Director of New Student and Family Programs

The Director of New Student and Family Programs (NSFP) is responsible for the comprehensive leadership of the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s comprehensive New Student and Family Programs operations. NSFP supports student enrollment, retention, and success by facilitating a seamless transition to SIUE through academic, social, and personal development experiences that promote a strong sense of belonging and community. 

Reporting to the Assistant/Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, the Director serves as a university leader who provides strategic leadership and oversight for New Student and Family Programs. They work in close collaboration with campus partners, including Schools and Colleges, Academic Affairs, Enrollment Management, Student Affairs, and university leadership. The Director is responsible for ensuring that the full-cycle onboarding experience reflects best practices, is inclusive and equitable for diverse student populations, and aligns with SIUE’s strategic goals to enhance student success and retention.

The position provides overall direction and leadership and will work collaboratively across the University to support special populations (transfer, commuter, online, international, post-traditional, underserved and underrepresented populations, including first-generation and low-income students) and supports the transition of more than 2,500 new students to SIUE annually. It is best suited to a candidate who is detail-oriented, adaptable, and passionate about serving students and families in a constantly evolving higher education environment. The work is comprised of multiple, distinct programs which operate under a shared vision and shared values. 

Primary Duties

1. Create a streamlined, efficient, barrier-free experience to onboard new students to the University.
2. Develop orientation programs and collaborate on other transition experiences that meet the needs of new students and families and prepare them to successfully navigate their college journey from first-year to career.
3. Work collaboratively with faculty and staff to coordinate and implement student-centered New Student Orientation and Transfer Orientation, and provide support for new student transition activities including Welcome Weekend, Family Weekend, and First Semester Transition courses for students in the fall and spring semesters.
4. Leverage digital literacy to create and implement digital-forward learning and marketing strategies for new students and their families including printed publications, digital and social media, learning modules, etc.
5. Supervise, advise, and train full-time, graduate students, and student employees and volunteers. 
6. Develop an assessment and continuous improvement plan for new student programming. 

Essential Responsibilities

Leadership and Strategic Direction

• Collaborate across the University to develop and deliver programs specific to the orientation, transition, and retention of new students and their families including New Student and Transfer Orientations, New Student Convocation, Welcome Weekend, Family Weekend, First-Gen Celebration, Transfer Week, and other on-going student success initiatives.
• Provide philosophical and strategic direction for developing programs and services that support new students’ transition, retention and success, and enhance student engagement and foster a sense of belonging for all new students.
• Build and strengthen relationships across the University to provide a comprehensive orientation and transition experience for first year students aligned with the University’s mission 
• Give particular attention to new student transition programming for special populations including but not limited to: transfer, commuter, Veteran, international, post-traditional, online, low income, underrepresented and underserved students. 
• Develop a comprehensive and sustainable strategy that ensures cross functional collaboration.

Program Management

• Oversee the coordination of all onboarding events and initiatives, including pre-orientation communications, orientation sessions, advising and registration processes, welcome weekend, new student convocation, and first-year engagement activities.
• Lead the NSFP team and university through development of orientation and transition practices. 
• Lead the integration of orientation with new student advising and registration, and academic success initiatives to ensure new students are prepared and informed about university resources. 

Collaboration and Stakeholder Engagement

• Cultivate and maintain strong partnerships with academic colleges and schools, student affairs and enrollment management units, and student support services to ensure orientation and transition programs are aligned with institutional student success goals.
• Establish regular communication channels with key stakeholders to identify shared priorities and ensure cohesive orientation and transition efforts. 
• Partner with stakeholders to streamline processes that support students from admission through their first year.
• Assist other campus departments with the planning and logistics for new student transition initiatives like international student orientation, graduate orientations, recruitment activities, etc.
• Lead campus-wide committee on New Student and Family Programs and serve as a representative or designate staff to campus committees such as Preview, Student Success, Transfer Initiatives Group, Family Weekend, etc. 

Supervision 

• Directly supervise professional staff within New Student and Family Programs.
• Provide mentorship and professional development opportunities to staff to ensure high-quality program delivery.
• Oversee the recruitment, training, and management of student leaders who assist with onboarding events and peer support initiatives.

Assessment and Continuous Improvement

• Develop and implement assessment strategies to measure the effectiveness of the onboarding experience, focusing on key metrics such as student engagement, satisfaction, retention, and academic success.
• Use data-driven insights to improve the onboarding experience over time, addressing feedback from students, families, and campus partners.
• Ensure that all onboarding programs are informed by best practices in student transition and retention.

Minimum Acceptable Qualifications:

• Educational Background: Master’s degree in Higher Education, Student Affairs, Counseling, Public Administration, or related field.
• Professional Experience: Five years of progressively responsible experience in student orientation, transition, retention programs, or related field in higher education. The strongest candidates will also have demonstrated success in carrying out the responsibilities of a higher education administrator including personnel supervision and fiscal management. 
• Student Development Expertise: Experience and a track record of developing and scaffolding a student development approach focused on career-competency development and student learning. 
• Leadership aptitude: ability to build and implement a comprehensive new student onboarding experience based upon the pillars of the institutional strategic plan with student success at the core. Evidence of effective staff management, including hiring, mentoring, and retaining excellent talent. Commitment to the professional development of staff.
• Commitment to anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion: Demonstrated understanding of the importance of anti-racist, diverse, equitable, and inclusive environments within a higher education setting.
• Collaborative Approach: demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with key partners, including but not limited to faculty, staff, senior administrators, students, and alumni. Evidence of significant partnership with campus constituencies to develop innovative onboarding strategies that advance student retention and success.

For more information and to apply visit tinyurl.com/SIUENSFP25