ensure that:
International Students are continuously supported and included in campus and community services from the admission and enrollment process, campus life activities, community service and volunteering, to graduation and transfer support.
The college and international students are compliant with federal immigration regulations.
The recruitment and retention of international students are tracked and reported on a regular basis for measurable outcomes, such as increased revenue and multicultural opportunities on campus.
Bring international students to Pellissippi State Community College’s campus in order to broaden our campus and community’s understanding of globalized learning environments, cultural diversity, and build upon a knowledgebase of intercultural communication and networking skills.
Job Requirements: A Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of two years' experience in higher education administration, with one-year experience in international student admissions and or advising or a Master’s Degree and one year of higher education in international ed or advising.
Part-time work experience is calculated at 50% credit of full-time work experience
Preferred Qualifications: Preferred qualifications include, experience with ESL or ESOL (English as a second language) recruiting and or programming, proficiency in a second language, active participation with the National Association of Foreign Student Advisors (NAFSA), experience with international student athlete admissions.
Skills and Abilities:
- Knowledge of Federal Immigration Regulations
- Strong problem-solving skills
- Able to demonstrate tactful communication
- Expressed thoughts clearly via written communication without grammatical and spelling errors.
- Possesses a high degree of attention to detail
- Strong customer service skills
- Cultural competence
- The ability to engage in the College’s mission and values
- Strong intercultural communication skills
Complexity & Creativity: This position requires attention to details, a great deal of diplomacy working with students and domestic and international partners, intercultural competence, analytical and interpretive abilities to work with and around academic and immigration issues. In order to support international recruitment and retention efforts, it is necessary to possess a high level of understanding of multicultural traditions and intercultural communication skills. When working with individuals from many different cultural backgrounds, it is vital that one possess knowledge of varied cultural traditions and ways of seeing the world – as this knowledge supports a form of communication which is sensitive to varied belief systems and communication traditions. This knowledge also facilitates a trusting learning environment where mutual respect and informed communication can better support student-faculty-staff engagement. This position requires a high level of concentration and high level of attention intermittently. Generally, the approach to tasks may be consistent, but the number of steps required, and/or the number of variables involved creates the possibility of errors unless the incumbent pays close attention
Magnitude of Impact: The employee’s performance can negatively or positively impact the institution’s mission to:
1) Prevent mistakes during the admission process regarding incorrect immigration status declarations which, if left unattended, hold serious consequences that could reach to the highest level of administrative actions in relation to the President of Pellissippi State and TBR General Council as well as to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
2) Increase and support diversity in student population and encourage a multicultural and global competency among students, faculty, staff, and community.
Responsibility for Accuracy: Errors might include not admitting international students expediently which would delay the students’ immigration process.
For instance, if an international student is admitted to the College by way of the general admissions process without waiting for the review of the International Admissions Specialist, the student’s immigration process may be delayed by confusion over admission requirements such as language proficiency, financial support requirements for visa application process, and other immigration-related requirements. In these instances, the International Admissions Specialist works extensively with the student to expedite the admission process and clarify any issues of concern. The International Admissions Specialist runs a data report on a weekly basis to verify international student data in the system and ensure that all international students have been correctly admitted and processed.
In addition, the International Admissions Specialist follows through with international students to pay outstanding bills and make sure that government scholarships are processed by the Student Account Services office/Business office to reinstate a student after a routine expunge, or to prevent students from being expunged due to missed payment deadlines
The position also follows through with students on terminated F-1 status or applicants for change of legal status to ensure they submit any missing documents to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services to facilitate the return to or change to active immigration status and to maintain their eligibility to study in the U.S. During this process, the United State Citizenship and Immigration Services office is responsible for reviewing any documentation submitted and to verify eligibility for the change of visa status or update to immigration status.
There are serious consequences that emerge due to an error by the International Admissions Specialist, including, in the most serious cases, the loss of a student’s eligibility to remain in the U.S. to study – meaning that the student would have to depart the U.S. and would be unable to return to the U.S. for future study or tourism.
Financial Impact: Inadequate job performance can result in the institution’s loss of revenue from tuition and fees and loss of certification to host the F-1 visa program.
Budgetary: This position is responsible for input relating to the budget.
Judgement & Decisions: The employee independently makes decisions regarding admissions, recruitment, verification of test scores, verification of previous educational certificates and degrees, verification of a student’s documents of financial support, verification of the authenticity of transcripts, issuance and updates of legal documents (I-17, I-20, I-539, I-765), and regular monitoring of SEVIS records.
The employee’s decisions are not reviewed.
Nature of Contacts:
Vice President of Student Affairs
AVP, Enrollment Services
AVP, Student Affairs, and Dean of Students
All Campus Deans
Faculty Members
Enrollment Services Coordinators
Executive Director of Equity and Compliance
Executive Director of Marketing and Communications
Director, Stay Strong Student Success Center
Director, Student Engagement and Leadership
Safety and Security
Director, Counseling Services
Financial Aid Office
Business Office/Student Account Services
Student Assistance Center
Health Insurance Companies
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services/Homeland Security
Foreign Recruiting Colleagues
United States Embassies Abroad
Academic Advisors in Foreign Embassies
National Association of International Student Advisors
PDSOs and DSOs at other colleges and universities
Local Community Organizations, such as: Centro Hispano & Bridge for Refugees
University of Tennessee, Knoxville English Language Institute
Contact is often initiated by employee to recruit students, to advise/persuade academic advisors at foreign embassies, to inquire about immigration cases, to report student behavioral issues, to create promotional literature, to transfer in or transfer out a student, to seek understanding of a situation, to discuss a student’s questionable behavior, and to negotiate and resolve a student’s scholarship or academic status at the college, to list but a few examples.
Physical Demands: International and domestic travel required, which requires the ability to endure long flights, extensive walking, and flexibility to work in non-traditional environments such as hotels, international embassies, high schools, and universities.
Hazards: Vaccines may be required or recommended for certain international destinations.
Full-time Employment Benefits:
• Insurance Options Health, dental, vision, life, short/long-term disability, FSA/HSA Wellness Incentive Program, ifenrolled in health plan
• Educational Assistance Fee Waiver Spouse/Dependent discounts Audit/Non-Credit Reimbursement Program
• Employee Assistance Program
• Retirement options Tennessee traditional pension plan option (TCRS) 401k with $50 company match/457/403b
• Employee Discount program with over 900+companies
• 13 Paid Holidays/Year Includes paid days off the last week of December
• Sick Leave Bank
• Longevity Pay
• Many opportunities for professional development
Special Instructions to Applicants: To be considered for a position at Pellissippi State, you must create an on-line application. Your skills, abilities, qualifications, and years of experience will be evaluated using only what is recorded on your application. Work experience that is not listed on the application will not be considered towards compensation. Please note: attaching a resume does not substitute for completion of the application form. Part-time work experience is calculated at 50% of full-time experience. Please note: to scan, upload, or attach documents, a computer and scanner are available at the Hardin Valley Campus Educational Resources Center, if needed.
Pellissippi State Community College is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA employer
If you have any problems or questions please contact Human Resources at Pellissippi State Community College’s Human Resource Office at 865-694-6607 or by email at recruiting@pstcc.edu.
If you are interested in this position, click on the link to the left to apply.
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