Associate Dean of Student Engagement

Position Summary: The Associate Dean of Student Engagement serves as a senior leader within the Division of Student Affairs and reports directly to the Dean of Students. This position provides strategic direction and administrative oversight for a comprehensive portfolio focused on student engagement, persistence, and holistic student support.

The Associate Dean leads efforts related to campus activities, student organizations, campus recreation, student conduct, and student care, with the goal of creating a meaningful, developmentally appropriate cocurricular student experience. In addition, the Associate Dean plays a critical role in retention initiatives and serves as a key partner with Admissions, Academic Affairs, and other campus stakeholders in the design and execution of new student orientation and transition programs.

Organizational Leadership & Supervision:

The Associate Dean of Student Engagement provides direct supervision and leadership for the following roles:

• Assistant Dean of Student Conduct
• Student Care Manager
• Campus Recreation Manager

The Associate Dean ensures alignment across these functional areas, promotes collaboration, and supports high-quality service delivery through effective supervision, professional development, and assessment.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership & Retention

• Serve as a strategic leader for student engagement and retention initiatives designed to enhance student persistence, belonging, and success.
• Develop and implement data-informed strategies to improve student involvement, satisfaction, and campus connection.
• Align cocurricular engagement strategies with institutional mission, enrollment goals, and student success outcomes.
• Analyze student engagement and retention data to guide continuous improvement efforts.

Student Engagement & Co-Curricular Experience:

• Provide leadership and oversight for campus activities, student organizations, leadership development programs, and major campus events.
• Ensure cocurricular experiences promote leadership development, inclusion, wellness, and a sense of belonging for all students.
• Oversee policies, procedures, and advising structures related to recognized student organizations.
• Support training and development for student leaders and organization advisors.

Campus Recreation:

• Provide leadership and strategic oversight of campus recreation facilities, programs, club sports, and intramural offerings.

Student Conduct:

• Ensure conduct practices are fair, consistent, educational, and grounded in student development theory.
• Serve as a decision-maker and advisor for complex or high-risk conduct cases, as appropriate.

Student Care & Support:

• Oversee student care, case management, and early alert efforts to support student well-being and success.
• Collaborate with campus and community resources to provide coordinated support for students experiencing personal, academic, or health-related challenges.

New Student Orientation & Transitions:

• Partner with Admissions, Academic Affairs, and Student Affairs departments to design, implement, and assess new student orientation and transition programs.
• Align orientation and transition efforts with institutional retention and student success strategies.

Collaboration & Campus Partnerships:

• Represent Student Affairs on institutional committees, councils, and task forces.
• Foster campus-wide partnerships that promote shared responsibility for student engagement and success.

Supervision, Budget & Administration:

• Supervise professional staff, providing coaching, evaluation, and support for professional development.
• Manage budgets, contracts, and fiscal resources for assigned departments and initiatives.
• Contribute to divisional planning, goal setting, policy development, and strategic initiatives.
• Support assessment, reporting, and accreditation-related efforts.

Assessment, Communication & Compliance:

• Lead assessment efforts for student engagement, conduct, care, and recreation programs.
• Ensure accurate documentation, reporting, and compliance with institutional and regulatory requirements.
• Communicate effectively with students, families, faculty, staff, and external partners.
• Assist with crisis management, institutional response efforts, and after-hours on-call responsibilities as required.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration, Student Affairs, Counseling, or a related field.
• Progressive professional experience in student affairs or student engagement, including supervision responsibilities.
• Demonstrated experience in program development, cross-campus collaboration, and strategic planning.
• Knowledge of student development theory and retention-focused engagement practices.
• Strong interpersonal, organizational, and communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience overseeing multiple functional areas within Student Affairs.
• Demonstrated experience related to student conduct administration and student care or case management.
• Experience working with campus recreation, student organizations, or large-scale student programming.
• Familiarity with new student orientation and transition programs.
• Experience using assessment and student data to inform decision-making.

Work Environment & Expectations:

• Evening and weekend work may be required, particularly during major campus events, recreation activities, and student programs.
• This position serves as a senior leader within the Division of Student Affairs and is expected to model professional, ethical, and student-centered practices.
• A demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and student success is essential.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit and to use hands to type on a computer, operate office equipment, and handle books, files, documents, etc. Must be able to talk and hear to answer phones and when assisting others. The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, reach with hands and arms, climb or balance, and stoop or kneel. The employee must occasionally lift objects weighing from 10 – 30 pounds and possibly up to 50 pounds. Close vision is needed to use a computer. Must have distance vision and depth perception for safety purposes.

NOTE: This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed; the employee will be required to follow any other instructions and to perform any other duties requested by his or her supervisor.
An employee is expected to assist and provide coverage for coworkers during peak periods, vacation days, or sick days