What does a student support specialist do?
A student support specialist provides ample counsel and advice for students in an educational institution. Student support's responsibility is to help students adjust, adapt, and advance through their learning life in school or university and provide care and support for them to grow. The student support specialist also connects students to relevant benefits, government educational benefits, and other help and benefits provided by the educational institution and its faculty. The student support specialist aims to help students in their studies and see them achieve their goals.
Student support specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real student support specialist resumes:
- Manage SharePoint inventory repository and assign access levels to new hires as needed.
- Train staff with methods to meet IEP goals, mandate reporting and effective communication in the classroom.
- Monitor student behavior -assist with student IEP and report student activity
- Provide individual academic assistance to students having difficulty with college-level mathematics
- Provide various services as a liaison between students and administration obtain certification in cardiopulmonary resuscitation
- Provide individual academic assistance to students having difficulty with college-level mathematics
Student support specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 29% of Student Support Specialists are proficient in Student Support, Social Work, and Support Services. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Organizational skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Student Support Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Student Support, 29%
Performed ongoing Registration Campaigns, Tuition Reminder Campaigns and Student Support Campaigns to ensure student retention recommended by university guidelines.
- Social Work, 14%
Work closely with Social Worker as well as other Administrators to maintain a safe environment for students as well as staff.
- Support Services, 7%
Provide support services to students within a school setting for the purpose of drop-out prevention and pregnancy prevention.
- Professional Development, 6%
Developed and facilitated professional development for staff.
- Behavioral Issues, 5%
Monitor and provide support with any behavioral issues.
- Technical Support, 3%
Trained customers in navigating institution software and provided technical support by diagnosing issues and assessing the appropriate troubleshooting solutions.
"student support," "social work," and "support services" are among the most common skills that student support specialists use at work. You can find even more student support specialist responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a student support specialist to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what student support specialists do because "social and human service assistants talk with clients about the challenges in their lives and assist them in getting help." Additionally, a student support specialist resume shows how student support specialists use communication skills: "provide key resources to parents, social workers, probation and other school officials via various methods of communication. "
Organizational skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling student support specialist duties is organizational skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "social and human service assistants must often complete lots of paperwork and work with many different clients." According to a student support specialist resume, here's how student support specialists can utilize organizational skills in their job responsibilities: "assisted student athletes with assignments promoted and encourage good study habits and taught time management and organizational skills"
Problem-solving skills. This is an important skill for student support specialists to perform their duties. For an example of how student support specialist responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "social and human service assistants help clients find solutions to their problems." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a student support specialist: "resolved problems impacting student enrollment with the appropriate department. ".
Time-management skills. A big part of what student support specialists do relies on "time-management skills." You can see how essential it is to student support specialist responsibilities because "social and human service assistants often work with many clients." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical student support specialist tasks: "maintain hipaa rights and privacy requirements.skills usedhigh organization skills able to prioritize work tasksensure deadlines are met.written and oral communication skills"
Interpersonal skills. Another common skill required for student support specialist responsibilities is "interpersonal skills." This skill comes up in the duties of student support specialists all the time, as "social and human service assistants must make their clients feel comfortable discussing sensitive issues." An excerpt from a real student support specialist resume shows how this skill is central to what a student support specialist does: "provided interpersonal guidance, academic support, and resources for a school of over 700 students. "
The three companies that hire the most student support specialists are:
- PSEA5 student support specialists jobs
- Ymca Of Metropolitan Atlanta3 student support specialists jobs
- Pearson3 student support specialists jobs
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Compare different student support specialists
Student support specialist vs. Support
A support employee is responsible for assisting the business operations and responding to customers' inquiries and concerns regarding its goods and services. Support logs all customers' interaction and escalates potential complaints to the appropriate department. They also help with implementing strategic procedures to improve operations and reach maximum productivity. A support employee must have excellent communication and customer service skills, ensuring clients' satisfaction with the services and maintain good feedback to boost the company's brand, attract more clients, and increase revenues.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, student support specialist responsibilities require skills like "student support," "social work," "support services," and "professional development." Meanwhile a typical support has skills in areas such as "customer service," "cash management," "customer satisfaction," and "hr." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Supports tend to make the most money working in the professional industry, where they earn an average salary of $50,563. In contrast, student support specialists make the biggest average salary, $48,601, in the media industry.supports tend to reach lower levels of education than student support specialists. In fact, supports are 10.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Student support specialist vs. Student advisor
A student advisor is responsible for supporting the students' personal growth and development by guiding them on their learning processes and educational goals. Student advisors provide regular counseling for the students to analyze their career aspirations, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and strategize learning plans to address those difficulties. They also coordinate with the students' parents and guardians to report the students' progress and determine appropriate scholastic solutions. A student advisor must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially when handling students' different needs and concerns.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real student support specialist resumes. While student support specialist responsibilities can utilize skills like "student support," "social work," "behavioral issues," and "technical support," student advisors use skills like "customer service," "student services," "international student," and "sevis."
Student advisors earn a lower average salary than student support specialists. But student advisors earn the highest pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $40,721. Additionally, student support specialists earn the highest salaries in the media with average pay of $48,601 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Student advisors tend to reach similar levels of education than student support specialists. In fact, they're 1.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Student support specialist vs. Student coordinator
A student coordinator is responsible for supporting the school administration in running daily operations and disseminating necessary information across the institution. Student coordinators serve as a liaison between the student body and the school management to address inquiries and concerns and process requests. They perform administrative and clerical duties, help the faculty in designing programs and educational activities, and conduct students' counseling to identify their difficulties and struggles with the courses. A student coordinator must be highly communicative and organizational, especially in sorting student documents and maintaining the data system.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from student support specialist resumes include skills like "student support," "social work," "support services," and "behavioral issues," whereas a student coordinator is more likely to list skills in "coordinators," "student services," "student organizations," and "alumni. "
Student coordinators earn the best pay in the education industry, where they command an average salary of $39,669. Student support specialists earn the highest pay from the media industry, with an average salary of $48,601.When it comes to education, student coordinators tend to earn similar degree levels compared to student support specialists. In fact, they're 3.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.6% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Student support specialist vs. Student mentor
A student mentor is responsible for guiding the students on their educational and professional development by encouraging the students to reach their maximum potential, helping them with their study habits and academic concerns. Student mentors widen the social connection of the students by recommending them to join school activities and other educational organizations. They analyze the students' strengths and weaknesses and implement strategies to address those difficulties. A student mentor also advises the students of their potential careers, considering their interests and social experience.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between student support specialists and student mentors, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a student support specialist might have more use for skills like "student support," "social work," "support services," and "behavioral issues." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of student mentors require skills like "student life," "student athletes," "community services," and "educational programs. "
Student mentors enjoy the best pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $33,166. For comparison, student support specialists earn the highest salary in the media industry.student mentors reach lower levels of education compared to student support specialists, in general. The difference is that they're 5.7% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 2.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of student support specialist
Updated January 8, 2025
