Director of First Year Experience

Job Summary

Under the direction of the dean, strategic enrollment & student success, the director of first year experience is responsible for the leadership, development, guidance and implementation of a comprehensive first year experience (FYE) program which includes the intake, onboarding, placement, and advising & registration of prospective and new students through their first year at WVC. The position will promote equitable access and provide proactive interventions for historically minoritized and underserved students and enhance academic progress and success at both WVC and Omak sites. Key responsibilities include implementation of FYE High Impact Practices (HIPs), integration of Guided Pathways in the onboarding and students’ first year, intrusive outreach and engagement with students through their first year, Early Alerts, organize informational sessions such as career and academic exploration, financial aid, academic standards and student resources, and report and track new students, retention, persistence and completion.

Essential Functions

Essential Functions:

• Provides leadership and oversight of the educational planning team.
• Provides leadership, development, implementation and assessment of the embedded advising model building learning communities based on meta-majors and common course offerings outlined by Guided Pathway and first year experience. The first-year experience is designed to support academic, social and personal success of first year students.
• Designated school official for international students. Collaborates closely with the registrar.
• Leads the Study Abroad program at WVC. Coordinates with the State Board for Community & Technical Colleges (SBCTC) consortium regarding the Study Abroad program.
• Provides comprehensive educational planning and advising for a diverse population of traditional and non-traditional prospective students including enrolled students with an emphasis on retention and completion.
• Reviews and provides recommendations to improve placement process that removes barriers for students.
• Collaborates with internal stakeholders, departments, and committees including faculty and staff related to key retention and completion initiatives aligned to the mission and vision of WVC.
• Serves at both internal and SBCTC committees such as Guided Pathway, Academic Advising & Counsel, Academic Support Services, Student Affairs Leadership Team (SALT) among others.
• Represents the college at professional and community organizations and serves on relevant committees.
• Reviews and provides recommendations to improve Early Alert system and processes.
• Coordinates advisor assignments, establishes procedures, manage data cleanup, monitor advisor loads and manage batch processing.
• In collaboration with ASPIRE (institutional research), develop an assessment and evaluation plan to determine the effectiveness of the FYE program and onboarding processes.
• Analyzes and reports data related to academic performance, persistence, retention to inform program improvement.
• Reviews and manages the educational planning budget. Budgets will be aligned with program areas and outcomes.
• Performs staff semi-annual and/or annual appraisal or performance evaluations.

This is not intended to be an exclusive list of all duties and responsibilities. Related duties and responsibilities may be assigned.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.
• Two years' experience in higher education setting including academic advising or guided pathway or first year experience.
• Strong proficiency with word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with educational planning/academic advising, Guided Pathway, First Year Experience and student support services with an institution of higher education.
• Experience in program development and budget management.
• Experience utilizing a CRM tool.
• Experience creating digital content (such as Word/PDF documents and web and learning management system content as appropriate to the role) in accessible formats.
• Bilingual in Spanish and English.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

• Customer Service: Knowledge of customer service skills and best practices with ability to provide general and specialized student support with professional courtesy, empathy, and interest in positive problem solving.
• Oral communication: Speak clearly and persuasively, actively listen and take the time to understand the points being made, including asking questions as appropriate and responding to questions.
• Quality: Accurate and thorough, look for ways to improve and promote quality, provide feedback to improve performance, monitor own work to ensure quality.
• Professionalism: Approach others in a tactful manner, react well under pressure, treat others with respect and consideration and follow through on commitments.
• Problem solving: Ability to assess situations and think beyond the immediate issue to anticipate and fulfill future needs before they become complications.
• Diversity, equity and inclusion: Demonstrated competency and experience working in a diverse academic environment, inclusive of students, faculty, and staff of varying social, economic, cultural, ideological, gender and racial/ethnic backgrounds and those with physical, emotional and/or learning disabilities.
• Technical/computer skills: High level of proficiency and accuracy in Microsoft Office; familiarity with Canvas, PeopleSoft, CRM, and other college systems; ability to be cross trained to provide basic technical support.
• Student services: Knowledge of college processes such as admissions, enrollment, and financial aid; ability to be cross trained to provide student services support.
• FERPA: Maintain a high level of confidentiality and follow FERPA guidelines.

