Associate Director for Strategic Retention and Persistence

To ensure full consideration, applications must be received by October 9, 2026. Applications will continue to be accepted after the full consideration date, until a sufficient applicant pool has been achieved or the position is filled. The closing date is subject to change without notice to applicants.

When applying you will be required to attach the following electronic documents: 

1) A resume/CV; and  

2) A cover letter indicating how your qualifications and experience have prepared you for this position. 

Starting salary will be commensurate with skills, education, and experience. 

For additional information please contact: 
Carla Harcleroad

[email protected]

The Division of Academic Affairs and University Advising and Educational Engagement is seeking an Associate Director for Strategic Retention and Persistence. This is a full-time (1.00 FTE), 12-month, professional faculty position.

Reporting to the Executive Director of University Advising and Educational Engagement (EDUA&EE) within the Office of Undergraduate Education (OUE), the Associate Director for Strategic Retention and Persistence plays a central role in advancing OSU’s institutional commitment to achieving an 80% graduation rate with no opportunity gaps by 2030. The position leads and contributes to campus‑wide initiatives designed to identify and remove barriers to student retention at the policy, institutional, and direct‑support levels.

The Associate Director collaborates closely with units across the Office of Undergraduate Education, student‑success partners throughout the university, Enrollment Management, Institutional Research, and senior leadership. Through these partnerships, the role analyzes policies, procedures, and structural factors that impede student progression and develops innovative, equity‑minded solutions that strengthen retention and completion outcomes.

A key responsibility of the position is leading campus committees and working groups to map the student experience, identify friction points, and propose interventions that enhance persistence. This work includes designing and recommending direct student support programs, policy revisions, and institution‑wide strategies grounded in principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The Associate Director conducts research to understand students’ decisions related to enrollment, retention, and attrition, using these insights to inform both short‑term and long‑term strategies that advance OSU’s student success goals. Over time, the role may also oversee a team of retention specialist caseworkers, providing leadership and direction for individualized student support efforts.

Key Responsibilities
 

Strategic Retention and Persistence Management - 75%

• Lead and project manage campus-wide student success initiatives related to retention and persistence in alignment with OSU’s strategic plan
• Identify barriers to retention and create initiatives, policies, and programs to remove those barriers in order to support student retention and success
• Serve as a key collaborator with OUE units, the colleges, Student Affairs, Institutional Research, and Enrollment Management to support strategic retention efforts
• Participate in and coordinate with various campus- and division-level student success and care teams
• In collaboration with senior leadership, develop strategies and initiatives to meet short- and long-term retention and completion goals
• Provide direct retention and persistence support to a caseload of students as needed.
• Supervise Strategic Retention Team members as needed.

Student Persistence and Retention analysis and research - 20%

• Utilize disaggregated student persistence and retention data to evaluate past interventions, guide future programming, and monitor persistence and student success outcomes
• Research, develop, implement, and assess innovative policies and procedures related to retention and student success
• Conduct research and analysis to understand why students leave, stop out, and/or return to OSU after an absence

Other Duties including service - 5%

• Serve on division and campus-wide committees as a subject matter expert for retention and completion initiatives

Required Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in student affairs, higher education, business, counseling, or another related field
• Minimum of five years of work experience in higher education or a related field
• Knowledge of theories and practices related to student success, retention, and graduation
• Evidence of a commitment to inclusive excellence and experience conducting work to close opportunity gaps in higher education
• Ability to manage multiple activities concurrently, continually monitor their status, and prioritize activities so deadlines are met with limited supervision
• Ability to work with detailed information with attention to accuracy; strong skills in documentation, tracking, and data collection
• Proven success in innovative thinking to develop and implement creative solutions to complex challenges
• Ability to work collaboratively and constructively with people at multiple levels and with diverse perspectives
• Demonstrated experience leading or project managing within a complex organization, such as a higher education institution
• Ability to access, understand, and interpret data from multiple sources to promote student success through data-informed and innovative practices
• Evidence of the ability to build consensus across multiple divisions of a complex organization
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to work diplomatically and effectively with campus partners.

This position is designated as a critical or security-sensitive position; therefore, the incumbent must successfully complete a criminal history check and be determined to be position qualified as per University Standard: 05-010 et seq. Incumbents are required to self-report convictions and those in youth programs may have additional criminal history checks every 24 months. 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Direct student advising experience (financial aid advising, academic advising, student affairs advising, disability support advising, etc.) at a large public institution
• Supervisory and/or mentoring experience.
• Experience with process mapping, policy analysis and/or project management
• Experience implementing strategic initiatives to support the retention and success of underserved student populations
• Past experience managing complex change initiatives in a collaborative, consensus-building environment
• Experience teaching, advising, leading, and/or mentoring diverse undergraduate students
• Experience leading a unit

When applying, please keep in mind this posting will close at 11:59 pm the night before the posted "end date". Applications MUST be submitted prior to this deadline.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability, protected veteran, and other protected status.

OSU will conduct a review of the National Sex Offender Public website prior to hire.
OSU is a fair chance employer committed to inclusive hiring. We encourage applications from candidates who bring a wide range of lived experience including involvement with the justice system. If this position has “critical or security-sensitive” responsibilities and/or driving duties and you are selected as a finalist, your initial job offer will be contingent upon the results of a job-related pre-employment check (such as a background check, motor vehicle history check, sexual misconduct reference check, etc.). Background check results do not automatically disqualify a candidate. Take a look at our Background Checks website including the for candidates section for more details. If you have questions or concerns about the pre-employment check, please contact OSU’s Employee and Labor Relations team at [email protected].