Director of Nursing Student Success

Position Summary: 

The Director of Nursing Student Success is responsible for designing, implementing, and continuously improving a comprehensive student success infrastructure across Education Affiliates' Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) and Practical Nursing (LPN/PN) programs. Reporting to the Vice President of Nursing, this role serves as the organizational leader for nursing student retention, progression, academic support, and NCLEX readiness across all campuses.

This position is well-suited for an experienced academic administrator with a strong background in student success program design, data-driven intervention models, and higher education operations. Deep familiarity with healthcare or allied health education environments is valued; clinical nursing credentials are not required. The Director partners closely with campus presidents, Directors of Nursing, faculty, and the Nursing Shared Services team, functioning as an operational and strategic bridge between academic support functions and nursing program leadership.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Design, launch, and manage a multi-tiered nursing student success program serving online ADN and LPN/PN students across all Education Affiliates campuses.
• Develop and implement standardized early alert, academic intervention, and progression monitoring systems coordinated with nursing faculty benchmarks (ATI, HESI) and NCLEX readiness timelines.
• Establish evidence-based frameworks for identifying online at-risk students and activating individualized success plans in partnership with campus nursing faculty and academic advisors.
• Build and oversee online student success infrastructure including tutoring coordination, peer mentoring, supplemental instruction scheduling, and academic skills resources tailored to prelicensure nursing students.
• Evaluate student success benchmarks using retention, progression, and NCLEX first-attempt pass rate data; modify approaches based on findings.
• Serve as a strategic partner to campus presidents and Directors of Nursing, translating student success program goals into site-specific implementation plans.
• Provide feedback to the Director of Nursing Curriculum to ensure academic support resources align with current curriculum framework and Next Generation NCLEX (NGN) clinical judgment competencies.
• Partner with the National Director of NCLEX Coaching and campus faculty to align coaching resources and student success touchpoints throughout program progression.
• Work with the National Dean of Online Nursing Education to ensure equivalent student success support for blended and online nursing program students.
• Develop and maintain a student success data dashboard tracking enrollment, retention, progression, cohort completion, and NCLEX outcomes by campus, program type, and cohort.
• Analyze trends in student attrition and academic performance to identify systemic gaps and generate recommendations for program-level or institutional interventions.
• Produce regular outcome reports for the VP of Nursing, campus presidents, and accreditation stakeholders; translate complex data into accessible summaries for diverse audiences.
• Support preparation of accreditation self-study reports and annual program effectiveness documentation related to student achievement outcomes (ACEN, state boards of nursing).
• Lead ongoing student success program evaluation using a continuous quality improvement (CQI) framework to assess the effectiveness of student success initiatives and drive evidence-based refinement.
• Benchmark student outcomes against national and state standards and comparable prelicensure nursing programs; use findings to inform program strategy.
• Ensure student success program documentation supports institutional readiness for ACEN accreditation standards related to student achievement and program outcomes.
• Stay current with developments in nursing education policy, NCLEX examination frameworks, and emerging best practices in health professions student success.

Skills/Competencies/Qualifications:

• Master's degree in Higher Education Administration, Academic Affairs, Educational Leadership, Student Affairs, or a closely related field required.
• Minimum of five (5) years of progressive experience in academic administration, student success program management, or related higher education leadership.
• Demonstrated experience designing and managing student retention, early alert, or academic support programs in a post-secondary setting, preferably within career education, community college, or health professions education.
• Proficiency in data analysis and the use of student information systems, learning management systems (e.g., Canvas), and academic early alert platforms; ability to develop and interpret outcome dashboards.
• Strong working knowledge of accreditation standards in post-secondary education; experience supporting ACEN, or comparable accreditor self-study processes preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to build cross-functional relationships with academic, clinical, and operational stakeholders across a multi-site organizational structure.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with experience presenting to leadership, faculty, regulatory bodies, and student-facing audiences.
• Experience in a healthcare education, allied health, or career college environment, with exposure to clinical or licensure-exam-driven program structures.
• Familiarity with standardized nursing education assessment platforms (ATI, HESI) and their role in progression and NCLEX preparation; willingness to develop working knowledge in this area quickly.
• Experience supporting hybrid or online program delivery and designing student success strategies for distributed learner populations.

Classification:  Exempt

Work Hours:  Forty per week but may vary daily, and some evening and weekend hours may be required.

Travel:  This position requires occasional travel (25 – 50%).

Working Environment:  Interior/Office