Administrator of Student Success Initiatives, 4S Programs
About The Position
The Administrator of Student Success Initiatives serves as the primary lead for the Determined Dawgs Scholar Academy (DDSA), a comprehensive summer bridge and transition program designed to promote the successful transition, persistence, and academic achievement of students with elevated support needs. As a member of the Office of Student Success Initiatives, the administrator provides leadership for the planning, implementation, assessment, and continuous improvement of DDSA and related student success initiatives. The position develops and facilitates educational programming, coordinates holistic student support services, collaborates with campus partners, and utilizes data to evaluate program effectiveness and inform strategic decision making. The administrator also supports grant implementation, compliance, assessment, continuous improvement, reporting, and grant solicitation and continuation while advancing institutional priorities related to student success, retention, belonging, and degree completion. This is a temporary, grant-funded position through September 30, 2029. Continued employment is contingent upon successful performance and the availability of grant funding. The anticipated start date of this position is September 2026. However, this is an estimated date and can be revised if needed. The selected candidate for this position must be authorized to work in the United States at the time of hire without employer assistance or sponsorship now or in the future. The university will not assist with any F-1 EADs, OPT, H1B, etc.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Higher Education, Student Affairs, Education, Counseling, Social Work, Psychology, or a closely related field.
- Experience coordinating student success, transition, retention, advising, academic support, educational programming, or related initiatives within higher education.
- Experience developing collaborative partnerships and working with students from a variety of educational, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds.
Nice To Haves
- Master's degree in Higher Education, Student Affairs, Counseling, Education, Leadership, or a related field preferred.
- Experience with grant administration, program assessment, and project management.
- Experience teaching college success, first-year seminar, student development, orientation, or transition courses.
- Experience utilizing student success technologies, early alert systems, and data to inform student support strategies.
Responsibilities
- Provide leadership for the planning, implementation, and continuous improvement of the Determined Dawgs Scholar Academy (DDSA), including the four-week summer bridge experience and the associated three-semester student success seminar sequence.
- Develop, facilitate, and assess educational experiences that promote academic success, college readiness, belonging, resource utilization, leadership development, and successful transition to Ferris State University.
- Coordinate student engagement activities, workshops, campus experiences, and educational programming that reinforce program learning outcomes and contribute to student persistence and degree completion.
- Recruit, train, supervise, and evaluate student leaders, peer mentors, or Pack Leaders who support DDSA programming and student success initiatives.
- Monitor student participation, academic progress, and engagement while connecting students with appropriate campus resources through proactive outreach and coordinated intervention strategies.
- Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with faculty, academic advisors, student affairs professionals, enrollment services, and campus partners to ensure coordinated support for participating students.
- Work collaboratively with offices including Academic Advising, Financial Aid, Disability and Accessibility Resources, Career and Professional Success, Housing and Residence Life, Counseling, and other campus partners to promote holistic student success.
- Represent Student Success Initiatives and DDSA through campus committees, outreach activities, recruitment events, presentations, and professional conferences.
- Develop and implement assessment plans that evaluate student learning, program participation, and program effectiveness.
- Collect, analyze, interpret, and communicate student success data to support evidence-informed decision making and continuous improvement.
- Prepare reports, presentations, and recommendations for university leadership and funding agencies regarding program outcomes and effectiveness.
- Collaborate with Institutional Research and other campus partners to ensure accurate collection, analysis, and reporting of student success data while maintaining compliance with institutional privacy requirements.
- Support implementation of all activities associated with the KCP Select Student Support Services (4S) Grant.
- Assist with grant reporting, documentation, compliance monitoring, budget management, and evaluation activities to ensure adherence to grant requirements and university policies.
- Collaborate with university leadership in identifying opportunities for external funding and sustainability of student success initiatives.
- Support university-wide retention, persistence, enrollment, and student success initiatives that advance the mission of the Office of Student Success Initiatives.
- Participate in strategic planning, program development, and continuous improvement efforts that strengthen institutional support for students with elevated academic, financial, social, or transitional support needs.
- Utilize institutional technologies, including Navigate360 and other student success platforms, to document services, monitor student engagement, coordinate interventions, and evaluate program outcomes.
- Carries out responsibilities in accordance with university policies and applicable laws.
- Cultivates an environment of belonging that values, respects, supports, and celebrates individual similarities and differences, allowing students, faculty, and staff to thrive authentically.
- Support, promote, and develop university student enrollment and retention initiatives.
- Any other duties assigned within the position classification area.
Benefits
- Comprehensive benefit package (health care, vacation, etc.)
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
