Retention Specialist for TRIO Student Support Services
- Employer
- Susquehanna University
- Location
- Selinsgrove
View more
- Administrative Jobs
- Institutional & Business Affairs, Clerical & Administrative Support, Student Affairs, Student Activities & Services
- Employment Type
- Full Time
- Institution Type
- Four-Year Institution
Job Details
Retention Specialist for TRIO Student Support Services
About Susquehanna:
As a living, learning and working community, Susquehanna University affirms its commitment to being an engaged, culturally inclusive campus. As we seek to embody the rich diversity of the human community, we commit ourselves to the full participation of persons who represent the breadth of human difference. The university encourages candidates from historically underrepresented groups to apply. Susquehanna University is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Susquehanna University is a national liberal arts college committed to excellence in educating students for productive, creative and reflective lives of achievement, leadership and service in a diverse, dynamic and interdependent world. Its more than 2,300 undergraduates come from 35 states and 22 countries, and all students study away through Susquehanna’s unique Global Opportunities program. Susquehanna University’s 325 acre campus, noted for its beauty, is located in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, 50 miles north of Harrisburg in the scenic Susquehanna River Valley, about a three hour drive from Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and New York City. For more information, please visit https://www.susqu.edu.
Position Summary:
Job Summary
The Retention Specialist will support the academic success of approximately 160 students enrolled in the TRIO Student Support Services program. This person will lead programs and activities designed to cultivate academic self-confidence, community engagement, 21st-century life skills, and self-advocacy amongst TRIO students and will work to foster a community of support through culturally relevant programming. This person will actively monitor the academic performance of each of these students throughout the academic year, working with the Office of the Registrar to gather all relevant data. This person will meet with any TRIO SSS student who is struggling at SU and develop a plan of action to help that student succeed. This person will collaborate with the Office of Financial Services and/or the Office of Student Life to support any student who encounters financial or social issues. The Retention Specialist will also support students and support the Director of TRIO Student Support Services as needed. This position may need to work some nights and weekends to accommodate student schedules.
Specific Responsibilities
Required Qualifications:
Knowledge, Skills, Abilities
The Retention Specialist should be able to work interpersonally with students and staff at SU and to effectively communicate with a large and varied audience. This person should have knowledge of best practices for supporting low-income and first-generation students and students living with disabilities. This person should have logistical and organizational skills involved in developing programming for students.
Education
A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
Experience
A minimum of two years of prior experience working in academic support services or student support services at an accredited college or university. Experience working with a TRIO program or another federally funded program designed to support student retention; prior success in improving the retention and graduation rates of college students; and a similar socio-economic background to SSS participants is preferred.
Physical Demand
Position requires the ability to stand or sit for extended periods of time. Position requires the ability to move about the campus. Position requires the ability to talk and to hear instruction. Position requires occasional manual dexterity and the ability to use fingers, hands, and arms to feel, handle, and reach. Position requires occasional stooping, crouching and bending. Position requires the ability to occasionally lift up to 10 pounds. Working conditions are indoor.
Preferred Qualifications:
Special Instructions to the Applicant:
*Please note that the application review process will begin on February 17, 2021.
Benefits Eligible: Yes
Number of Months: 12 months
Other Number of Months:
Full-Time/Part-Time:
Work Schedule/Hours per Week:
Posting Date: 01/29/2021
Closing Date:
Open Until Filled: Yes
Anticipated Start Date:
Posting Number: AH00707
To apply, visit https://jobs.susqu.edu/postings/2188
Organization
Susquehanna University is a national liberal arts college committed to excellence in educating undergraduate students for productive, creative and reflective lives of achievement, leadership and service in a diverse and interconnected world. Academic excellence, study away and service learning, student-faculty collaboration, and rich opportunities for creative and personal growth are hallmarks of a Susquehanna University education. About 2,200 undergraduates come from 32 states and 15 countries.
The university is located in Selinsgrove, Pa., a town of about 5,000 situated on the banks of the Susquehanna River, 50 miles north of the state capital, Harrisburg. The campus is about 90 minutes from the Pocono Mountain recreational areas, and about a three-hour drive from New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
Founded in 1858 by Lutherans, Susquehanna University welcomes individuals of all backgrounds and beliefs. It is a community that expresses its Lutheran heritage through the free and open exploration of ideas, commitment to service and development of individual talents.
