Vice President for Student Success

QUALIFICATIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS

A master’s degree in a relevant field and significant experience in higher education administration, including student affairs/student success units, are required. A doctorate is preferred. The ideal candidate will possess significant experience fostering learning and success among special student populations, including student-athletes and first-generation, transfer, international, underserved, and underrepresented students; expertise leveraging technology solutions, data, and metrics to inform strategies around student success, coordinated care, and engagement; and an entrepreneurial spirit, a disposition toward creative problem-solving, a willingness to take measured risks, and an abiding love for students and their learning.

Additional qualifications and characteristics of the ideal candidate for the position include:

• Exhibit exceptional personal and professional integrity and a commitment to the highest ethical standards for programs and personnel.
• Demonstrate an understanding of student learning and human development literature and in-depth knowledge of the technology, conditions, and research informing 21st-century higher education.
• Be able to manage multiple and competing priorities and take initiative in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
• Possess a commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access.
• Ability to analyze complex problems, interpret operational needs, and develop integrated, creative solutions.
• Demonstrate leading others through change and developing teams with positive, action-oriented, and possibility-focused mindsets.
• Showcase interpersonal skills and be able to interact and work effectively with other administrators, faculty, staff, students, families, alumni, board of trustees, donors, community leaders, and members of the community at large.
• Develop effective partnerships and collaborations with others to design learning experiences and support structures.
• Possess deep knowledge of laws and regulations related to higher education, and experience with policy development and compliance.
• Demonstrate superb written and oral communication skills.
• Be passionate about students and the transformational power of education.

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES OF THE ROLE

The vice president for student success is a position of broad and strategic leadership at Roanoke College. The vice president serves as the point person for student success and oversees the many offices that support the education, engagement, needs, and aspirations beyond the classroom of all students. President Shushok values senior leaders who foster collegiality, trust, and respect. As a member of the president’s cabinet, the VPSS is expected to contribute to strategic discussions that impact all areas of the college and bring expertise on student issues to the leadership team.

The VPSS is expected to work with senior academic and administrative leaders to establish systems of shared accountability for the retention of students, their out-of-class experiences, and their overall well-being. The vice president must promote a culture of assessment, data-informed decision-making, and continuous improvement that is designed for agility and allows the college to predict and respond quickly to students’ changing needs. The division will share outcomes with stakeholders and use them to support future planning.

The vice president will also focus on getting to each staff member, as well as on the promotion of professional growth for each individual within the division to enhance broader leadership skills and to promote dialogue regarding goals within the division, as well as current trends and best practices within their respective areas.  The VPSS will work to build a strong sense of team among staff and build working relationships that emphasize collaboration, consistency, and equity. Staff should feel encouraged, challenged, supported, and confident about how they contribute to the divisional and institutional vision.

Additionally, the new vice president will be expected to:

• Champion a robust student experience that prioritizes students’ goals, strengths, learning, and agency.
• Convene strategic partners and stakeholders to develop a shared definition of student success across the student lifecycle and design a holistic, learning-focused, student-centered infrastructure for student support and exemplary care.
• Facilitate collaboration, innovation, cross-functional competency, and succession pathways among administrative units and individuals with direct and daily impact on the student experience and student success.
• Champion empathy and strengths-based mindsets toward students among faculty and staff; promote a culture in which students are essential partners in designing learning environments and experiences; and evaluate policies and practices through an inclusive, student-centered lens.
• Ensure ongoing efforts directed at creating an inclusive, friendly, and supportive environment for all students as the college becomes increasingly diverse with regard to socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds, and that diversity and inclusion are reflected in the division’s structure and initiatives.
• Serve as a champion and advocate for the division, delivering a clear message that reinforces the value of student success staff and the contributions they make each day to the mission of the college.
• Actively engage students in a holistic manner, be highly visible throughout the campus, and be regarded as a role model for students, exemplifying what it means to be fully engaged with a passionate student population.
• Develop and support strong town/gown relationships through active participation in the Salem and Roanoke communities to build positive lines of communication, shared objectives, and efforts to enhance student success.