Brandie Course

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation CoordinatorElectronic Thesis and Dissertation Coordinator

Florida International University, Miami, FL, March 2014 – Present

At FIU, I serve as a bridge among graduate students, faculty, and administrative staff to provide guidance throughout the institutional electronic thesis and dissertation (ETD) publication process. By creating educational materials for students (including video tutorials, downloadable templates, and an formatting manuals) I ensure that students’ ETD manuscripts are properly formatted to meet the guidelines for inclusion in FIU’s online digital repository, Digital Commons. I also assist student authors as they navigate copyright and manuscript embargo concerns.

Additionally, I helped redesign the website for the University Graduate School (UGS) and migrated sections of the old site to the WordPress platform. I currently edit and enhance the website, as needed and compose copy for several sections of the site, including articles profiling FIU graduate students and alumni.

Ocwen Financial Corporation – West Palm Beach, FL

Project Coordinator – Servicing Transaction Management, July 2013 – March 2014

•   Compiled departmental procedural updates and incorporated the new information into existing policies
• Edited departmental policies for design and content cohesion as well as for punctuation and        grammatical correctness.
• Tracked the progress of over 100 internal and interdepartmental concurrent running projects from inception to completion.
• Organized data collected from internal departmental contacts and sources from external business units to present to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to demonstrate compliance with guidelines

University of North Florida – Jacksonville, FL

Senior Library Services Associate – Digital Projects Division, May 2012 – April 2013

• Assisted in the creation and enhancement of an institutional repository (UNF Digital Commons) maintained by the University library
• Preserved institutional history by scanning materials to create a digital copy at required standards and uploading digital objects to the institutional repository.
• Reviewed digital objects to ensure they accurately represent the original
• Manipulated digital files to ensure the use of the most appropriate file types and formats
• Provided structural, administrative and descriptive metadata for digital objects
• Enhanced electronic theses and dissertations with physical and descriptive metadata
• Attached supplemental materials as needed

State of Mississippi – Jackson, MS

Archivist I – Mississippi Department of Archives and History, June 2011 – April 2012

• Researched and responded to routine written queries from the public using genealogical, historical, and archival resources
• Assisted telephone, email, and onsite patrons with reference requests
• Created indexes for better access to research materials
• Shelved/re-filed books and microform materials
• Registered new patrons

Reference Specialist – Mississippi Library Commission, October 2009 – June 2011

• Researched and responded to queries from state legislators, state employees, and the public using genealogical, historical, and electronic resources.
• Assisted telephone, email, and onsite patrons with reference requests.
• Maintained the agency’s resource collection by making suggestions for the acquisition of new materials and for the discarding of irrelevant and/or heavily damaged materials.

The University of Mississippi – University, MS 

Graduate Teaching Assistant/Instructor, August 2007 – May 2009

• Taught introductory American history to undergraduate college students
• Developed, assigned, and graded student assignments and projects
• Provided administrative, clerical, and research support to faculty