Admissions Counselor, Accelerated Undergraduate Admissions Hybrid-Remote and North County San Diego

PLNU is a Christian liberal arts university in the evangelical, Wesleyan tradition, offering quality undergraduate, graduate and professional programs. We provide higher education in a vibrant Christian environment where minds are engaged and challenged, character is modeled and formed, and service is an expression of faith. PLNU is an institution that is committed to reflecting the rich diversity of God’s kingdom. We therefore encourage applications from culturally diverse candidates.

Benefits:

We are pleased to offer attractive benefits and resources. This includes benefits such as health, dental, tuition benefits for employees and dependents, competitive retirement matching, vacation and sick time, and 15 paid holidays per year. In addition, we have many opportunities to engage with our community including staff chapel and a robust wellness program.

Job Summary:

PLNU is looking for a highly motivated, goal-oriented Admissions Counselor to support enrollment growth for our Accelerated Undergraduate hybrid programs within the Graduate and Professional Studies Division. This position is ideal for someone who enjoys working with prospective students, building relationships, presenting to groups, and developing recruitment opportunities within an assigned community college territory.

The Admissions Counselor will balance two primary areas of responsibility: managing prospective students through the admissions and enrollment process and developing a strong recruitment presence within an assigned community college territory. This includes building relationships with community college faculty, deans, transfer centers, student services departments, and prospective students while also maintaining consistent follow-up with inquiries, applicants, and accepted students.

The successful candidate will be highly organized, adaptable, proactive, and comfortable independently managing a schedule that may include student appointments, application processing, campus visits, classroom presentations, tabling, recruitment events, partner meetings, and administrative responsibilities. Because campus opportunities, student needs, and enrollment priorities can change throughout the semester, this position requires a high degree of flexibility and the ability to adjust priorities while maintaining strong follow-through and progress toward enrollment goals.

This role requires a growth mindset, strong attention to detail, excellent time management, and comfort working in a highly collaborative and transparent team environment. This includes regularly communicating recruitment activity, student pipeline status, territory development, challenges, and enrollment projections with department leadership and teammates.

The Admissions Counselor will be responsible for meeting or exceeding assigned enrollment and recruitment goals and will serve as a primary ambassador for PLNU within their assigned community college territory.

This position is eligible for a hybrid work arrangement, meaning several days each week the staff member may be able to work from home. The primary office location on in-office days will be MiraCosta College in Oceanside, California, with occasional presence at PLNU’s Mission Valley Regional Center and other recruitment locations as needed.

Job Status:

Full time

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Job Description:

Salary:
Pay range $25.00 - $26.00 ( annualized $52,000 - $54,080)
Actual salary offered is determined by the candidate’s experience, education, skills, and other factors, including internal equity and university funding resources.

