Assistant Vice President for Educational Excellence and Retention

Supervision Exercised: Student Support Offices in Academic Affairs. Salary: $160,000.00 to $165,000.00 Annually (Salary commensurate with education and experience)

General Statement of Duties:
The Assistant Vice President will focus their efforts on working with various offices to improve retention at Westfield State University, with a particular focus on implementing and assessing institutional plans related to the SUCCESS pilot program, and supporting at-risk students.

Duties and Responsibilities:
Duties include but not limited to:
Essential:

• Align and coordinate efforts of all offices involved with student retention.
• Provide leadership for the development of data analytics to serve in implementing strategies to attract and retain students in conjunction with partners in Academic Affairs and Enrollment Management and Student Affairs.
• Working with Institutional Research, lead efforts within Academic Affairs to increase student retention and graduation rates, including working with other offices to develop effective strategies and methodologies to assess the effectiveness of those strategies.
• Oversee or support initiatives across all divisions related to the SUCCESS pilot program as determined by the Cabinet and President. This involves administering the SUCCESS grant from the state.
• Supervise student support offices in Academic Affairs.
• Serve as a University expert and thought leader on promoting the success of underserved students (e.g., lower income, students of color, first-generation).
• Develop assessment plans to measure outcomes of the initiatives related to the SUCCESS pilot program and other student success initiatives, as well as conduct analysis of data related to those outcomes.
• Serve as the liaison between Westfield State and the Commonwealth, Department of Higher Education, and other involved parties, in implementing and assessing the SUCCESS grant.
• Prepare, as requested, reports for the Cabinet, the President, appropriate individual Vice Presidents, and other internal stakeholders, as well as external stakeholders including the Board of Trustees and the Commonwealth. Communicate new initiatives and solicit input from the faculty.
• Understand and operationalize best practices in student success, outcomes assessment, and cognate literatures as they relate to student success initiatives.
• Utilize current institutional resources to develop models of student success at Westfield State, in particular the WSU 360 (Starfish) platform, and develop and execute plans to increase usage of these platforms across campus.
• Serve on University committees as assigned by the President and/or Provost.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Job Requirements:

Required Qualifications:

• Masters Degree.
• Significant and successful experience in higher education administration, including budgetary and personnel responsibilities.
• Ability to collect, analyze, and report data. Ability to develop and implement assessment plans.
• Experience working within a state system of higher education.
• Demonstrated commitment to student success in educational programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office programs, especially Excel.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent organizational skills.
• Experience working both independently and within a team environment.
• Ability to manage multiple projects concurrently.

Preferred Qualifications:

• An earned Doctorate or other terminal degree from an accredited institution.

Additional Information:
Salary:
Salaries for current Westfield State University employees and individuals currently working for the state of Massachusetts must be calculated individually in accordance with collective bargaining agreements as well as state policies. State job specifications may be found on the Department of Higher Education's webpage.
Employee Benefits:
Benefits are an important component of an employee's total compensation package.

• Health Insurance: Westfield State offers a variety of HMO, POS, and PPO-type health insurance plans for eligible employees. Coverage is effective on the 1st of the month following the date of hire. Exceptions to employees hired on the 1st of the month, coverage is effective immediately.
• Retirement: the MA State Employee Retirement System provides eligible employees with a retirement pension following a 10-year vesting period. In lieu of the retirement pension, eligible employees may select the Optional Retirement Plan with a maximum 5% employer matching contribution.
• Tuition Waivers & Discounts: eligible employees, including spouses and dependent children, receive reduced tuition at MA state colleges, community colleges, and universities.
• Paid Time Off: employees receive 12 paid holidays and generous vacation, personal, and sick leave benefits.
• Additional information regarding employee benefits is available on the University's Benefits & Wellness webpage.

Disability Accommodations
Westfield State University is committed to the full inclusion of individuals with disabilities and will ensure the availability of reasonable accommodations. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact Human Resources at (413) 572-8809 or visit us in the Horace Mann Building, 1st floor.
Background Check
Employment is contingent upon the successful completion and review of a background check. A criminal record will not automatically disqualify an applicant from consideration.