Compensation and Classification

Student Affairs Officer Classification Matrix
for Positions in Departments, Colleges, and Schools

Positions described in this matrix are based in departments, colleges, and schools.  Positions described in this matrix have as their primary responsibility providing student services program development, implementation, and administration to students, faculty, and the general public in one or more of the following areas: requirements for admission, requirements for graduation, student recruitment, course scheduling, and outplacement.  Due to the working environment in most departments, typically these positions perform a variety of functions pertaining to student services, and often other incidental duties as well.

Although this matrix does not describe SAOs at the IV and V levels, that does not preclude departmental SAOs from attaining those levels.  If departmental SAOs significantly exceed the criteria described at the SAO III level in this matrix, their duties and responsibilities should be compared to the SAO IV and V descriptions in the Student Affairs Officer Class Specifications, to determine whether their positions are equivalent.

Matrix Classification Guidelines

• Student Affairs Officer positions in departments, colleges, and schools vary greatly.  This matrix does not attempt to describe all the duties performed.  Rather, it presents examples of duties performed in seven general “functions.”  To attain a described level, SAOs need not perform all the duties described at that level, but they must perform duties equivalent in complexity, impact, and scope with the duties described at that level.

• The standards in this matrix assume incumbents maintain, update, and make limited modifications to databases to support student services functions.  Duties involving databases should not be grade controlling.  If database responsibility is the primary purpose of the position, it should be classified in another series.

• To attain a specific level, employees do not have to perform all the duties described at that level.  However, the majority of the SAO’s time (50%) should be indicative of the level described.

• Adjustment for Breadth of Expertise: If the employee performs at least 5 of the 7 functions (always including functions A and B), 30% or more of the SAO’s time must be performed at a specific level for the resulting classification of the position to be at that higher level.

• The standards assume a “normal” level of supervision received.  At all described levels day-to-day issues are handled independently.  However, advice and assistance are available for unusual or particularly difficult situations, either from a higher-level Student Affairs Officer, a faculty member, a campus “expert,” or the equivalent.

• The standards frequently refer to recommendations or advice made to chairs, deans, faculty, admissions committees, and others.   In all cases these standards assume that those recommendations are usually adopted and the advice is usually followed.

• The standards describe personally performed work, and do not take into account supervision over others.  If the position supervises others, the supervisory responsibilities should be classified separately.  If the personally performed work and the supervisory responsibilities are classified at different levels, the SAO will receive the higher grade of the two.  The supervisory level is usually one level above the level of employees supervised, if:

  • There are at least 2 FTE employees at that level, and
  • This position has the full range of supervisory responsibilities: recommends or determines performance ratings, merit increases, selection, termination, etc.

