Assistant Director of Student Success & Engagement

Vanderbilt University•Nashville, TN

About The Position

The Assistant Director of Student Success & Engagement is the College of Connected Computing’s lead professional for the student experience outside the classroom. Reporting to the Director, Office of Student Services, the Assistant Director designs, builds, and administers the programs that support academic success, student engagement, leadership development, belonging, and persistence for students in the college’s degree programs. Because the college is new, this is a build role. The Assistant Director establishes the programs, policies, operational processes, and assessment practices that will define the CCC student experience — the college’s tutoring program, honor society chapter(s), alumni mentorship program, student organization advising structure, and annual engagement calendar — in alignment with Vanderbilt University policy and in coordination with the central offices that share responsibility for students. Programs stood up now will serve the college’s first transfer cohorts and must be operating at scale for the first full incoming class in Fall 2027. The Assistant Director works across the college and the university, partnering with faculty, students, alumni, Student Affairs, Global Education, Financial Aid, and the Dean of Students, and represents the college on university committees and initiatives related to student success. The role carries responsibility for assigned program budgets, program records and reporting, and the assessment data used to evaluate and improve the college’s student success work. The College of Connected Computing (CCC) is Vanderbilt University’s first new college in more than four decades, dedicated to computer science, artificial intelligence, data science, cybersecurity, robotics, cyber-physical systems, and computational approaches to policy, law, the humanities, and the social sciences. Built on a “computing for all” philosophy, the college is designed to foster radical collaboration at the intersection of computing and every other discipline across the university. The Office of Student Services is the college’s student-facing academic and student support function, responsible for academic advising and services, student success and engagement programming, and the operational processes that carry students from matriculation through degree completion. The office is being built alongside the college’s academic programs: CCC is enrolling transfer students now and expects its first full incoming class in Fall 2027, which means program design, policy development, and staffing are happening concurrently with day-to-day student support.

Requirements

Master’s degree from an accredited institution in higher education administration, student affairs, education, counseling, or a related field.
Minimum of two years of progressively responsible professional experience in higher education, student affairs, student success, academic support, or a comparable college setting.
Demonstrated experience developing, implementing, and assessing student success or student engagement initiatives.
Demonstrated ability to build new programs, develop policies and operational processes, and carry projects from concept through implementation.
Experience advising student organizations, honor societies, leadership programs, or comparable student engagement initiatives.
Demonstrated creativity, initiative, and an entrepreneurial mindset, with the ability to identify opportunities, develop programming, and execute new ideas.
Excellent communication, project management, organizational, and relationship-building skills.
Ability to build collaborative partnerships across academic and administrative units.
Knowledge of student development theory and of best practices in student success and engagement.
An equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience will be considered in place of the stated degree requirement.

Nice To Haves

Experience establishing programs or services within a new or rapidly growing academic unit.
Knowledge of national honor society governance and compliance requirements.
Experience with tutoring, mentoring, scholarship, or experiential learning programs.
Experience using assessment data to evaluate and improve student success initiatives.
Familiarity with computing, engineering, or other STEM student populations.

Responsibilities

Design, implement, and oversee the CCC Tutoring Program, including tutor recruitment, training, scheduling, quality standards, assessment, and continuous program improvement.
Develop and administer academic support programming that improves student persistence and degree progress, coordinating with faculty and the college’s advising function on early intervention and referral.
Coordinate and administer the college’s national honor society chapter(s), including chapter development, membership recruitment, induction ceremonies, compliance, reporting, and advisor support.
Develop and manage the Alumni Mentorship Program, connecting students with alumni in support of academic, professional, and personal development.
Coordinate scholarship communications and related student-facing processes in partnership with university offices.
Develop, implement, and assess a comprehensive student success and engagement strategy aligned with the mission and strategic priorities of the college.
Build the annual student engagement calendar and create the signature events, traditions, and experiences that establish community, school pride, and the culture of the College of Connected Computing.
Design and deliver programs that advance student engagement, leadership development, and student belonging.
Serve as the primary advisor to CCC student organizations, developing governance processes, leadership training, organization recognition procedures, and operational guidelines in coordination with central Vanderbilt offices.
Serve as the college’s liaison for Study Abroad and Study Away, working with Global Education and campus partners to support student participation in domestic and international experiential learning.
Establish the programs, policies, operational workflows, and assessment plans of a new college’s student success function, and refine them as enrollment grows.
Manage assigned program budgets, including expenditure tracking, documentation for supervisory review, and budget proposals for new and expanding programs.
Maintain program records, prepare reports, and use participation and outcomes data to evaluate programs and inform continuous improvement.
Ensure programs and events comply with university policy governing student organizations, programming, risk management, and student privacy.
Build and maintain working relationships with Student Affairs, Student Organizations, Global Education, Financial Aid, the Dean of Students, and other central Vanderbilt offices to ensure coordinated student services and compliance with university policy.
Represent the College of Connected Computing on university committees, task forces, and collaborative initiatives related to student success and engagement.
Serve as a visible, accessible point of contact for CCC students, student leaders, and student organizations.
Perform other duties as assigned.