Admissions coordinators are commonly employed schools and universities, as well as hospitals, nursing homes, and urgent care facilities in the healthcare industry. An admissions coordinator in a school-related position determines which prospective students meet the school’s admissions requirements and must follow the school’s policies and regulations when deciding which applicants to accept and reject. The admissions coordinator’s job description includes providing an information packet to a prospective student and his family, assisting the individual with the application process, ensuring that the school’s admission quota is met, and conducting tours and student orientations. Before a patient is admitted to a medical facility, admissions coordinators are responsible for gathering financial, medical, and personal information about him and his financially responsible parties.
The first responsibility of an admissions coordinator in an educational setting is to ensure that all prospective students receive complete information packets about the school’s financial aid programs, academic disciplines, and extracurricular activities. An admissions representative also addresses students’ and their families’ concerns and questions, as well as explaining the various degree paths available to them. Once a student has decided to attend the school, the coordinator assists him in obtaining the necessary information, such as academic records and transcripts, as well as guiding him through the application process. He may also assist the student in scheduling a financial aid interview to determine whether he is eligible for a student loan, grant, or scholarship.
The admissions coordinator will also give campus tours to prospective students and their families throughout the school year. In order to properly field questions from students, the coordinator represents the entire school and should have excellent public speaking and communication skills. He also organizes student orientations and open houses, as well as maintaining admissions records and files for both current and prospective students. In addition, the admissions representative is sometimes required to meet referral quota guidelines in order to generate referrals for prospective students from both current students and other schools.
In the healthcare industry, admissions coordinators are the face of the medical department to new patients. While some patients visit the clinic or hospital for routine procedures, tests, and examinations, others may be there because they are suffering from a serious or life-threatening condition. The admissions coordinator’s job is to encourage and reassure the patient while also gathering the information needed to process his paperwork correctly, such as his name, contact information, address, and birth date, as well as his employment and insurance information in jurisdictions where insurance is required. Hospitals and medical facilities rely on this information to properly treat patients, bill the appropriate parties, and provide results to the facility’s medical records department.
After gathering the data, the medical admissions coordinator enters it into the medical facility’s computer system and sends it to the appropriate department. These coordinators also provide information about the facility’s medical and privacy policies to patients and their families, as well as answers to questions about payment requirements, visiting hours, and other concerns a patient or his family may have upon admission. Computer and organizational skills, as well as compassion and excellent communication skills, are required of the coordinator.