Graduate Program Assistant

Position Number: 40075446

Payroll Title: Blank Assistant 3

Job Code: 004722

Job Open Date: 4/21/25

Application Review Begins: 5/6/25; open until filled

Department Code (Name): PASC (PHELPS ADMIN SUPPORT CENTER)

Percentage of Time: 100%

Union Code (Name): CX (Clerical)

Employee Class (Appointment Type): Staff (Career)

FLSA Status: Non-Exempt

Classified Indicator Description (Personnel Program): PSS

Salary Grade: STEPS

Pay Rate/Range: The budgeted hourly range that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position is $28.44 to $29.78/hr. Salary offers are determined based on final candidate qualifications and experience; the budget for the position; and the application of fair, equitable, and consistent pay practices at the University. The full hourly range for this position is $28.44 to $40.76/hr.

Work Location: Phelps Hall - 4212

Working Days and Hours: M-F, 8am-5pm

Benefits Eligibility: Full Benefits

Type of Remote or Hybrid Work Arrangement, if applicable: Hybrid (Both UC & Non-UC locations)

Special Instructions:

For full consideration, please include a resume and a cover letter as part of your application.

Department Marketing Statement:

The Phelps Administrative Support Center (PASC) at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) provides administrative services for faculty and students in the departments of French & Italian, Germanic & Slavic Studies, and Spanish & Portuguese and the programs of Comparative Literature and Latin American & Iberian Studies. This position provides administrative assistance and financial support to the faculty and graduate students in the departments of French & Italian, Germanic & Slavic Studies, and Spanish & Portuguese ensuring and the programs of Comparative Literature and Latin American & Iberian Studies ensuring that the mission and goals of each department are met with attention to detail and effectiveness. We value diversity in expertise, backgrounds, needs, and experiences, and aim to see diversity reflected among our residents and visitors.

Benefits of Belonging:

Working at UC means being part of this vibrant institution that shines a light on what is possible. People make UC great, and UC recognizes your contributions by making this a great place to work. Excellent retirement and health are just one of the rewards. Learn more about the benefits of working at UC

Brief Summary of Job Duties:

Under the general supervision of the Academic Personnel and Student Services Manager, the Graduate Program Assistant assists in managing all graduate programs and services in the Departments of French & Italian, Germanic & Slavic Studies, Spanish & Portuguese, and the Programs of Comparative Literature and Latin American & Iberian Studies. Works closely with Faculty Graduate Advisors in advising students and faculty on most aspects of graduate matters. Assists in advising prospective applicants on degree programs and in coordinating the admissions process. Acts as departmental liaison with all relevant campus agencies. Assists in coordinating graduate students' block grants, fellowships, and teaching assistantships. Prepares payroll for graduate student services and processes accounting and reimbursement transactions as needed. Assists in designing and maintaining departmental databases as needed. Assists in coordinating, designing, composing, and editing departmental publications and announcements. Provides general administrative office support.

Required Qualifications:

• High School Diploma or GED.
• 1-3 years of administrative work experience.
• 1-3 years of experience with Excel, and other Microsoft Office applications: Word, PowerPoint, and Google applications.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality.
• Strong interpersonal skills to serve as an effective liaison between students, faculty, and other University Office personnel.
• Ability to work effectively and cooperatively as a positive member of a multi-faceted team.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Knowledge of UCSB Systems: Blue, GradNet, Graduate Application Review system, Kronos, and UCPath.
• Broad knowledge of University policies and procedures regarding graduate student affairs.
• Ability to work on a variety of projects simultaneously, while maintaining attention to detail, and performing work with accuracy.
• Possesses good verbal and written communication skills, including active listening, and the ability to effectively communicate policy and procedures.
• Ability to pick up complexities quickly and follow through on tasks/projects completely.

