Rappahannock Community College (RCC), founded in 1970, provides high-quality educational and training opportunities throughout a 12-county service region an hour east of Richmond on the beautiful western shore of the Chesapeake Bay with access to fresh local seafood and water activities. RCC delivers accessible and affordable educational opportunities, including for-credit transfer and career technical programs, robust distance education coursework, quality dual enrollment courses, and award-winning workforce training and credentialing programs. RCC’s annualized enrollment of 3,259 credit students in 2023-2024 and over 800 workforce and community development students are supported by over 120 full-time employees and 200 part-time/adjunct employees across two main campuses and four satellite sites.

RCC is a two-campus institution serving a rural and diverse 12-county area in the Chesapeake Bay region of Virginia, whose mission is to provide inclusive access to exceptional training and educational opportunities meeting the community’s needs and preparing individuals for success as learners, employees, and citizens.

Are you someone who wants to help students achieve their educational and professional dreams?

RCC invites you to apply for our College Navigator position. We seek applicants who share RCC’s values of integrity, diversity, equity, and inclusion, excellence, access, and learning for life. This is a 12-month classified staff position. RCC has an excellent benefits package, and the anticipated hiring range is not to exceed $51,130, commensurate with experience. As a two-campus institution, the College Navigator may have a presence at both campuses (Glenns and Warsaw) regularly.

The College desires candidates with a commitment to the community college mission. The successful candidate will be committed to academic excellence, continuous improvement through professional development, and creating a collegial environment of civility, collaboration and open communication. The College strives for staff with expertise in best practices and innovative strategies that support teaching and learning and who are well connected to the communities we serve.

The College Navigator will provide proactive caseload management, advising assigned students in their specific concentration in developing individualized academic plans, applying for financial aid, grant aid and scholarships, identifying academic and training needs, and linking to tutoring or other learning support resources. The College Navigator will provide follow up when risk factors such as poor attendance or low grades are evident and alerts are raised in the system.

College Navigators serve as the primary point of contact for first year students – decreasing fragmentation of services and providing quality care across a continuum of enrollment requirements. College Navigators are not expected to be all-inclusive content matter experts; however, they will have expertise in connecting with experts and other departments at the college to allow for seamless student enrollment, progression, and completion. Incumbents will receive extensive training in the Culture of Care prior to meeting with students, a toolkit for on-the-job reference, and required ongoing professional development throughout the year.

Requirements:

• Excellent communication skills.
• Basic knowledge and/or experience in the following areas:
  • Effective problem-solving skills
  • Working with individuals from underserved populations
  • Data systems, operations and linkages
  • Microsoft Office and social media
• Ability to occasionally travel between campuses.
• Ability to occasionally work evenings and weekends.
• College Navigators must be willing to complete the Virginia Career Coach Certification Program after employment.
• Skills in supporting all student populations and navigating the comprehensive higher education experience.

Additional Considerations:

• Basic understanding of credit and non-credit program processes, policies, rules, and regulations.
• Work experience in higher education, academic/career coaching, or academic advising.
• Knowledge of best practices in academic advising, student development and student learning outcomes.
• Knowledge and commitment to the “one-door” philosophy of supporting both credit and workforce students to ensure a consistent student experience across the college.
• Experience in advising students in the community college setting.
• Knowledge of usage of data and analytics to identify patterns and trends in student performance.