Madison Cares Graduate Assistant
Office/Department:  Dean of Students
Supervisor:  Dominique Rodriguez
Number of positions:  1

Mission Statement:  The Dean of Students team promotes well-being, interpersonal growth, and learning through advocacy and collaborative partnerships with students, employees, and families.

Functional Areas: 

The office responds to the informational and personal concerns of students, parents, faculty and staff.

Staff in the Dean of Students are committed to helping students and others in the areas of:

• Supporting and advising students and families during challenging situations through the university care program, Madison Cares.
• Normalizing setback and obstacles by sharing the stories of our community and getting students connected to a mentor-based Rebound program to create plans for success and to meet wellness goals.
• Notifying faculty of extended absences from class when a student is unable to attend due to extenuating circumstances and will be out more than two days. (Such notifications are sent as a means to officially notify a student's professors of their situation. It is the responsibility of the student to contact each professor upon their return regarding the professor's policy for missed classes, assignments, etc.)
• Referring students to resources to increase the likelihood of their success.
• Provide individualized student-centered life skills and learning strategies coaching through the Learning Success Strategies program.
• Consulting with faculty, staff and students regarding distressed and disruptive students; referrals to appropriate resources.

Students who participate in this experience will gain an understanding of student affairs as a profession and the influence student affairs has on contemporary higher education through the following tasks and activities:

(80%) Madison Cares

• Maintain caseload of 15-25 students with whom you provide care, direct support and resource referral to.
• Assisting with the data collection, assessment, and feedback processes for the program to inform best practices.
• Marketing and outreach to promote and education university departments, faculty/staff, students, and families on the Madison Cares program.
• Observe and gain an understanding of the coordination of university response to individual students in crises.

(15%) Support full-time staff by providing general assistance to students and parents: interact directly with students and parents face-to-face, through email and via phone; assist students and parents via scheduled appointments, walk-in/call-in contacts and professor notifications; provide guidance in response to specific questions in the form of resource and referral assistance.

(5%) Mentor 1-2 students per semester who are participating in the Rebound program. Hold Learning Success Strategies appointments if needed.

Students who participate in this experience will be exposed to the purposeful application of the following student development, career development, counseling, and/or organizational theories:

• Perry - Intellectual & Ethical Development
• Chickering - Psychological Development
• Baxter Magolda - Self-Authorship
• Organizational Theories - Bureaucracy, Cultural, Feminist, Organized Anarchy, Spiritual

Students assigned to this site will be able to participate in the following assessment and/or evaluation projects:

• Assessment of the experience of Madison Cares "referrers",
• Assessment of the experience of students referred to Madison Cares,
• Other Dean of Students services being assessed at the time of employment

Students who participate in this experience will be evaluated and provided on-going feedback in the following ways

Specific expectations of students assigned to this site include:

• Maintain confidentiality and keep all information shared within the office private
• Work 20 hours/week, spread across 4 days between Monday-Friday from 8am-5pm
• Perform tasks in a timely, organized and professional manner
• Communicate consistently with supervisor and staff about success, challenges and concerns
• Attend weekly staff meetings (if class schedule permits) and weekly 1:1 supervisor meeting
• Update case files and student records accurately
• Present a positive attitude about job responsibilities
• Effectively work in group/team situations
• Collaborate with personnel in the office and across campus as appropriate
• Request assistance when needed
• Be able to effectively work independently on assigned projects or tasks
• Dress professionally

Additional information:

The individual in this role will need to be able to develop comfortability around difficult topics such as suicide, self-harm, sexual assault and more.