WHAT DOES AN ACADEMIC SPECIALIST DO?
Updated: May 25, 2025 - The Academic Specialist leads course development, instructional design, and eLearning initiatives to enhance education quality through technology and research. This role supports academic operations, including admissions, records, and curriculum coordination, in collaboration with faculty and stakeholders. The position also delivers instruction, manages projects, and applies data-driven strategies to improve student outcomes.


Key Responsibilities of an Academic Specialist
1. Academic Specialist Responsibilities
- Course Management: Be responsible for managing course development and providing cyber education support to the college, ensuring quality distance learning and experimentation with emerging educational technologies.
- Trend Analysis: Serve as an internal subject matter expert on trends and developments in cyber education and learning science.
- Instructional Collaboration: Collaborate and consult with faculty about instructional design principles across learning formats, design instruction for use with technologies, as well as with gaming and simulations.
- Project Management: Develop, implement, and manage the Distance Learning projects.
- Experiential Learning: Work closely with the college faculty and leadership to advance experiential learning across the college.
- eLearning Coordination: Coordinate the development and management of experiential eLearning initiatives to include, but not limited to, the Artificial Intelligence Laboratories, Information Assurance (IA) Laboratories, Innovations and Simulations laboratories, and contribute to curriculum and lesson materials in information resources management.
- Instructional Design: Bring real-world experience to classroom environments as an instructional designer.
- Instruction Delivery: Provide delivery of network systems instructions, architectures, analyses, plans, procedures, strategies, studies and assessments, demonstrations and experiments, automated tools, models, and project management efforts.
- Research: Conduct original research on new technology for possible integration and coordination with agencies, internal and external to National Defense University, and throughout the Federal Government.
- Literature Review: Read and review literature on visualization, distributed learning, and instructional design for the purpose of improving the overall quality of the College of Information and Cyberspace.
- Research Integration: Integrate research findings into relevant course readings, activities, and assessments, and circulate significant research among faculty.
- Professional Development: Work with the Associate and Assistant Deans to coordinate, develop, and deliver timely and relevant faculty professional development trainings (e.g., cyberspace topics, academic publishing, using rubrics, improving student writing, education theory, trends in online education).
Understand core duties with Academic Specialist Career Guide to excel in course development and instructional design
2. Academic Specialist Functions
- Admissions Support: Assists with admission, registration, and course selection for students in graduate programs in the College of Business.
- Course Management: Assists graduate students with dropping, adding, and substituting courses.
- Academic Monitoring: Makes recommendations concerning those placed on academic probation.
- Graduation Review: Reviews student files to ensure graduation requirements are met.
- Application Coordination: Coordinates the evaluation, review, and processing of academic records for students applying to the Master of Business Administration program.
- Interdepartmental Liaison: Acts as a liaison between the Associate Dean of Graduate Programs, Director of Graduate Programs, Master's Programs Director, Department Chairs, and/or Admissions Committee.
- Applicant Communication: Responsible for notifying applicants when specific documentation/information.
- Admissions Notification: Ensures that applicants are notified of admissions decisions in a timely manner.
- University Collaboration: Serves as a liaison between the College of Business Graduate Office and the University Office of Admissions and Records with regard to admissions for assigned graduate programs.
- Schedule Management: Builds classes and ensures the accuracy of courses built into the University Course Schedule Master system.
- Record Keeping: Maintains student files, processes grade change forms, and coordinates updates for each student's Program of Study.
3. Academic Specialist Details and Accountabilities
- Program Evaluation: Assesses the use of assigned region curriculum programs and materials for the purpose of evaluating program effectiveness.
- Data Utilization: Assists region and building administrators in understanding and utilizing student assessment data for the purpose of enhancing student academic achievement and meeting state, federal, and regional objectives.
- Collaboration: Collaborates with other region personnel (e.g., region administrators, building principals, teachers, etc.) for the purpose of selecting and maintaining effective curriculum materials and methodologies.
- Curriculum Coordination: Coordinates the development and implementation of the academic curriculum for the purpose of enhancing student achievement, meeting regional objectives, and maintaining compliance with all relevant codes and regulations.
- Record Maintenance: Maintains a variety of student assessment-related records and files for the purpose of ensuring that assessment data (current and historical) and documentation of assessment processes are in compliance with region, state, and federal requirements.
- Meeting Participation: Participates in meetings, committees, in-services, and seminars for the purpose of conveying and/or gathering information required to perform functions.
- Documentation: Prepares a wide variety of written materials (e.g., analyses, reports, memos, letters, policies, etc.) for the purpose of documenting activities, providing written reference, and/or conveying information.
- Research: Research curriculum and student assessment materials, and methodologies for the purpose of providing additional information and/or recommendations, to address a variety of curriculum and student assessment needs and requirements.
4. Academic Specialist Role Purpose
- Team Collaboration: Work effectively as a member of a multi-disciplinary team to implement academic, behavioral, and therapeutic services for students in need of intervention.
- Coaching: Provide coaching and professional development to support school staff in experiencing success with all students.
- Intervention Implementation: Implement research-based interventions aligned with the three tiers of the RTI pyramid.
- Academic Support: Provide an individualized academic intervention program to target diverse learners’ needs.
- Assessment Strategies: Employ authentic and norm-referenced assessment strategies to monitor progress and guide instructional planning and decision making.
- Family Engagement: Engage caregivers in the educational process, providing frequent opportunities to discuss student growth and needs.
- Professional Development: Participate in professional learning communities to enhance practice and create coherence.
- Safety Compliance: Follow emergency management and safety policies.
5. Academic Specialist Responsibilities and Key Tasks
- Tech Assistance: Assist children with logging in for online classes and ensuring they are completing necessary assignments.
- Program Facilitation: Facilitate socially distant and educational programming during scheduled break times.
- Schedule Management: Keep the group on schedule for transitions and ensure social distancing occurs between groups during transition times.
- Sanitation: Implement daily cleaning measures such as sanitizing surfaces, bathrooms, and other necessary materials and supplies.
- Health Protocols: Practice responsible social distance measures, including wearing masks and practicing regular hygiene protocols (e.g., handwashing, regular clothing changes, special attention to personal hygiene).
- Communication: Maintain a positive attitude and effective communication with the administrative staff, fellow counselors, and students (share feedback, express needs, share ideas).
- Respect Advocacy: Encourage and model respect for personal space, equipment, and facilities.
- Instructional Support: Provide instructional support services to scholars who are identified as eligible for intervention services.
- Collaborative Planning: Collaborate with classroom teachers and intervention staff to create and execute individual intervention plans for student success.
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