WACADA | Wisconsin Academic Advising Association

MSU – Director of NSSC Pathways

Official Job Title Director of NSSC Pathways
Position Number 8733861
Unit/College Office of Undergraduate Education
Department Supportive Services Program 10053795
Location East Lansing, MI
Percent 100
Posting Type Fac./Acad Staff
Salary $85,000-90,000 – commensurate with experience
Job Summary The Director of NSSC Pathways programs provides guidance, supervision, and leadership for student success persistence programs that serve students pre-college through graduation. This individual will work closely with the academic leaders, faculty, students, and staff from across campus. They must provide vision, leadership, and direction for university-wide efforts to increase retention rates, strengthen academic support services, build partnerships with student affairs units to address these five areas of student success: 1) Academics (e.g. advising, degree pathway, learning support) , 2) Sense of belonging (peer connection, campus connection), 3) Well – being (e.g. mental, physical, financial), 4) Community (e.g. housing, off campus norms), 5) Sense of purpose (e.g. experiential and career pathways).

The successful candidate will be an experienced administrator who has demonstrated experience with supervising a team of student success focused professional staff, academic programs designed to support student persistence, progressive retention efforts, and a demonstrated commitment to student success. A creative and collaborative management style is essential to effectively interface with campus internal and external constituencies (including donors and grant agencies), advocate for marginalized students, while managing, supervising and leading the pathway programs.

The candidate will assist in implementation of the MSU Strategic plan within the Office of Undergraduate Education and serve as a leader in the coordination and integration of student success efforts within the unit. The Director of Pathway Programs will maintain specific functions related to predictive analytics and student success systems, such as Campus Solutions, ESAF, etc. They will attend various meetings as the representative Undergraduate Education and the programs they oversee and assist in the overall development and implementation of MSU’s focus on raising our graduation rates to 86% in 2030 by closing opportunity gaps. They must provide leadership in the development of student services goals and objectives, especially related to specific areas such as: advising, outreach, and teaching for persistence programs that support first generation, limited income, historically excluded racial groups and students with disabilities. As part of their role, 25% of the Director’s time will be dedicated to the First-Generation Project and maintaining MSU’s status as NASPA First Gen Forward Institution. The Director of Pathway Programs will be responsible for the coordination and management of all student success efforts related to those areas as well as the personnel, grants, endowments, university funding, learning outcomes and assessment efforts related to continuous improvement of their efforts.
Minimum Qualifications
  • A minimum of five years of experience supervising professional staff
  • Strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusivity and be able to create a positive climate for students, faculty, and staff.
  • A master’s degree
  • Minimum of five to seven years of progressive managerial and administrative experience in post-secondary education.
Preferred Qualifications
  • Terminal degree in student affairs administration, higher education, adult learning or related fields
  • Seven to ten years of progressive experience in post-secondary education.
  • Seven to ten years of demonstrated effectiveness in managing and supervising a team that supports 2 or more programs focused on student retention and persistence.
  • Experience teaching undergraduates
  • Demonstrated experience with research, assessment and/or grant management, including using national data to inform the work
  • An ability to communicate and to engage effectively with a wide range of constituents within and outside of the university.
  • Evidence of strong and consistent teamwork and collaboration with faculty, administrators, staff and students.
  • A strong record of developing or implementing evidence-based student success programs including career preparation, professional development, graduate school preparation, undergraduate research, service learning etc.
  • Excellent organizational and problem-solving skills
  • Demonstrated record of effective fiscal and resource management capabilities.
  • Experience with strategic planning meeting and retreat coordination
Essential Duties
  • Assist the Assistant Dean with the leadership for campus-wide student success programs and initiatives, promote a culture of undergraduate persistence and achievement, and lead efforts to increase retention and strengthen support services.
  • Assist the Assistant Dean in the long- and short-range strategy, goals, and objectives relating to student success. Create and implement retention strategies, as well as support campus wide retention efforts. Contribute to the development of policies, procedures, goals, and expectations. Provide interpretation and guidance as needed.
  • The Director supervises the NSSC Pathway programs and coordinates with campus partners related to Admissions, Advising, Financial Aid, Student Life and Engagement, Strategic Retention, and others and ensures the evaluation and reporting of program outcomes for student success.
  • Oversee administration functions for pathways programs, including fiscal and personnel planning and budgeting of related areas.
  • Assist with the coordination of undergraduate initiatives that serve students throughout their undergraduate experience, ensuring the programs meet current and future needs of all our diverse student populations.
  • Actively participate in management meetings, councils, and applicable committees. Work collaboratively with other departments, college services and instructional personnel for the purpose of coordinating programs.
  • Coordinate the onboarding process for new staff within the areas of responsibility in collaboration with administrative support staff and continuously develop staff development and training processes.
  • Maintain a working knowledge of systems and applications used throughout the institution to deliver and maintain Undergraduate support and services.
  • Must have strong communications, team collaboration, speaking, and writing skills.
  • Perform other duties as assigned by the Assistant Dean
Application materials Letter of interest, Resume or CV, three references
Application Deadline 07/05/2023
Continuous (Open Until Filled?) No
If Continuous, Initial Review Date

The application can be accessed here.