Printable version of this chart

Function	Student Affairs Officer I	Student Affairs Officer II Meets the equivalent of SAO I PLUS:	Student Affairs Officer III Meets the equivalent of SAO II PLUS:
A. Advises Students, Faculty and the Public on University, campus, and departmental requirements, policies, and procedures	In addition to providing information on policies and procedures, including major and minor requirements, provides advice to students and faculty on all aspects of course requirements for degree completion.  Takes into account individual student goals, identifies options, and helps students map strategies. Advises new faculty on departmental and university policies and procedures. Confirms that students have met requirements for degree completion when requirements are generally straightforward and documented. Identifies students with GPA or progress problems and recommends probation or other intervention when the circumstances and resolutions are straightforward. Advises students on how to get off of probation.	Provides advice on re- quirements of not-clearly- defined programs such as independent study programs, interdisciplinary programs, or multiple programs.  Advises on complex transfers from other institutions such as those in the midst of advanced degree completion and courses in other programs.  Evaluates and advises students in petitions for exceptions to departmental and/or Graduate Division requirements.  May require obtaining agreements of modified requirements with other departments.  Advises on special eligibility requirements, such as Honors programs.  Confirms that students have met requirements for degree completion when there are no clear precedents, such as interdisciplinary programs or when transfer work is involved.  Advises students on the resolution of normative and/or unit ceiling issues.  Identifies students with GPA or progress problems and recommends probation or other intervention the when resolution requires extensive knowledge of department precedents, options for other course work or majors, and/or student crisis resolution resources.	Makes recommendations for the resolution of very intricate student issues/grievances, such as alleged discrimination, complex grade dispute issues, and students’ personal crises.  Analyzes the consequences of department academic policies and recommends new or changed policies.  Advises faculty members and groups on the formulation of department policy by advising them on areas needing clarification and identifying solutions.  Recommends petition exceptions that affect the requirements of multiple departments.
B. Admissions	In addition to providing information on basic admissions requirements, assists in preliminary screening of applicants by assessing the applicant’s overall record, including GPA, recommendation letters, publications, etc.  Identifies strong and weak applicants. Composes petitions for admission exceptions to eligibility requirements (e.g., concerning international transcripts).  For undergraduate admission to the major, interprets transfer work, requiring some exercise in judgment, e.g., comparing previous course work with the content of Berkeley courses.  Evaluates junior college transfers, considering courses taken and knowledge of the quality of the specific junior college.  Recommends applicants for available fellowships requiring some interpretation and sound judgment of requirement criteria.	Makes recommendations to the department admissions committee on candidate admission to the program based upon qualitative analysis of the cases, using knowledge of department areas of emphasis and faculty specialties and interests, comprehensive knowledge of past decisions, etc.  For impacted majors with limits on the number of admissions to the major, guides students in devising flexible strategies to prepare themselves for alternative majors.  Requires some knowledge of programs and requirements outside of the department and good judgment discerning the boundaries of advising authority.	Makes recommendations to the department admissions committee on candidate admission to the program for interdisciplinary programs or programs with equivalent complexity, requiring significantly broader knowledge of multiple academic fields of study.
C. Course Scheduling and Curriculum	Schedules courses into classrooms, including particularly difficult programs such as cross-listings between departments.  Scheduling requires specialized knowledge of department and program needs, e.g., projected departmental enrollment that varies significantly from term to term.   Using the online TeleBears/OLADs, determines student enrollment criteria and sets seat reservations, scheduling more complex classes, which requires judgment (e.g., special sorting based upon student transcripts, transfer status).	Taking into account course requirements for normal time for degree, advises dean, associate deans, or chair of necessary courses to be scheduled each term. Adds course sections, taking into account the effect on the department's budget. Takes into account faculty commitements and preferences. Using some knowledge of course content, assists faculty in preparing course descriptions for review by the Academic Senate. For courses commonly part of interdisciplinary studies, determines scheduling needs across multiple departments. Where required for impacted or other special enrollment criteria/parameters, analyzes transcripts or other student information not contained in TeleBears/OLADs to make enrollment eligibility recommendations.	Analyzes, evaluates, and recommends to faculty revisions to courses and program design and/or the addition of new courses to meet the following types of needs: to accommodate components for other majors; in response to input from students on deficiencies in current course content; identify and recommend new emphases in the major, etc. Advises chair and budget officer on need for program changes based upon analyses of several factors, such as trends and patterns of course enrollment, student demographics and evaluations. Recommendations affect students in other departments as well as department majors.
D. Financial Support	Advises students on a wide variety of financial aid sources and requirements where often the criteria are not readily apparent.  Works with the Financial Aid Office to adjust individual student budgets, providing rationale to the office to justify such changes	Recommends allocation of financial aid funds and fellowships, including which students qualify, and amounts each should receive. Assists in the preparation and submission of comprehensive grant proposals, requiring knowledge of grant subject matter.
E. Outplacement/ Internships	Advises students on job opportunities for graduates from the department.  Takes into account individual student goals, identifies options, and helps students map strategies	Assists students in outplacement utilizing an in-depth knowledge of job opportunities in the field that requires ongoing maintenance of relationships with institutions and companies associated with the field of study.
F. Recruitment	Participates in recruitment efforts, including making contact with institutions and departments identified by others, and represents the university in outreach visits.  Helps develop recruitment materials for outreach.	Designs and develops outreach programs to increase the enrollment of underrepresented groups.  Evaluates the effectiveness of the program and recommends changes.  Identifies which institutions and departments should be targeted due to their diverse pool of applicants.
G. GSI Management	Recommends GSI assignments based upon basic knowledge of GSI individual qualifications and course subject matter.	Recommends GSI assignments factoring in relative classroom strengths and weaknesses, and course subject-matter knowledge of individual GSIs as matched to course content and instructor.	Develops programs to help improve GSI teaching skills.  Recommends resolution to grievances by students against GSIs, grievances of GSIs against the department, and GSI disciplinary actions.

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