Penn State Job Catalog

Additional levels that exist for this job profile can be seen below.
Missing levels within the leveling matrix can be added based on business need.

The defined natural career progression within or between job profiles.

Student Success

The Student Success Manager provides strategic leadership for student success initiatives, academic support programs, and retention efforts designed to enhance student learning, persistence, academic achievement, and graduation outcomes; directs the development, implementation, assessment, and continuous improvement of comprehensive student support services and collaborates with faculty, academic advisers, counselors, and campus partners to identify student needs and create effective interventions; designs and evaluates evidence-based academic support programs, develops best practices and operational procedures, and fosters partnerships across the University to advance student success goals; serves as a subject matter expert on student success strategies, learning support services, and retention initiatives, while supervising and developing professional staff responsible for delivering academic support programs and services.

• Direct the design, implementation, assessment, and continuous improvement of student success programs and services that promote academic achievement, retention, persistence, and graduation
• Develop strategic plans, goals, performance metrics, and assessment frameworks to evaluate program effectiveness and student outcomes
• Collaborate with faculty, academic advisers, counselors, and other student support professionals to identify academic support needs and develop targeted interventions
• Establish and maintain processes and procedures to identify, evaluate, and deliver academic support services aimed at improving student success
• Analyze assessment, retention, engagement, and academic performance data to identify trends, achievement gaps, and opportunities for program enhancement
• Champion student success initiatives, including learning communities, guided study groups, tutoring services, supplemental instruction, peer mentoring, and other academic support programs
• Design and oversee academic support programs and services that integrate pedagogical expertise, evidence-based learning strategies, and best practices in student development
• Collaborate with faculty and instructional teams to develop academic support models that align with curriculum and learning outcomes
• Establish goals, assessment measures, and reporting mechanisms to evaluate program effectiveness and inform decision-making
• Develop strategies and initiatives to increase student engagement, strengthen learning outcomes, and support diverse student populations
• Ensure programs and services are responsive to evolving student needs and institutional priorities
• Serve as a campus resource and subject matter expert on student success practices, learning support strategies, and student retention initiatives
• Consult with faculty, instructional teams, academic departments, and learning support professionals on effective interventions and student success approaches
• Develop and facilitate workshops, presentations, training programs, and professional development opportunities for faculty, staff, peer educators, and students
• Foster collaborative partnerships across academic and administrative units to advance student success goals and improve the student academic experience
• Develop and oversee assessment plans to measure program participation, student engagement, learning outcomes, retention, and academic success
• Manage, forecast, plan, monitor, and approve program budgets and expenditures; allocate resources effectively to support operational needs
• Lead, supervise, mentor, and develop professional and support staff responsible for delivering student success programs and services
• Establish performance expectations and accountability measures aligned with departmental and institutional goals
• Manage recruitment, hiring, onboarding, training, coaching, performance evaluation, and employee development activities
• May teach credit-bearing or non-credit courses, seminars, workshops, or special topics related to academic success, learning strategies, or student development

Level:

– Senior Manager

Base Description:

– Manages direct reports where primary duty is the management of a working unit.

Level Summary:

– Demonstrates advanced skills in critical functions related to unit's success. Demonstrates advanced knowledge of emerging technologies and processes. Monitors completed work of others to ensure effectiveness and adherence to requirements. Sets clear expectations and holds team accountable. Establishes a shared team/unit vision. Demonstrates ability to evaluate and enhance team/unit practices that promote a strong commitment to inclusionary practices. Coaches others using appropriate strategies. Demonstrates diplomacy. Demonstrates ability to serve as liaison between senior-level management and staff. Resolves complex, controversial, or unprecedented issues and problems.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

– Oversees large team or teams of individual contributors and/or supervisors/managers
– Leads a department or functional area

Fiscal Responsibilities:

– Monitors and tracks large budgets
– Plans, forecasts, and/or develops budgets
– May approve budgets for specific area
– Typically has final signature authority for specific area

Problem Solving:

– Encounters highly varied and complex problems that impacts the team and possibly the unit
– Develops creative and/or novel approaches to resolve problems that are difficult in nature
– Independently resolves complex and/or unprecedented issues and problems

Independence of Action:

– Work results are not clearly defined
– Generally sets own goals and determines how to accomplish results with few or no guidelines to follow
– Monitors completed work of others to ensure soundness of approach, effectiveness of meeting requirements, the feasibility of recommendations and adherences to requirements
– Delegates more advanced tasks to others

Communication and Collaboration:

– Communicates with both internal and external audiences
– Collaborates closely with team members and various areas across the University
– Fosters collaboration between units and engages others' coordinated efforts to reach desired outcomes with broad scope

• Comp Grade – 11
• Minimum – $72,300.00
• MidPoint – $90,312.00
• Maximum – $108,444.00

• Consulting
• Forecasting
• Mentoring
• Operations management
• Presentation Skills
• Program management
• Project Management
• Resource allocation
• Stakeholder engagement
• Teaching