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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for University Counselor

💰 $ - $

Higher EducationStudent AffairsCounselingStudent Success

🎯 Role Definition

The University Counselor provides holistic, student-centered counseling and academic support designed to promote student retention, academic success, career readiness, and personal well-being. Acting at the intersection of academic advising, mental health support, career development, and student services, the University Counselor assesses student needs, develops individualized success plans, conducts crisis intervention when necessary, and collaborates across campus departments to remove barriers to degree completion. This role requires strong knowledge of student development theory, compliance with FERPA and institutional policies, experience using student information systems (SIS), and the ability to design scalable programs that improve persistence and graduation rates.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Academic Advisor
  • Mental Health Counselor (entry-level)
  • Career Services Specialist

Advancement To:

  • Senior University Counselor / Lead Counselor
  • Director of Counseling & Psychological Services
  • Director of Academic Advising or Student Success

Lateral Moves:

  • Transfer/Transfer Success Coordinator
  • Disability Services Advisor
  • Enrollment Management Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Conduct comprehensive intake assessments and one-on-one counseling sessions to identify academic, emotional, financial, and social barriers; develop individualized intervention and academic success plans that align with retention and graduation goals.
  • Provide academic advising across undergraduate or graduate programs, including course selection, degree audit interpretation, registration support, and roadmap planning to ensure timely progress toward degree completion.
  • Deliver evidence-based short-term therapeutic interventions and crisis counseling, including risk assessments, safety planning, and timely referrals to clinical services or community mental health providers when appropriate.
  • Facilitate group counseling, workshops, and psychoeducational programs on topics such as study skills, time management, stress reduction, test anxiety, healthy relationships, and transition to college life to increase student resilience and engagement.
  • Coordinate and manage individualized learning plans and accommodations in partnership with Disability Services, faculty, and academic departments to ensure equitable access and compliance with ADA requirements.
  • Provide targeted career counseling and development support, including career assessments (e.g., interest inventories), resume and cover letter review, interview preparation, and connections to internship and employment opportunities.
  • Collaborate with faculty, residence life, financial aid, and student affairs units to identify at-risk students through early-alert systems, intervene proactively, and escalate cases to appropriate support services.
  • Maintain accurate student records, case notes, and counseling documentation in accordance with FERPA, institutional policies, and professional ethics; ensure confidentiality and secure recordkeeping.
  • Develop, implement, and evaluate retention initiatives and student success programs using data-driven approaches to measure impact on persistence, retention, and student satisfaction metrics.
  • Provide culturally responsive advising and counseling that addresses the needs of diverse populations, including first-generation students, low-income students, international students, veterans, and historically underrepresented groups.
  • Serve as a liaison to on- and off-campus community resources (housing, food security, health clinics, legal aid) and coordinate referrals to ensure students receive wraparound support for non-academic barriers.
  • Design, manage and deliver orientation modules and transitional programming for incoming students to promote early engagement, academic preparedness, and campus resource awareness.
  • Participate in case management for complex student situations, chair or contribute to behavioral intervention teams, and coordinate multidisciplinary action plans to address student safety and conduct concerns.
  • Use student information systems (e.g., Banner, PeopleSoft, Slate), learning management systems (e.g., Canvas, Blackboard), and CRM tools to track interventions, monitor student progress, and produce management reports.
  • Collect and analyze retention and outcome data to prepare regular reports for senior leadership, contribute to accreditation documentation, and recommend policy or programmatic improvements based on evidence.
  • Train and supervise peer advisors, interns, and graduate assistants; develop training curricula and evaluation metrics to ensure high-quality advising and counseling services.
  • Plan and manage budgets for counseling and student success programs, secure grants or external funding where applicable, and maintain fiscally responsible program operations.
  • Participate in recruitment, admissions, and enrollment events to provide counseling and advising information to prospective students and families and to support yield and matriculation efforts.
  • Engage in ongoing professional development, maintain relevant licenses or certifications as required, and apply current best practices in higher education counseling and student development.
  • Advocate for systemic improvements to policies and practices that affect student success, contributing professional recommendations to committees and institutional strategic planning.
  • Coordinate academic probation and reinstatement processes, create corrective plans, and monitor student compliance and improvement against probationary benchmarks.
  • Provide remote and hybrid advising through virtual platforms, telecounseling, and asynchronous resources to meet the needs of nontraditional, part-time, and distance learners.

