The College of Education's NVForward project, in collaboration with the UNLV Office of Online Education, is looking for two graduate assistants (master's-level preferred) to serve as student success coaches for the Rebel Start Academy (RSA), a new workforce development and engagement initiative.
The Student Success Coach GA positions are critical toward fulfilling RSA’s student-centered orientation, and will provide crucial support to foster a safe, welcoming, supportive, and inclusive environment for student engagement. Student Success Coaches will be directly student facing and will also interact with all staff and faculty collaborating on the execution of RSA.
Essential Job Functions
- Engage a caseload of RSA students; assist with orientation, onboarding, and check-ins
- Provide documentation using the Rebel Success Hub to support just-in-time supports
- Collaborate with relevant RSA partners toward ensuring student success
- Collect and analyze data relevant to RSA, at the direction of NVForward leadership, to help inform systematic program improvement
Position Details
- Duration: Spring 2024; potential for summer 2024 and AY24-25
- Stipend: Commiserate with level ($8,500 for Master students) + GA benefits
- Weekly Engagement: 20 hours per week; potential for additional hours
Application Instructions
- Submit a CV and letter of interest to Kenny Varner
- Application Deadline: Applications received prior to November 27 will be prioritized; reviews will continue until positions are filled
- Contact: Dr. Kenny Varner, Associate Dean for Academic Programs & Initiatives
About NVForward
The UNLV College of Education founded the Nevada Forward Initiative (NVForward) in 2021, an academic collaborative between the college and various UNLV units, Nevada school districts, and education and workforce-related community partners. NVForward encompasses innovative and workforce-embedded academic coursework with wrap-around college and career readiness programs and initiatives across Nevada. It is aligned with UNLV’s Top Tier 2.0 mission, with specific attention to UNLV’s core areas of student achievement, community partnerships, socio-economic development, and social justice, equity, and inclusion.
In 2023, NVForward became a state apprenticeship program — the first of its kind in the western U.S.— that enables paraprofessionals, substitutes, and other school support staff to earn teaching degrees while maintaining employment. Leveraging its registered apprenticeship status, NVForward expanded to include a pre-apprenticeship phase: the Rebel Start Academy (RSA). The RSA provides opportunities to prepare students to enter other future UNLV apprenticeship programs for both adults and youth.
Common to all NVForward initiatives are mechanisms to reduce structural barriers to degree completion including:
- Immersing students in workforce exploration, development, and engagement
- Recruiting and matriculating students who systematically experience barriers to higher education access
- Providing audience-specific on-boarding and orientation
- Offering concierge-like coaching supports to students throughout their programs
- Removing financial barriers toward a zero out-of-pocket approach
- Delivering community-embedded related technical instruction (RTI)
- Providing systematic post-program support