Director of Student Retention Initiatives

University of Kansas
United States, Kansas, Lawrence
1450 Jayhawk Boulevard (Show on map)
Dec 16, 2024
Position Overview The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Kansas is seeking a dynamic and organized Director of Student Retention Initiatives to lead initiatives focused on improving student retention, persistence, timely graduation, and overall success. This pivotal role will serve as both a project manager and strategic partner, ensuring that the College's retention efforts are coordinated, data-driven, and effectively implemented to maximize student success. The director will collaborate with teams across the College and university partners and will report to the Executive Dean of the College. Job Description 90% Student Retention Initiatives Programming Advisory Role: Provide strategic advice to the Dean on enhancing retention initiatives, including recommendations for new programs and improvements to existing strategies. This involves reviewing literature and best practices on student retention and persistence and studying successful programs at other universities to identify and implement effective strategies and high-impact practices at KU. Seek to identify bottlenecks within existing student support systems and optimize resource allocation to ensure timely assistance. Project Management: Lead and manage college-wide student retention and persistence initiatives, ensuring timely execution and seamless coordination among a wide range of teams in the college that align with university objectives and enhance student engagement and success. Strategic Alignment: Collaborate closely with the Dean's office leadership team and offices of Student Affairs, Academic Success, Academic Affairs, and Financial Aid to ensure that retention efforts are integrated with both the University and college's strategic priorities and goals. Cross-Collaboration: Foster partnerships in collaboration with college leaders both within the college and across the university beyond to identify and address barriers to student retention and persistence effectively. This includes collaboration with Student Affairs and Academic Affairs to ensure alignment and to leverage existing resources effectively while exploring innovative approaches tailored to the unique needs of each unit within the college. Data-Driven Insights: Collect, analyze, and report relevant data to inform decision-making and assess the success of retention initiatives. This includes close collaboration with AIRE to develop targeted interventions, monitor retention patterns, and ensure alignment with institutional goals, while also providing insights that guide the Dean's Office in strategic resource allocation. 10% Other Duties as Assigned Professional Development: Build relationships with regional and national consortia to ensure alignment with innovative best practices in retention and academic support. Required Qualifications Bachelor's degree, and a minimum of five years of relevant experience. Two or more year's of experience in project management, including initiating and leading projects from concept to successful implementation, with strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple tasks concurrently, ensuring measurable outcomes. Three or more year's of experience with collecting, analyzing, and reporting information and data, emphasizing the use of data-driven insights in decision-making and the assessment of initiative success. Two or more year's of experience or coursework with conducting in-depth research, reviewing existing literature and best practices on student retention and persistence, as well as studying successful programs at other universities to identify and implement effective strategies at KU. Preferred Qualifications 3-5 years' experience with retention and persistence strategies, especially within large, diverse academic institutions. Experience with program assessment, curriculum development, and student engagement strategies that promote retention, as evidenced in application materials. Knowledge of existing student support initiatives (e.g., Supplemental Instruction (SI), PLUS programs, CTE initiatives) and the ability to integrate these into broader retention efforts, .as evidenced in application materials. Master's degree or higher. Additional Candidate Instructions In addition to the online application, the following documents are required to be considered for this position: Cover letter describing how you meet the required and preferred qualifications. Resume List of three (3) professional references Only complete applications will be considered. Application review begins 1/06/2025. All applications must be submitted by 1/17/2025 To ensure consideration, please apply before review date. Contact Information to Applicants Faunia Tuma fauniatuma@ku.edu 785-864-4905 Advertised Salary Range Salary dependent on experience, starting at 85,000 Work Schedule M - F 8am to 5pm Application Review Begins Monday January 6, 2025 Anticipated Start Date Monday February 3, 2025