Students may enroll in one of two schools: the School of Arts and Sciences or the Sigmund Weis School of Business. A Susquehanna education is distinguished by a strong liberal arts program enhanced by equally strong professional programs in areas such as business, education and communications. Degrees are offered for the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Science.
Susquehanna University is recognized in several guidebooks to selective colleges, including The Fiske Guide to Colleges and Peterson's Competitive Colleges. U.S. News & World Report’s America's Best Colleges includes Susquehanna among National Liberal Arts Colleges. Susquehanna is small enough to be academically flexible, yet large enough to offer a wide variety of choices—more than 50 major emphases, 45 minors and 850 courses. Susquehanna offers a challenging Honors Program for exceptional students and emphasizes experience-based learning, including internships, study-abroad semesters and award-winning community service programs.
Small classes and a student-faculty ratio of about 13 to 1 offer students personal attention and challenging opportunities. Student participation and team learning are encouraged, as is faculty-student research that exposes students to current, practical applications in their field of study. Students are offered extensive opportunities for involvement and leadership in university life. They can choose from more than 100 student organizations, 23 intercollegiate sports, numerous intramural and club sports and a full schedule of lectures, concerts, films, plays and social events.
Susquehanna's strong academic and career advising programs have led to strong post-graduation success. Typically, 94 percent of the graduating class is working full time or enrolled in graduate or professional school within six months.
Diversity Profile: Susquehanna University
Diversity Matters at Susquehanna. Through our commitment to academic excellence, in which diversity is a core element, we affirm the dignity and worth of all persons and strive to ensure that all in our community feel supported in their differences. Current and emerging research underscore the positive educational benefits that manifest in a diverse living and learning community.
As an institution of higher learning, we understand that we will be judged increasingly by how well we prepare our students to succeed in a smaller, flatter and increasingly diverse world. We intentionally seek to create opportunities for understanding the ways that power and privilege influence individual and collective behavior and systems, and to use that knowledge to guide us productively inside the classroom and beyond.
Affirmative Action - Susquehanna University is committed to making every effort to enhance the diversity of our community – students, faculty, and staff. The hiring process is important to achieving our strategic goals to recruit and retain staff from diverse backgrounds. Through the affirmative action process, we work together to ensure a diverse community while remaining diligent in our commitment to selecting the most qualified candidate for open positions.
Applicant Survey Form
Faculty Searches
Admin/Hourly Searches
Diversity Matters at Susquehanna. Through our commitment to academic excellence, in which diversity is a core element, we affirm the dignity and worth of all persons and strive to ensure that all in our community feel supported in their differences. Current and emerging research underscore the positive educational benefits that manifest in a diverse living and learning community.
As an institution of higher learning, we understand that we will be judged increasingly by how well we prepare our students to succeed in a smaller, flatter and increasingly diverse world. We intentionally seek to create opportunities for understanding the ways that power and privilege influence individual and collective behavior and systems, and to use that knowledge to guide us productively inside the classroom and beyond.
In the classroom, on the campus and beyond
We use experiential learning to engage students in a multicultural education that prepares them for life in a diverse and interconnected world. Our new Central Curriculum, taught by a diverse faculty with different viewpoints and experiences, challenges students in their ways of perceiving and knowing the world. The unique Global Opportunities (GO) requirement prompts students to experience ways of knowing and being that are unfamiliar, and to reflect on those experiences. In the process, we expect that all students will examine their world view and how it is constructed.
A diverse and vibrant campus community fosters relationships marked by mutual curiosity and respect. Students, faculty and staff are supported in these relationships by the Chief Diversity Officer, Center for Diversity and Social Justice, Center for Civic Engagement, Office of Residence Life, and the Bias Response and Education Team.
The university also understands its physical and emotional connection to residents of the Susquehanna River Valley. Arts and educational events open to the community create possibilities for healthy dialogue regarding difference. Relationships built through interaction and dialogue with the greater Selinsgrove community serve to broaden and enhance the community in which we live and learn.
Get job alerts
Create a job alert and receive personalized job recommendations straight to your inbox.
Create alert