First Year Experience Coordinator

Paul Smith's College; New York (NY); On-site; USD 62,000 - 66,000; Full time

Job summary

Paul Smith’s College invites applications for the First Year Experience Academic Success Coordinator. You will coordinate the FYE program, lead orientation and year-long activities, and provide structured academic coaching to first-year students to boost persistence and success.

You will teach the First Year Seminar, engage with multiple offices to support student outcomes, and prepare annual reports while maintaining detailed records. Strong communication and data skills are essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in education or related field is required.
• 3+ years in academic coaching or equivalent experience.
• Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to help at-risk and underprepared students succeed academically.
• Strong computer skills, databases, and MS Office; familiarity with AI.
• Experience collecting, organizing, and presenting data.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate the First Year Experience (FYE) program.
• Plan, organize, and deliver orientation, welcome week, and year-long programming.
• Provide academic coaching following best practices.
• Teach the three-credit First Year Seminar (FYS) each Fall and Spring.
• Collaborate with other offices to support student success.
• Collect and analyze data; submit annual reports and program updates.
• Participate on committees and engage in professional development.
• Maintain accurate student meeting records and reports.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Relationship building

Data collection

Data presentation

Microsoft Office

AI familiarity

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in education or related field

Tools

Database creation

Google Docs

Web applications

Job description

Position: First Year Experience Academic Success Coordinator

Status: Regular, Full-time, Exempt

Department: Center for Academic and Career Success

Reports to: Dean of Curriculum

Salary: $62,353.20 - $65,625.00 annually

Description:

The First-Year Experience Coordinator is responsible for optimizing the academic success of first year students from orientation until successful completion of two semesters of college. The purpose of this role is to support the mission of developing career-ready graduates, and this is accomplished by coaching for academic success to increase persistence, retention, and success to second year.

Duties & Responsibilities:

Coordination of First Year Experience (FYE) program

Under supervision of CACS leadership, plan, organize, and deliver the FYE program including key components such as orientation, welcome week, and year-long programming. All components are to increase persistence of students to be successful and return for a second year at Paul Smith’s College. Components such as orientation and welcome week will be in collaboration with other units. Other programming may be executed independently or with limited cross-departmental support.

Academic Coaching

Provide academic coaching to students following prescribed best practices.

Coordinate group coaching/events/activities via collaboration with other offices/people in CACS.

Academic coaching communication and documentation as requested.

Teaching

Teach the three credit First Year Seminar (FYS) each Fall and Spring course.

Work in partnership with other offices and employees within and outside of CACS, especially those responsible for the academic success of students.

Committee Participation

Serve on committees assigned.

General Duties

Collect and analyze data to make data informed decisions.

Submit reports including but not limited to:

Annual First year Experience by September 1st each year following the established requirements of the report.

Orientation and welcome week reports.

Support the completion of Peer mentor program report.

Meet regularly with leader to communicate progress, adhering to best practices, and demonstrated commitment to engage in professional development.

Communications with Deans and CACS leadership on a scheduled basis.

Participate in college wide software/technology implementation appropriate to position.

Participate in campus events as appropriate to position including but not limited to Open House, the Career Fair, Orientation and Welcome Week.

Perform other duties assigned by the Dean of Curriculum or designee.

Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in education or related field.

Demonstrated 3+ years in academic coaching position or equivalent experience.

Strong interpersonal and relationship building skills.

Demonstrated commitment to helping at risk and underprepared students succeed in an educational setting.

Strong computer skills and ability to use online databases and current Microsoft Office Suite, and AI.

Demonstrated experience in collecting, organizing, and presenting data via presentation and reports.

Ability to work with detail and accuracy maintaining student meeting records and required reports.

Proven ability to work both independently and collaboratively.

Excellent communication and organization skills.

Demonstrated ability to promote the College’s academic and career support services to the campus community and designated student populations

Highly developed customer service skills.

Desire to share and adapt to the varied workload of a small college in a team atmosphere.

Ability to work some weekends or evenings as needed.

Ability to work with a broad range of diverse individuals and groups to form a safe and inclusive campus community.

Preferred:

Master’s degree in education or related fields (academic counseling, college student personnel administration, higher education, social work, etc.)

Computer and software expertise, including expertise in database creation and manipulation;advanced applications and reporting features for Microsoft Office; and knowledge of on-line web-based applications such as Google Docs and web.

Paul Smith’s College is an equal opportunity employer. Position descriptions are created that focus on essential functions, using inclusive language, and avoid unnecessary or discriminatory requirements.