Law School Law at the Top

1/ What does your job involve?

I coordinate the various academic services for four bachelor’s programs and thirteen first-year master’s programs offered in person at the Grenoble and Valence campuses. I oversee nine staff members: five academic administrators and one scheduling coordinator in Grenoble, as well as three academic administrators in Valence. I also manage the academic administration for two university diplomas (DU): the DU in Law, which spans four years from the first year of the bachelor’s program to the first year of the master’s program, and the DU in Criminology, which is a one-year program. Since July 2018, we have been responsible for administrative enrollment (IA), for which I serve as the administrator for the Law School . So every day, I ensure that tuition payments are processed correctly and verify their validity. This represents a fairly significant workload, as I devote about an hour of my time each day to this task. I work regularly with all the administrators and also with Delphine Nguyen, the assistant administrative director in charge of student records.

2/ What are the challenges of your position?

I act as a liaison between the center's academic departments and the administration, as well as the various departments at UGA. My role consists of organizing the start of the academic year, exam boards, and exams (with the scheduling manager), which are then submitted for approval by the Dean and Vice Dean. As the center's operations manager, I coordinate and plan the academic operations that punctuate the year.

3/ What do you like most about your job?

The diversity of tasks and the fact that no two days are alike are what I find most stimulating about my job. Above all, I love the "operational" side of my position. I really enjoy being in constant contact with administrators, faculty, students, and external audiences. You can't be afraid to multitask, but that's exactly what interests me. What's more, I work with a great team that loves their job and is committed to it every day.

4/ Which project(s)/file(s) are you working on the most at the moment?

The first semester exams are coming up, and we have just been working on setting them up, with the organization being communicated to all faculty members. Next, the academic administrators will be responsible for requesting the exam questions for the draws. Of course, there is all the preparation for the exams beforehand, including the questions, copies, lists, and everything else that needs to be ready for the big day!

The management of IA forms is also an important issue, given that this is the first year we have implemented them (they were previously managed by the UGA's central registrar's office). We still need to follow up on missing registration documents, file transfers, IA forms for students in preparatory classes for grandes écoles, and those wishing to switch to L1 law in the second semester.

5/ What are the highlights of the year for you?

Each year is marked by numerous highlights for the academic departments. In particular, we have to manage the start of the academic year and the orientation programs for first-year students, which we begin preparing in May and June, draw up course schedules during the summer before the start of the academic year, prepare for first- and second-semester exams in the first and second sessions, and set exam dates.

Admissions through Parcoursup and e-candidat also require a significant effort on the part of the team. Last year, I had to process about 1,000 applications on e-candidat. This platform is for transfer students (who are enrolled at another Law School France), students requesting degree equivalency (who do not have a bachelor’s or master’s degree in law and are applying to the Law School), as well as international students who do not use the Portal for Studies in France (PEF). Approximately 500 applications were reviewed by the committee in 2018.

Finally, managing university diplomas requires regular and precise monitoring of students and their results. For the College of Law university diploma, my responsibilities include student selection, administrative enrollment, timetable planning, and exams.