Additional Information

Terms of Employment:

This is a full-time professional (overtime-eligible depending on salary), benefit-eligible exempt position contracted on an annual basis.

The starting salary hiring range for this position is $75,000 to $88,700 annually. Individual placement within the hiring range is based on the candidate's current experience, education, skills and abilities related to the position. The salary will be prorated to reflect the actual number of contract days worked in the remainder of the fiscal year.

Your paycheck is just part of the total compensation package. There is an outstanding benefits package which is worth an additional value equivalent to about 30% of your salary. A comprehensive health care benefits package for you and your dependents includes medical, dental and vision insurance; life and long- term disability insurance plans; vacation, sick and personal leave; reduced tuition; and retirement benefits are also provided. For more information, please visit our benefits website at: https://www.wvc.edu/humanresources/benefits.html.

Work Schedule & Environment:

• Normal work hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m.-5 p.m. (1 hour lunch).
• Work is performed in an indoor office setting with frequent in-person interactions. It is essential to be able to remain at a desk/computer workstation for prolonged periods of time, perform extensive data entry and other computer-related tasks and create/maintain filing systems for departmental records. Some evening or weekend work and/or occasional travel may be required.
• Regular and consistent attendance required.

Conditions of Employment:

• An offer of employment will not carry with it any responsibility or obligation on the part of the College to sponsor an H-1B visa. Wenatchee Valley College only employs U.S. citizens and lawfully authorized non-U.S. citizens. All new employees must show proof of identity, and eligibility verification as required by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

• All offers of employment are subject to background checks. Prior to a new hire, a background check including criminal record history will be conducted. Information from the background check will not necessarily preclude employment but will be considered in determining the applicant’s suitability and competence to perform in the position.
• Finalists are required to complete the sexual misconduct disclosure form as required under RCW 288.112.080.
• A valid Washington state driver's license may be required.

Application and Selection Procedure:

Complete application packages must include the following:

• Complete Wenatchee Valley College online application.
• Upload a cover letter that specifically describes how your educational background and experience meets the minimum and preferred qualifications. (five pages max)
• Upload resume. (five pages max)
• Complete supplemental questions.

It is your responsibility to submit all required application materials before the deadline. Please do not send reference letters or other unsolicited materials. They will not be shared with the screening committee and cannot be returned to you. Only finalists may be asked to send additional materials.

Attachments from prior applications will not upload automatically to your new application. Should you have difficulties uploading your documents, please contact NeoGov Technical Support at 1-855-524-5627 for assistance.

The closing date is 11:59 p.m., PST, February 13, 2025. The college reserves the right to extend the closing date if deemed necessary. A limited number of applicants who meet the needs of the position and the college will be interviewed.

Reasonable Accommodation:

Applicants with disabilities who require assistance with the application and employment process will be accommodated to the extent reasonably possible. Requests should be made to the human resources office by calling 509-682-6440. Persons who are deaf or hard of hearing may dial 711 to place a call through Washington Relay, the state's free telecommunication access service.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

Wenatchee Valley College is committed to a policy of equal opportunity in employment and student enrollment. All programs are free from discrimination and harassment against any person because of race, creed, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a service animal by a person with a disability, age, parental status or families with children, marital status, religion, genetic information, honorably discharged veteran or military status or any other prohibited basis per RCW 49.60.030, 040 and other federal and laws and regulations, or participation in the complaint process.

Equity Statement:

Research suggests that women, gender diverse, BIPOC individuals may self-select out of opportunities if they don't meet 100% of the job requirements. We encourage anyone who believes they have the skills and the drive necessary to succeed here to apply for this role.

The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies and Title IX compliance for both the Wenatchee and Omak campuses:

• To report discrimination or harassment: Title IX Coordinator, (509) 682-6445, title9@wvc.edu.
• To request disability accommodations: Student Access Manager, Wenatchi Hall 2133, (509) 682-6854, TTY/TTD: Dial 711, sas@wvc.edu.

This recruitment announcement may not reflect the entire job description and can be changed or modified at any time.