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DARS Coordinator and Encoder

(Sample Position Description – can be combined with other job duties as determined by the campus.

DARS Coordinator and Encoder: to administer the DARS program including encoding and training.

Principle Responsibilities, Tasks and Performance Indicators:

To manage, administrate, and create degree audits using DARS software so that students and staff have access to degree audit information.
(Priority: A; % of time: 100%; Discretion: A)

1. Understand college academic policies and procedures pertaining to degree and program requirements including grading policy, repeats, withdrawals, assessments, petitioning, restricted courses, duplicate courses, and transfer processes.
2. Translate these policies into degree audits by customizing 15 screens and over 400 interrelated fields in the Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS). This encoding (rule writing) applies to over 100 current and new degrees, diplomas, and certificates through encoding:
1. Define Academic Programs in DARS. Twenty seven fields need to be encoded to define the degree appropriately, including: degree requirements, optional requirements, grouping or linking sets of requirements, summarizing appropriate groups of requirements, and audit appearance.
2. Define Degree Requirements and Subrequirements by encoding over 100 fields to reflect academic policies and procedures, including: grading, course sequencing, required courses, duplicate courses, repeat courses, general education rules, pseudo courses, withdrawing, etc.
3. Extensive testing of the Degree Audit to make certain the encoding interfaces the information in Academic Programs, Degree Requirements and Subrequirements, COM Table, Grade Table, Master Table, etc.
3. Train counselors, advisors, and support staff on how to run degree audits and transfer articulations.
4. Maintain DARS Communication (COM) Tables to direct multiple Complex issues in how the audit is executed and printed. Over 140 fields of information are encoded that set up audit rules, procedures, structure, and information management. Extensive testing is necessary to make certain the encoding in the COM Table is correlating with the encoding in the Program Definitions, Requirements, Subrequirements, Grade Table, etc.
5. Maintain the DARS String Tables to reflect academic policies in course relationships, including time sequencing strings, prerequisite strings, course group strings, limitation Strings, and duplicate strings. Test the encoding to make certain the audit performs accurately.
6. Maintain the DARS Convert Tables for courses that change their designations. Make certain appropriate encoding exists in the COM table and Requirements to correlate with the Convert Table.
7. Maintain the DARS Master Grade Table by using over 30 fields to define academic grades, retake and duplicate course processing rules, exception processing, and processing courses in violation of String table.
8. Maintain the DARS Repeat Table to reflect academic policies on courses that may be repeated, encoded by duration and number of credits.
9. Supervise and train Transcript Evaluator(s) for development of course transfer articulation in DARS including:
1. Creating Master Reference Tables (MRT) with grading tables identifying how each transfer institution treats coursework. Encode over 60 fields to articulate Transfer institution attributes into College attributes
2. Extensive testing of the MRT to make certain it correlates with College’s Grade Table, the Articulation Table, and degree audit
3. Creating and editing Transfer Articulation Tables to reflect academic transfer policies
4. Performing transfer audits in the Transfer Evaluation Screen, including editing and locking courses in Student Information System
10. Work with counselors and Academic Affairs staff to get accurate degree, diplomas, and certificate program requirements.
11. Create and maintainbudget for DARS.

Performance Indicators:

1. Enter new information and changes into DARS on a daily basis.
2. Monitor college curriculum and transfer developments weekly.
3. Contact staff involved in academic changes weekly.

Nature and Scope

Relationships:

This employee communicates verbally and in writing through formal and informal communication structures, consistently and effectively to accomplish job responsibilities. This employee must have strong interpersonal skills and work effectively with students, staff and professional colleagues and external constituents. Work is coordinated through all other units of the college, other colleges and universities, and community organizations.

This employee reports to the ___________________________.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

This position requires a thorough knowledge and understanding of student records processing, academic policies and procedures, college curriculum process, research and software, ability to identify and address problems, competence to conduct both long–range and short–range planning, budgeting, and the ability to articulate strategies and plans to constituent groups in and outside the college and ability and interest in working with computers. This position requires highly developed human relations skills, sensitivity to all facets of the college community, technical skills and knowledge of DARS. This position requires superior analytical and problem solving skills with demonstrated competence in use of logic. Technical and human relations skills of equal importance; managerial skills are of less importance. Must be detail oriented and able to work independently.

Problem Solving:

This position requires the ability to interpret policies and procedures, solve the problem or recommend a solution. This employee must review and approve material put on DARS and negotiate with staff regarding incorrect or conflicting information.

Freedom to Act:

Within the college policies, this position carries the freedom to initiate actions necessary to carry out assign duties. Reporting to the ______________________ is normally through informal meetings supported by written communications as appropriate. Externally imposed controls such as union contracts, MnSCU and college policies, state and federal laws may impact the freedom to act in some instance.