Director of Student Success and Retention

Description

The Director of Student Success and Retention provides strategic management and coordination in advancing Hobart and William Smith Colleges' commitment to student persistence, engagement, and degree completion timeline. This role oversees the design and execution of institution-wide retention strategies and leads the implementation and optimization of Slate for Student Success. The Director collaborates across academic and student affairs to foster a data-informed, equity-centered culture of student support.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership:
  • Assist campus leaders in developing and implementing a comprehensive student success and retention strategy aligned with HWS's mission and strategic priorities.
  • Serve as a key advisor on student success trends, risks, and opportunities.
  • Co-chair cross-functional committees focused on student retention and persistence.
  • Translate national best practices and research into locally relevant initiatives that drive student persistence.
• Slate for Student Success Oversight:
  • Provide executive oversight of the Slate for Student Success platform, ensuring its effective use for case management, early alerts, forms and workflow, scheduling, and communication campaigns.
  • Partner with IT Services and Institutional Research to ensure data integrity, system integration, and actionable analytics.
  • Lead the development of dashboards and predictive models to identify at-risk students and inform interventions.
  • Create and maintain documentation, user guides, and onboarding materials to ensure consistency in platform use across departments.
  • Ensure staff and faculty are trained and supported in using Slate effectively for case management and early alerts.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration:
  • Coordinate with deans, registrar, campus life, faculty, and student support services to align and scale retention efforts.
  • Promote shared ownership of student success across departments through training, consultation, and capacity-building.
  • Partner with Enrollment Management and Institutional Research to align retention efforts with recruitment strategies and student profile insights.
  • Coordinate with Communications Office on targeted branded communications to specific cohorts.
• Assessment and Continuous Improvement:
  • Establish and monitor key performance indicators related to student success and retention.
  • Lead the assessment of programs and initiatives, using data to drive continuous improvement.
  • Contribute to institutional reporting and accreditation processes.
  • Conduct regular reviews of student feedback, engagement data, and retention trends to inform programming.
  • Engage with students to gather information required for collection of data for assessment.

Other Information:

This is a full-time, hybrid possibility available, 12 month, benefits-eligible position. This position description is not all-inclusive as other tasks or responsibilities may be assigned. Work hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the academic year, with a possible shortened workweek during the scheduled summer hours' time period. Annual salary range is $75,000 - $80,000.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will have strong data analysis and systems-thinking skills, with the ability to translate complex information into clear, actionable insights. They should be highly motivated, proactive, and thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment. A sense of humor, strong interpersonal skills, and the ability to connect with a wide range of stakeholders-from senior leadership to students-are essential. We're looking for someone who's a go-getter, a great communicator, and a reliable collaborator who knows how to get things done.

Required:

• Master's degree in higher education administration, student affairs, data analytics, or a related field.
• At least 5 years of progressive leadership experience in student success, retention, or academic support in higher education.
• Demonstrated expertise in CRM platforms; Slate Student Success experience strongly preferred.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and manage complex projects.

Core Competencies:

• Strategic thinking and systems-level leadership.
• Strong analytical and data visualization skills.
• Understand data across platforms in order to help build integrations, lead data governance, and optimize data for analytics.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal abilities.
• Commitment to equity, inclusion, and holistic student development.