Employment Opportunities at USD
Program Assistant - Professional and Continuing Education
- San Diego, California
- Part-time temporary
- 5753
Position Title & Department:
Program Assistant - Professional and Continuing Education; Professional and Continuing Education Posting #5753
Department Description:The University of San Diego's Division of Professional and Continuing Education (PCE) offers a robust portfolio of courses and programs needed by aspiring professionals that evolve in response to their professional development in the fields of business, education, and health care.
PCE nurtures key partnerships on the local, national and international level to better serve working professionals who seek to enhance or build their careers, as well as with their employers to help achieve their highest value and potential.
University Description:The University of San Diego, an engaged and contemporary Catholic institution, was founded by the Diocese of San Diego and the Society of the Sacred Heart in 1949. Governed by an independent board of trustees since 1972, USD remains committed to a liberal arts education grounded in the Catholic intellectual tradition and the pursuit of truth, goodness and beauty. Inspired by this centuries old tradition of Catholic higher education, the University welcomes people of all faith traditions and any, or no, religious background. The future success of USD relies on the contributions of those who seek to foster the development of engaged global citizens and an earnest confrontation of humanity’s urgent challenges.
Detailed Description:
This is a part-time temporary, non benefit-based position with an anticipated end date of December 31, 2027. The appointment is renewable at the discretion of the University and dependent upon performance and continued funding.
The Program Assistant provides essential administrative, operational, and customer service support for educational programs within Professional and Continuing Education (PCE). This role serves as a primary point of contact for students, prospective students, instructors, and external partners, ensuring smooth course administration, record management, and program logistics.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Student & Customer Support
- Serves as the primary front-line contact for phone, email, and web inquiries regarding PCE courses and programs.
- Assist students with registration, course transfers, add/drop processes, and transcript requests.
- Provides second-level technical and administrative support to students when initial service inquiries need escalation.
Instructor & Course Administration
- Assists with instructor hiring documentation, background check compliance, and contracting workflows via DocuSign.
- Supports instructors with access and orientation to the USD Instructor Portal (Destiny) and Learning Management System.
- Facilitates section setup, course scheduling, facilities/classroom booking, and textbook tracking.
Academic Records & Grade
- Manages grade collection, recording, and grade sheet approvals across active courses.
- Maintains accurate student and partner files, ensuring privacy and compliance with university policies.
General Office & Operations
- Assists in generating program activity and marketing performance reports.
- Handles administrative purchasing, office supply maintenance, and general department communications.
Special Conditions of Employment:
- This is a fully remote position which will perform all duties and tasks via the University’s digital infrastructure.
- The position requires attendance at virtual meetings that are scheduled during the day.
Background check: Successful completion of a pre-employment background check.
Degree Verification Requirement: Persons offered employment in this position will be required to provide official education transcripts for degree verification purposes.
Job Requirements:Minimum Qualifications:
- Education: High School Diploma required; bachelor’s degree preferred.
- Experience: Minimum 1–2 years of experience in customer service, administrative support, or higher education environments. Substitution: College education may substitute for up to one year of work experience at the rate of 2 years of education = 1 year experience.
- Skills: Strong written and verbal communication, organizational detail, proficiency with CRM/Student Information Systems (e.g., Destiny), and Microsoft Office/Google Workspace applications.
Performance Expectations - Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
- Demonstrates ownership of processes and procedures involving handling of course inquiries for credit validation and/or Education
- Demonstrates the handling of the enrollment processes for all credit validation partners and/or Education students.
- Demonstrates the ability to use resources in the training library to solve problems independently.
- Maintains high efficiency, accuracy, and completeness when using data systems and data formats.
- Develops full proficiency to accomplish work within the student information system(s).
- Encourages accountability in a collaborative way with other team members.
$19.84 - $25.81 per hour
The salary range provided in this posting reflects what we reasonably expect to pay for this position. Actual compensation offered or earned is dependent on experience, education and other factors including departmental budget.
Special Application Instructions:Click the 'Apply Now' button to complete our online application. In addition, please upload a cover letter and resume to your application profile for the hiring managers’ review. If you have any questions or difficulties please contact the Employment Services Team at jobs@sandiego.edu.
Additional Details:Hours: 19 hours per week
Closing date: Open until filled
Note: External job postings will be up for at least three days. After that time, applications will be reviewed by the hiring manager/committee throughout the posting period. A candidate may be selected at any time which could then close this posting on a date earlier than listed.
The University of San Diego is a smoking and tobacco-free campus. For more information, visit www.sandiego.edu/smokefree.