Director, Academic Progress and Retention

UIC; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

UIC in Chicago seeks a senior leader to drive student success initiatives across the college, focusing on retention, progression, remediation, and licensure readiness.

You will develop, implement, and evaluate evidence-informed strategies to improve student achievement, persistence, degree completion, and licensure outcomes, and lead assessment and reporting to support accreditation and quality improvement.

Job description

Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for student success, retention, progression, remediation, and licensure readiness initiatives across the College.

• Develop, implement, and evaluate evidence-informed strategies that improve student achievement, persistence, degree completion, and licensure outcomes

• Lead the assessment, analysis, and reporting of student success data to support strategic decision-making, accreditation, and continuous quality improvement.

• Provide leadership, supervision, and professional development for student success personnel while fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, and accountability.

• Provide strategic oversight of student success operations, systems, technologies, and resources to ensure effective and consistent service delivery across the College.

• Collaborate with faculty, academic leadership, and campus partners to advance student success priorities and improve educational outcomes.

• Ensure compliance with institutional policies, accreditation standards, and regulatory requirements.

• Represent the College on committees and strategic initiatives and perform other duties as assigned.

Additional Responsibilities
This job description reflects the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job. Nothing restricts management's right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.

QUALIFICATIONS:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree

• Minimum of five (5) years of professional experience in student success, advising, academic support, or related higher education roles

• Demonstrated experience using data to inform student success strategies and interventions

• Experience training, mentoring, or supervising staff or peer teams

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree in Higher Education, Student Affairs, Nursing Education, or related field

• Experience working in nursing or health sciences education

• Familiarity with ATI, NCLEX preparation strategies, or clinical education environments

• Experience with early alert systems and student success platforms (e.g., iAdvise, LMS tools)

• Strong understanding of retention frameworks, student development theory, and inclusive practices

• Ability to exercise independent judgment and discretion in complex student situations

• Strong leadership and staff development skills

• Data analysis and problem-solving skills

• Excellent interpersonal, communication, and collaboration skills

• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment

• Commitment to equity, inclusion, and student-centered support