Special Conditions of Employment:

• UCSB Campus Security Authority under the Clery Act
• Satisfactory conviction history background check
• UCSB is a Tobacco-Free environment

Misconduct Disclosure Requirement:

As a condition of employment, the final candidate who accepts a conditional offer of employment will be required to disclose if they have been subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct; received notice of any allegation or are currently the subject of any administrative or disciplinary proceedings involving misconduct; have left a position after receiving notice of allegations or while under investigation in an administrative or disciplinary proceeding involving misconduct; or have filed an appeal of a finding of misconduct with a previous employer.

"Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, discrimination, dishonesty, or unethical conduct, as defined by the employer. For reference, below are UC's policies addressing some forms of misconduct:

UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
UC Anti-Discrimination Policy
Abusive Conduct in the Workplace

Job Functions and Percentages of Time:

• 40% Graduate Program Support - Works closely with the Faculty Graduate Advisors, advising graduate students on departmental programs and courses. Disseminates and interprets University, College, Graduate Division, and departmental policies and procedures to students and faculty. Assists with maintaining databases and records for all graduate students, including progress towards degree and fellowship, and employment history. Assists in counseling students about meeting academic requirements, processing petitions, grade changes, degree milestones, exam results, schedule adjustments, incompletes, withdrawals, and leaves. Assists in determining graduate students' eligibility for block grants, fellowships, and academic student employment. Creates letters for students regarding TA, Reader, fee fellowship, and block grant awards and responsibilities. Prepares required documentation for the employment of graduate students such as Teaching Associates. Assists in coordinating written MA and PhD qualifying exams and programs' field exams. Assists in maintaining information on departmental block grant and fee fellowship availability and distribution, teaching assistant FTE, student evaluations, and enrollment statistics. Assists with the quarterly review of transcripts, alerting faculty graduate advisors/chairs of progress. Check that language and comprehensive examinations are taken on schedule. Assign keys for TA offices. Refers students to appropriate faculty advisors. Provides faculty with summaries of students' academic progress and assists in formulating recommended actions. Advises students about fellowships and applications, campus employment, and career placement. Maintains resource files and disseminates information on conferences, calls for papers, and job announcements. Assists in researching, recommending, and implementing programmatic changes, in consultation with faculty graduate advisors and committees. Assists in gathering and analyzing data from professional organizations, other programs, universities, and departments to help keep the programs current. Assists with producing, revising, and distributing all informational material for the graduate program such as graduate handbooks. Assists in assuring that changes in departmental and university policy are incorporated. Assists in preparation of reports, and responses to surveys on all graduate matters. Assists in gathering, analyzing, and maintaining data from alumni, current students, and faculty for use in policy analysis and development. Serves as a departmental liaison between the College of Letters and Science, the Graduate Division, the Office of Registrar, the Office on International Students and Scholars, the Dean of Graduate Division, the university Ombuds, and other campus departments regarding graduate issues.

• 25% Graduate Admissions & Financial Support - Assists in coordinating all aspects of the recruitment/admissions process for new graduate students. Assists in advising prospective students on departmental programs, faculty resources, admissions requirements, application procedures, fellowship opportunities, and eligibility, and assists with notifying prospective applicants of the completeness of applications. Creates and sends departmental application materials to prospective students. Assists with maintaining applicant files, databases, and statistical information. Assists with the preparation of reports for admissions committees and financial allocation decisions. Assists with processing paperwork for admission and denial. Assists with advising admissions committees on university admissions and financial policies. Is knowledgeable about and assists faculty in the use of online graduate program application systems. Assists with maintaining, creating, and mailing annual recruitment letters to various departments around the country. Tracks dates for English language exams, visas, fellowships eligibility, etc. Remains abreast of policy changes in English language exams. Assists with managing the budget for prospective students' campus visits, scheduling meetings with faculty and continuing students, and arranging housing and transportation. Responsible for tracking recruitment funds and departmentally controlled graduate fellowship funds. Inputs and tracks graduate student stipends and fellowship commitments using GradPoint Financial. Assists with the processing, evaluation, and awarding of student fellowships, grants, and other awards; advises students and faculty on department, Graduate Division, and external funding opportunities, eligibility requirements, processes, and deadlines. Coordinates nomination process and prepares application materials for submission for recruitment and continuing fellowships. In conjunction with the PASC Students Services Manager and chairs, assists in developing Teaching Assistant and Reader FTE allocation requests, based on undergraduate programmatic needs and graduate student financial commitments. Maintains department TA and Reader FTE provision control, including TA FTE staffed by department graduate students assigned to other departments on campus. Works with the chairs, faculty graduate advisors, and Student Services Manager to design quarterly TA and Reader assignment schedules for graduate students, based on programmatic needs, faculty requests, teaching history, teaching requests, and career needs of graduate students. Assists in revising the TA, Associate, and Reader assignment schedule throughout the year according to changing circumstances of students, undergraduate programs, and budget. Processes TA and Reader employment paperwork and inputs appointments into UCPath, assuring compliance with all graduate student employment policies and regulations.

