Vice President - Student Affairs

VICE PRESIDENT - STUDENT AFFAIRS
TRUMAN COLLEGE 

Truman College is seeking a Vice President, Student Affairs (VPSA). The VPSA serves as the college’s chief student affairs officer and as a key member of the college’s executive leadership team, responsible for providing strategic vision, leadership, and oversight of all aspects of student affairs. Areas of oversight include but are not limited to academic advising, wellness and basic needs supports, student development, student conduct/student rights and responsibilities, transfer services, career services, veteran services, and student support programs such as TRIO. The VPSA fosters a student-centered environment that promotes student well-being and development, engagement and belonging, and academic success to enable strong and equitable student retention, completion, transfer, and career outcomes.

The VPSA is an expert, data-informed, strategic student affairs leader. Leading with a laser focus on supporting student success, the VPSA partners closely with the college Vice President of Academic Affairs, institutional research/data strategists, additional leaders across the college, and CCC District Office leaders to ensure a seamless, supportive, empowering experience for every student from their enrollment through their next educational and/or career steps post-completion. Performs related duties as required.

City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) is made up of seven colleges, the largest community college system in Illinois and one of the largest nationally. We provide more than 80,000 students each year access to a quality, affordable education. CCC supports students in meeting their goals – whether that is pursuit of a credential to head into or advance in the workforce, an associate degree with the intention to transfer to a four-year college, free GED or ESL courses, or continuing education. CCC seeks candidates committed to our students’ success and offers a unique opportunity for faculty and staff to have a lasting impact in our students’ lives.

GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

·         Provides overall strategic leadership for the college’s student affairs functions with guidance from the President, with a focus on ensuring strong and equitable student outcomes.

·         Provides leadership, supervision, support and guidance to the staff of all functional areas that report to the position. Plans, establishes priorities, assigns work, monitors progress and evaluates results of student support services at the college.

·         Assists the President in organizing, staffing, and determining the student affairs budgeting needs of the college.

·         Partners with fellow college and district leaders in development and implementation of college plans to ensure continuous and measurable improvement in student life cycle benchmarks including enrollment, academic progression, persistence, retention, completion, and post-completion success.

·         Collaborates with district Chief Student Experience Officer and college leadership to establish and achieve best practice expectations in academic advising, student development, wellness, basic needs support, transfer services, career services, and additional student affairs functions.

·         Collaborates with college and district data leaders to establish and implement a culture of data-informed practice in which student affairs staff proactively support students informed daily by early indicator metrics and milestones of student success, and in which continuous quality improvement and planning activities are integrated and practiced every term.

·         In collaboration with district and college leaders, establishes professional development programs and succession planning for direct reports and all staff within student affairs. Conducts performance evaluations, as appropriate.

·         Partners closely with Academic Affairs to foster meaningful curricular/co-curricular partnerships and a student success-focused mindset across campus and to integrate student affairs initiatives with academic programs and experiences - for the purpose of enhancing the overall student experience and preparing students for future success and positive community impact.

·         Leads the Dean of Enrollment Management to ensure a seamless and exceptional student experience in new student on-boarding, to ensure a collaborative and integrated approach to engaging students in all supports available at the college, and to ensure that Financial Aid operations achieve excellence and are woven into holistic student supports.

·         Oversees, addresses, and resolves escalated problems, grievances, and complaints related to student rights and responsibilities, student threat and care assessment, and student grievance policies.

·         Responds to questions from college and district departments as well as external agencies regarding complex issues or policies impacting student programs and services.

·         Proactively researches and integrates national best practices for community college and higher education to ensure continuous improvement. Recommends policy and procedure updates for review/inclusion in college and district policy/procedure manuals.

·         Oversees student affairs-related grant opportunities in collaboration with college and district grants teams, supporting completion of new grant applications, grant implementation, and maintenance of grants’ audit and compliance review requirements.

·         Actively contributes to and participates in college and district governance and strategic planning. Supports in the development of college strategic and equity plans. Completes relevant reports to federal, state, and local agencies.

·         Contributes and models proactive and strategic thought leadership, student-centeredness, collaborative spirit, team leadership, and equity mindset to advance institutional planning and execution.

·         Cultivates an organizational culture of ethical behavior, positivity, professionalism, employee empowerment, satisfaction, and productivity.

·         Supports fellow Vice Presidents within the college and across colleges by sharing approaches to strategic leadership.

·         May serve as chief administrator of the college in the absence of the President.

·         Performs related duties as required.

QUALIFICATIONS:

·         Master’s degree from an accredited college or university in a relevant field required. Earned Doctorate degree from an accredited institution preferred.

·         Minimum of five years of progressively responsible leadership and management experience in administering student services in a higher education setting, with demonstrated results in achieving strong student outcomes.

·         Demonstrated experience in program development, strategic planning, operational oversight, personnel management, budget and resource development, and partnership development.

·         Experience advancing initiatives related to student retention, student success, and student customer service, including fluency and currency with best practices in these areas.

·         Experience managing operations in alignment with institutional policies and procedures and employee/faculty/student handbooks.

·         Knowledge and understanding of student development theory and programs; knowledge of student due process policies and procedures; knowledge and understanding of current issues and trends in student affairs and student success.

·         Knowledge of state and federal legislation and regulatory issues affecting higher education, with the ability to monitor and respond to policy changes impacting students.

·         Understanding of, and a commitment to: the community college mission and purpose; teaching and learning; high academic standards; and student success.

·         Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, and ability to use data to inform practice.

·         Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills

·         Excellent leadership skills, with the ability to develop and guide staff while ensuring a results-orientation and positive team culture.

·         Ability to build relationships with a wide variety of stakeholders, including college leadership, faculty, and critical student services and academic support departments. Strong communicator and collaborator; team- oriented and student-centric approach to all duties.

·         Ability to work independently, utilize professional judgment, make sound decisions, and accept responsibility for decisions made.

·         Ability to work within a culturally diverse environment, with a demonstrated commitment to equity and inclusion.

·         Ability to integrate and leverage technology to foster innovation and advance student success strategies.

·         Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams)

Additional Information:

·         Starting Salary: $145,000.00

·         Offered salary will be determined by the applicant's education, knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as other factors such as internal equity.

·         Benefits information is found at https://www.ccc.edu/departments/Benefits/

WE OFFER: Excellent health and welfare benefit package and long-term savings and investment programs including 403(b) & 457(b) Investment Plans and a pension plan with the State University Retirement System (SURS) Plan. Generous vacation, holiday, personal and sick days, and tuition reimbursement. For a more detailed overview of benefits, please visit the benefits page of our website.

Chicago residency is required for all full-time employees within 6 months of hire. 
We are an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. 
Thank you for your interest in City Colleges of Chicago!