UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS
COORDINATOR, STUDENT SUCCESS & RETENTION
DIVISION OF STUDENT SUCCESS
Position Summary
The Division of Student Success at the University of St. Thomas seeks a collaborative, student-centered, and strategic professional to serve as Coordinator of Student Success & Retention.
This position is a dual-function role - equal parts student-facing and data-facing. This person provides direct success coaching to Celts flagged through Watermark SS&E early alerts or EdSights campaigns who do not have an assigned coach, ensuring no alerted student goes unserved. Simultaneously, this person owns the coaching data tracking layer across the Division, surfacing a weekly picture of who is being reached, who is not, and why - so the Executive Director can make timely, informed decisions.
Key Responsibilities Direct Success Coaching
- Coach students flagged via Watermark early alerts or EdSights who have no assigned success coach - contact within 48 hours of every alert; same-day call for high-risk flags.
- Conduct needs assessments using the Division's four-pillar model: Motivation, Belonging, Academic Preparedness, and Emotional Well-Being.
- Connect students to resources - Knack tutoring, Celt Food Pantry, Financial Aid, Counseling, Dreams.US.
- Log all contacts in Watermark SS&E within 24 hours; book next appointment before the student leaves.
- Serve as a full member of the coaching team; escalate non-responsive students to the Retention Task Force after three failed outreach attempts.
Coaching Data Tracking
- Conduct a weekly Monday data pull across Watermark SS&E, EdSights, Knack Tutoring, and the Who's Next walk-in kiosk - identifying unresolved alerts, unlogged contacts, and coverage gaps.
- Cross-reference platforms to surface students falling through the cracks: visited Who's Next but never booked a session; responded to EdSights but were never followed up with.
- Identify population-level patterns - which courses, majors, or student groups generate disproportionate alerts - and flag structural issues to the Executive Director.
- Prepare a monthly coaching coverage report: unique students coached, alert response rates, caseload distribution, session note compliance, and EdSights-to-Watermark conversion rate.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Higher Education, Psychology, Counseling, Social Work, Education, or a related field.
- 1-3 years in higher education student services, coaching, advising, or case management.
- Demonstrated ability to build trust quickly with students in distress, as a meaningful first connection is often required within 48 hours of a crisis flag.
- Proficiency in data entry, data tracking, and identifying the broader patterns that data reveals. This individual must be as comfortable pulling weekly platform reports and spotting trends as they are sitting across from a student during an initial coaching session.
- Organized and deadline-driven, with the ability to consistently complete the Monday data pull, a non-negotiable weekly commitment on which the entire coaching team depends.
- Experience with student success platforms, such as Watermark SS&E, EdSights, or equivalent systems, or a demonstrated ability to learn new technologies quickly.
- Commitment to the Catholic and Basilian mission of UST and to the holistic development and success of every Celt.
Preferred Qualifications
- Master's degree in Higher Education, Counseling, Social Work, Student Affairs, or a related field.
- Experience with Watermark SS&E, EAB Navigate, or a comparable early alert and academic advising platform.
- Experience with EdSights or a similar text-based student outreach, engagement, and analytics platform.
- Experience developing, maintaining, or managing data-tracking and reporting systems for student services or student success teams.
- Experience working at a first-generation-serving institution, Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), or other mission-driven college or university.
- Bilingual proficiency in English and Spanish, strongly preferred given UST's student population and the level of direct student contact required in this role.
- Familiarity with FERPA regulations and best practices related to student privacy, records management, and appropriate data disclosure.
Work Environment and Schedule
This is a student-facing position that follows the University's standard working hours requirements. Regular availability and presence during established office hours are essential to providing reliable support to students, faculty, staff and campus partners.
Employees receive vacation time for rest, recuperation, and personal matters. Because of the nature and scope of this position, vacation scheduling should be coordinated to minimize conflicts with important meetings, events, scheduled office activities, and critical operational deadlines.
How to Apply
UST invites applications from candidates committed to student success, the Catholic intellectual tradition, and the holistic development of every Celt. We especially welcome candidates with lived experience with first-generation, Hispanic, or underserved student populations.
Please submit the following as a single PDF:
- Cover Letter addressing your coaching and/or case management experience, experience with data tracking and analysis, and commitment to the University of St. Thomas mission (maximum two pages).
- Current Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV).
- Three Professional References.
Mission and Values
The University of St. Thomas is a private Catholic liberal arts university in Houston, Texas, guided by the Basilian values of Goodness, Discipline, and Knowledge. UST serves approximately 3,200 students and holds Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) designation. A significant portion of our students are first-generation college students - and the Division of Student Success coordinates the institutional response to ensure every Celt has a clear pathway to graduate, flourish, and live out their calling.
The University of Saint Thomas is committed to the religious, ethical, and intellectual traditions of Catholic higher education. As permitted by law, practicing Catholics who will advance the mission of the school are preferred for this position. However, the University invites all qualified applicants to apply.