Assistant Dean of Student Success

• Thorough knowledge of student success practices, academic advising, retention strategies, early-alert systems, case management, and student development principles.
• Ability to establish trusting, professional relationships with students while maintaining appropriate boundaries, confidentiality, and sound judgment.
• Ability to respond calmly and appropriately to sensitive or urgent student concerns and coordinate referrals to qualified professionals and institutional resources.
• Strong consultation and collaboration skills for working effectively with faculty, administrators, staff, students, and external constituents.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate difficult or sensitive information with clarity, empathy, and professionalism.
• Demonstrated ability to design, implement, assess, and continuously improve programs using qualitative and quantitative data.
• Working knowledge of student privacy requirements, institutional policies, and professional standards relevant to student records and support services.
• Strong organizational, project management, and problem-solving skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, student information systems, learning management systems, customer relationship management systems, and data-tracking/reporting tools.
• Demonstrate a commitment to working in an organization that values and promotes humanism

• Education: Master's degree in higher education, student affairs, counseling, education, health professions education, psychology, public health, or a closely related field from an accredited institution.
• Experience:
  • Minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience in higher education, student affairs, academic advising, student success, or a related student-support environment.
  • Demonstrated experience working with students experiencing academic difficulty and coordinating interventions across faculty, academic, and student-support units.

• Earned doctoral degree (e.g., EdD, PhD, OD, or related terminal degree) and/or advanced training in student success, academic advising, counseling, or health professions education.
• Prior leadership, program management, supervision, or responsibility for complex cross-functional initiatives strongly preferred.

• Provides leadership for academic counseling, student support planning, and coordinated intervention services designed to promote academic progress, persistence, retention, and successful degree completion.
• Leads early-alert, progress-monitoring, and case management processes for students experiencing academic difficulty; coordinates timely outreach, documentation, follow-up, and referrals in collaboration with faculty and University support offices.
• Provides individualized academic counseling and coaching to students regarding academic performance, study planning, time management, professional expectations, and strategies for successful progression through the curriculum.
• Coordinates faculty consultation related to student performance and serves as a resource to faculty seeking guidance on student support, referrals, academic recovery planning, and appropriate intervention strategies.
• Collaborates to align academic counseling, learning support, tutoring, diagnostic assessment, workshops, and targeted intervention services for students with identified needs.

• Oversees the College's faculty mentor programs, including program design, faculty guidance and training, student-faculty matching processes, participation monitoring, and continuous improvement.
• Leads student leadership development initiatives, Student Government Association engagement, student buddy programming, and student town halls to strengthen communication, belonging, leadership capacity, and student voice.
• Coordinates support for students navigating disability accommodations and related institutional processes in partnership with the Harris Family Center for Disability and Health Polic (CDHP).
• Serves as a student-facing resource for mental health and wellness concerns by providing supportive consultation, facilitating referrals to appropriate University or community resources, and participating in coordinated response to urgent student concerns within the scope of the position.
• Develops and assesses programs that promote student engagement, persistence, resilience, professional identity, and readiness for the demands of optometric education and practice.
• Develops and coordinates licensure readiness initiatives that help students understand professional expectations, milestones, resources, and preparation strategies associated with board examinations and entry into professional practice.

• Supports the Student Performance Committee and related student progression processes by organizing student success information, coordinating follow-up actions, and helping ensure that intervention plans are implemented consistently and in accordance with College policies.
• Monitors student success and retention indicators; analyzes patterns in academic performance, referrals, service utilization, and outcomes to identify emerging needs and recommend data-informed improvements.
• Maintains accurate and confidential student records and ensures compliance with applicable University policies and legal requirements governing student information and educational records.
• Maintains adherence to professional and regional accreditation standards. Collects and assesses data, composes documents, and participates in site visits and reporting requirements in support of the College's accreditation proces

• Represents the Office of Student Life & Success on College and University committees, task forces, and initiatives related to student success, retention, advising, student affairs, wellness, and professional development.
• Demonstrates a commitment to working in an organization that values and promotes humanism.
• Performs other duties as assigned. The University/College reserves the right to add or modify duties at any time.

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