UAC Advisor Career Ladders

Academic Advisors in the University Advising Center have the opportunity to participate in a tiered career ladder that partners job responsibility with tenure in the position. The goal of each career ladder is to provide advisors with a clear path for advancement in advising positions.

Benefits of a Tiered Career Ladder

The University Advising Center recognizes that academic advisors play a crucial role in undergraduate retention, timely degree progression, and ultimately student success. By providing advisors with a clear path for promotional opportunities, the University Advising Center aims to provide stability in the student experience by retaining academic advisors in their position. The National Academic Advising Association suggets career ladders have several benefits to both advisors and the institutions and students they serve.

Benefits to the Advisor/Employee:

Ability to develop meaningful and ongoing relationships with students in caseload from year to year
Mentorship or leadership opportunities such as program management, assessment, and event coordination
Improved understanding of the role of an academic advisor
Clear and transparent path to additional job responsibilities and compensation*

*At the University of South Carolina, changes in compensation requires a unique review and decision from Human Resources and may also be subject to budgetary constraints.

Benefits to the Institution and to Students:

Retention of Academic Advisors = Consistent student experience
Career Ladders offer a recruiting edge in the competitive job market
Ability to accurately estimate salary expenditures and overall budget models for a given fiscal year

Available Career Ladders in the University Advising Center

Undergraduate Academic Advisors

Undergraduate Academic Advisors (UAAs) are assigned a caseload of approximately 300 undergraduate students within a certain major or set of majors. Undergraduate Academic Advisors discuss transition to college, build a course schedule, map curricular requirements, track advisee’s progress towards degree; and evaluate transfer, AP, and/or IB credit. They also conduct multiple levels of outreach and intervention.

Exploratory Advisors

Exploratory Advisors meet individually with undergraduate students to explore new major options, evaluate course credit for major change, build a course schedule, and prepare for departmental advisement.