Secondary Functions

  • Develop marketing materials and web content to promote counseling services, workshops, and student success initiatives, optimizing content for search (SEO) and accessibility.
  • Support program assessment and accreditation efforts by documenting learning outcomes, collecting evaluation data, and preparing narrative reports.
  • Participate in campus-wide prevention initiatives (e.g., sexual assault prevention, substance misuse education, suicide prevention) and assist with policy implementation and training.
  • Facilitate faculty development sessions on advising best practices, mental health awareness, and classroom strategies to support students with academic and personal challenges.
  • Maintain partnerships with community mental health providers and alumni mentors to expand referral networks and career mentorship opportunities.
  • Assist with scheduling, logistics, and reporting for large-scale events such as graduation readiness workshops, transfer student orientations, and career fairs.
  • Support ad-hoc institutional research requests related to student success and retention and partner with institutional research or analytics teams to refine predictive models.
  • Contribute to crisis response teams and emergency preparedness planning, participating in drills and updating emergency contact protocols as needed.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Individual and group counseling techniques grounded in evidence-based modalities (CBT, solution-focused brief therapy, motivational interviewing).
  • Academic advising and degree audit proficiency, including familiarity with program maps, graduation requirements, and curricular sequencing.
  • Experience with student information systems (Banner, PeopleSoft, Colleague), CRM/admissions systems (Slate, Salesforce for Higher Ed), and learning management systems (Canvas, Blackboard).
  • Case management and documentation skills; ability to maintain FERPA-compliant records and produce confidential counseling notes.
  • Crisis intervention, safety planning, and mandated reporting knowledge; trained in suicide assessment and de-escalation.
  • Competency with career assessment tools and career development platforms (Handshake, Focus2, Strong Interest Inventory, MBTI).
  • Data literacy: ability to analyze retention metrics, build simple dashboards, and prepare evidence-based reports for leadership.
  • Accessibility and accommodation processes, knowledge of ADA compliance and coordination with disability services.
  • Program design, grant writing, and budget management for student success initiatives.
  • Familiarity with legal and ethical standards in higher education counseling (FERPA, HIPAA considerations, accreditation standards).

Soft Skills

  • Strong interpersonal communication and active listening skills; able to establish trust quickly with students and families.
  • Cultural competence and demonstrated ability to work inclusively with diverse student populations.
  • Empathy paired with professional boundaries and ethical judgment.
  • Critical thinking and problem-solving to create practical, measurable student success plans.
  • Collaboration and teamwork across academic departments, student affairs, and external partners.
  • Time management and caseload prioritization under competing deadlines.
  • Resilience and stress tolerance for crisis and high-demand situations.
  • Advocacy skills to navigate institutional systems on behalf of students.
  • Confidentiality and discretion in handling sensitive student information.
  • Coaching and mentoring skills to train peer advisors and develop student leadership.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Counseling, Psychology, Education, Social Work, or related human services field.

Preferred Education:

  • Master’s degree in Counseling, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Higher Education Administration, College Student Personnel, Social Work (MSW), or related graduate degree; licensure (e.g., LPC, LMHC) preferred where clinical counseling is required.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Counseling and Psychotherapy
  • Higher Education / Student Affairs
  • Psychology
  • Social Work
  • Educational Leadership
  • Career Development

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2–5 years of progressively responsible experience in academic advising, college counseling, student affairs, or related student support services.

Preferred:

  • 3+ years of direct counseling/advising experience in a college or university setting.
  • Demonstrated experience with retention programming, early-alert systems, or student success initiatives.
  • Experience supervising staff or student workers and delivering training programs.
  • Prior exposure to disability services, crisis intervention, or mental health referral networks.
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