Executive Director of Student Success and Transitional Services

City University of New York; New York (NY); On-site; USD 96,000 - 217,000; Full time

Job summary

City University of New York’s School of Medicine seeks an Executive Director of Student Success and Transitional Services to design, implement, and scale undergraduate pathways that improve retention and graduation rates for undergraduate, graduate, and medical students.

Reporting to the Senior Associate Dean, the role drives strategic plans, oversees transition programs, and uses analytics to proactively support students across multiple campuses in a fast-paced, equity-focused environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree and eight (8) years of experience.
• MD, PhD, or Ed.D. in a related field, with a minimum of 10 years of experience in student affairs, academic advising, medical student or program management, and medical education.
• Experience working with faculty leadership to translate academic strategy into operational execution.

Responsibilities

• Develop and assess comprehensive transition and retention programs for diverse students.
• Create strategic plans, set goals, and lead project management for student transitions.
• Use tracking tools and analytics to identify at-risk students and drive improvements.
• Collaborate with decanal leadership to align operational strategies with school priorities.
• Partner with academic affairs, admissions, financial aid, counseling, and services to streamline student pathways.
• Assist with policy development and advise senior leadership on academic policies.
• Evaluate outcomes with the Associate Dean for Institutional Effectiveness.
• Support a student-centered service model prioritizing accessibility and proactive support.
• Maintain on-campus presence to strengthen relationships with students and staff.
• Participate in academic and medical student advising.

Skills

Excellent verbal and written comunicat

Data-driven decision making

Project management

Partnership development

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

MD/PhD/Ed.D (preferred)

Tools

Analytics tools

Job description

Executive Director of Student Success and Transitional Services

The CUNY School of Medicine (CUNY SOM), located on the campus of The City College of New York (CCNY), is the only medical school in the CUNY system. Its accelerated curriculum enables students to earn both a Bachelor of Science (BS) and Doctor of Medicine (MD) in seven years; the inaugural MD class graduated in 2020. CUNY SOM also offers a two-year Physician Assistant (PA) program. The school’s mission is twofold: (1) to provide medical and PA education to students from backgrounds historically underrepresented in medicine, with a commitment to primary care in underserved communities; and (2) to conduct innovative research in community health, health professions education, and biomedical science, translating findings into meaningful clinical impact.

The Executive Director of Student Success and Transitional Services will be directly involved with designing, implementing, and scaling the School of Medicine’s (SoM) undergraduate pathways educational programs that improve student retention, graduation rates, and holistic institutional transformation for incoming undergraduate, graduate, and medical students.

Reporting to the Senior Associate Dean, the Executive Director of Student Success and Transitional Services will be responsible for but not limited to the following:

• Responsible for the development and assessment of comprehensive transition and retention programs for incoming first-year, transfer, international, undergraduate, graduate, and medical students, while ensuring strategic alignment among the Offices of Student Affairs, Academic Advising, Learner Resources, and Wellness to bridge institutional equity and performance gaps.

• Creates strategic plans, sets goals, and leads project management for the transition of undergraduate, medical, master’s, and PA students into the SoM’s graduate programs to achieve goals in three mission-critical areas: supportive undergraduate pathways, graduate education readiness and development, and student success.

• Utilizing tracking tools, predictive analytics, and performance data to identify at-risk undergraduate and medical students and intervene proactively; Use data and continuous feedback resources to anticipate student academic needs and drive continuous improvements in educational service delivery.

• Collaborates directly with decanal leadership and academic deans to align operational strategies with medical school priorities, to foster reforms in learning and academic support ecosystems specialized for first-generation, transfer, or other students.

• Partnering with academic affairs, admissions, financial aid, academic counseling, career advising, accessibility resources, and student well-being to remove administrative barriers and streamline student pathways for seamless transitioning into the SoM graduate programs.

• Assist with the management and direction of internal academic and administrative policy development for programs and administrative operations; Advise senior leadership on institutional academic and administrative policies and guidelines

• Works with the Associate Dean for Institutional Effectiveness to evaluate outcomes and identify trends, with an ethos focused on student success.

• Vigorously support a student-centered service model that priorities accessibility, responsiveness, and proactive support across all stages of the medical education continuum

• Maintain a visible and engaged on-campus presence to strengthen relationships with students, faculty, and staff to ensure students services are informed and real-time community partnerships.

• Participates in academic and medical student advising

• Performs other duties as assigned by the Dean or Senior Associate Dean

QUALIFICATIONS

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Bachelor's Degree and eight (8) years of experience.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• MD, PhD, or Ed.D. in a related field, with a minimum of 10 years of experience in student affairs, academic advising, medical student or program management, and medical education, including graduate education.

• Solid understanding of student-centered services and experience supporting diverse learner populations, with the knowledge required to stay abreast of best practices in medical and graduate education.

• Experience working in close partnership with faculty leadership to translate academic strategy into operational execution.

• Proven ability to lead through influence, visibility, and engagement in a highly interactive, multi campus-based environment.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills to accurately distill complex data into actionable information for others.

• Superior investigative and project management skills.

• Advanced analytical skills, with the ability to think through complex data and reporting challenges that influence student success.

• Able to work effectively with tact and diplomacy and with a variety of people along with occasional evening and weekend hours.

• Extensive experience in medical academics.

• Appreciation of the importance of representation and inclusion in medical education.

• Knowledge of the impact of educational, health, and healthcare inequalities in medicine, with a demonstrated willingness to address these disparities.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Salary Range: $96,133 - $217,232

Salary commensurate with education and experience.

CUNY's benefits contribute significantly to total compensation, supporting health and wellness, financial well-being, and professional development. We offer a range of health plans, competitive retirement/pension benefits and savings plans, tuition waivers for CUNY graduate study and generous paid time off. Our staff also benefits from the extensive academic, arts, and athletic programs on our campuses and the opportunity to participate in a lively, diverse academic community in one of the greatest cities in the world.

CLOSING DATE

Open until December 29, 2026.

JOB SEARCH CATEGORY

CUNY Job Posting: Executive

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

CUNY encourages people with disabilities, minorities, veterans and women to apply. At CUNY, Italian Americans are also included among our protected groups. Applicants and employees will not be discriminated against on the basis of any legally protected category, including sexual orientation or gender identity. EEO/AA/Vet/Disability Employer.

Job ID: 33078

Location: CUNY School of Medicine