• 25% Graduate Student Employment and Payroll Management - Coordinates hiring academic student employees including Teaching Assistants, Associates, Readers, and Graduate Student Researchers. Assists with disseminating teaching assistant (TA) assignments and any revisions to teaching assistants, instructors, staff, and faculty. Distributes ASE contracts, prepares employment exceptions for departmental and/or Graduate Division approval, and verifies employment eligibility. Distributes information regarding general job responsibilities to ASEs. Advises graduate students, faculty, and staff on ASE eligibility, restrictions, and policies. Manages and tracks ASE position numbers in UCPath to ensure ASEs are hired in the correct positions with the appropriate funding source. Creates and maintains ASE personnel files per the ASE contract. Enters ASE hiring actions in UCPath, including hire templates and PayPath actions, and processes updates as needed to ensure that position and job data are accurate. Analyzes graduate student employment experience and related policy to ensure that graduate students are hired with the correct compensation rate. Completes payroll analysis by examining position and job data of active appointments and coordinates corrective actions as needed such as terminating appointments, updating salary step and/or pay frequency, extending appointments, and submitting missed pay or overpayment tickets. Manages timekeeping for ASEs in Kronos including linking employees to their supervisors, setting up employee profiles for both students and their supervisors, and analyzing time cards to identify issues before payroll upload. Advises academic student employees and faculty supervisors on using Kronos and disseminates important updates related to the timekeeping system.

• 10% Office Support & Miscellaneous Duties as Assigned - Keeps abreast of human resources policies relevant to graduate students. Completes GSFR entries. Maintains departments' documents in files and databases as needed. Provides general office support. Assists in organizing and running departmental events related to graduate programs. Responsible for entering, updating and proofreading departments' information in campus publications. Updates web pages. Creates brochures, flyers, posters and other publications for departments programs, courses and special events. Other duties as assigned.

UC Vaccination Programs Policy:

As a condition of employment, you will be required to comply with the University of California Policy on Vaccinations Programs. As a condition of Physical Presence at a Location or in a University Program, all Covered Individuals* must participate in any applicable Vaccination Program by providing proof that they are Up-to-Date with any required Vaccines or submitting a request for Exception in a Mandate Program or properly declining vaccination in an Opt-Out Program no later than the Compliance Date (Capitalized terms in this paragraph are defined in the policy.). Federal, state, or local public health directives may impose additional requirements.

For more information, please visit:

* UC Santa Barbara COVID-19 Information - https://www.ucsb.edu/COVID-19-information
* University of California Policy on Vaccinations - https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/5000695/VaccinationProgramsPolicy

*Covered Individuals: A Covered Individual includes anyone designated as Personnel or Students under this Policy who physically access a University Facility or Program in connection with their employment, appointment, or education/training. A person accessing a Healthcare Location as a patient, or an art, athletics, entertainment, or other publicly accessible venue at a Location as a member of the public, is not a Covered Individual.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.

Reasonable Accommodations:

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