What You'll Be Doing

• Manage all aspects of Accelerated Undergraduate student recruitment and admissions including inquiry development, inquiry management, pre-admissions advising, transcript evaluations, applicant counseling, admissions decisions, acceptance processing, and enrollment support.
• Proactively communicate with prospective students through in-person meetings, phone calls, Zoom meetings, voicemail, texting, and email throughout the admissions and enrollment process.
• Maintain consistent and timely outreach to inquiries, applicants, accepted students, and other assigned prospective students in accordance with established department contact expectations.
• Build relationships with prospective students, understand their educational and career goals, identify potential barriers to enrollment, and provide clear next steps throughout the admissions process.
• Evaluate applications for admission according to established university and program criteria.
• Conduct preliminary transcript reviews and provide prospective students with information regarding transferability, remaining requirements, program structure, and the admissions process.
• Maintain accurate, timely, and detailed student records in the admissions CRM, ensuring that student status, communication, appointments, recruitment activities, and next steps are consistently documented.
• Meet or exceed established enrollment, activity, conversion, student engagement, and recruitment goals.
• Develop and maintain strong working relationships with community college deans, faculty members, Transfer Centers, counseling departments, EOPS, career services, student support departments, administrators, and other campus partners.
• Serve as a liaison and ambassador between assigned community college campuses and PLNU to further the mission and brand of the university and increase awareness of PLNU Accelerated Undergraduate programs.
• Deliver engaging classroom presentations, information sessions, workshops, and other presentations to prospective students and community college partners.
• Plan, coordinate, communicate, and execute student-focused recruitment events and presentations, including information sessions, classroom visits, tabling events, transfer fairs, community college events, and outreach activities.
• Independently manage campus outreach schedules, student appointments, recruitment events, partner meetings, and follow-up.
• Track territory recruitment activity and prospective student pipelines, evaluate the effectiveness of outreach efforts, and adjust recruitment strategies as needed to support enrollment goals.
• Provide regular updates to supervisors and enrollment leadership regarding applicant pipelines, territory activity, upcoming recruitment opportunities, challenges, progress toward goals, and enrollment forecasts.
• Use data, CRM reporting, and feedback to identify opportunities to improve student engagement, recruitment effectiveness, conversion, and enrollment outcomes.
• Collaborate closely with fellow Admissions Counselors, the Enrollment Contact Center, Student Success, Financial Services, Records, Marketing, academic departments, and other university partners to provide students with a coordinated enrollment experience.
• Participate in individual and team performance discussions, coaching, training, and ongoing professional development designed to strengthen recruitment and admissions effectiveness.
• Schedule classrooms and coordinate with community college staff on logistics for PLNU classes meeting at partner campuses, including classroom access and other operational needs.
• Maintain knowledge of PLNU programs, admissions requirements, policies, student resources, enrollment processes, and changing program offerings.
• Work occasional evenings and weekends as needed for recruitment events, student appointments, presentations, and other department initiatives.
• Perform other related responsibilities as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Experience in university enrollment, admissions, recruitment, student services, customer service, or sales preferred.
• Experience working with adult, transfer, or nontraditional students preferred.
• Experience developing external partnerships, conducting outreach, or managing a recruitment or sales territory preferred.
• Proficiency in computer software including Google Suite and Zoom; experience with Salesforce or another CRM is preferred.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong public speaking and presentation skills with the ability to confidently present to students, faculty, staff, administrators, and groups of varying sizes.
• Must be highly motivated with a high level of enthusiasm for promoting new and expanding academic programs to prospective students.
• Commitment to a high-performance culture and to achieving individual and team enrollment goals.
• Demonstrated ability to receive feedback, adapt to changing needs, and continuously improve performance.
• Must possess exceptional attention to detail, organization, and time management skills.
• Ability to independently manage competing priorities including prospective student follow-up, application processing, appointments, campus outreach, partner relationships, events, presentations, travel, and administrative responsibilities.
• Demonstrated flexibility and adaptability in a fast-paced environment with changing schedules and priorities.
• Ability to work independently while maintaining consistent communication, accountability, and transparency with supervisors and team members.
• Ability to proactively develop relationships and create recruitment opportunities within an assigned territory.
• Ability to exercise strong interpersonal skills in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with prospective students, peers, community college faculty and staff, external partners, and university colleagues across all levels of the institution.
• Strong teamwork skills and demonstrated willingness to contribute to shared department priorities and goals.
• Ability to accomplish tasks under the pressure of deadlines while maintaining accuracy and strong student service.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
• Evidence of Christian commitment and active church involvement. In addition, staff agree to live in agreement with PLNU’s Community Life Covenant.
• ​The job offer is contingent on the successful completion of a background check. PLNU  will consider qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with state and local "Fair Chance" laws.

Physical Requirements

• The work includes both sedentary office responsibilities and regular travel to community college campuses and recruitment locations.
• May require sitting or standing for extended periods of time.
• Use of computer equipment including computer keyboard, mouse, and monitor.
• Vision to read documents, email, correspondence, presentations, and reports on paper and computer monitors.
• Hearing and speaking to communicate effectively with others in person, virtually, and by phone.
• Will also stand, stoop, push, pull, and lift up to 25 lbs. throughout the day.
• Must be able to travel regularly to assigned community college campuses and other recruitment locations.
• Must be able to work evenings and/or weekends when needed for recruitment activities and events.
• Reliable transportation is required.
  

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At PLNU, we believe in pursuing calling together. Deep and meaningful relationships between students, faculty, and staff is vital in nurturing our shared community and expressing God’s love. We are looking for enthusiastic candidates to join us in empowering our students to reach their greatest personal, spiritual and professional potential. 

Point Loma Nazarene University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability or status as a veteran in any of its policies, practices or procedures.