Retention Coach Inaugural Position
Mesa Community College invites applications for an inaugural Retention Coach position-an exciting opportunity to help design, launch, and scale a comprehensive first-year program and new student orientation program with a focus on persistence, academic momentum, and timely completion.
The Retention Coach will help build the retention program from the ground up-developing outreach strategies, coaching practices, tracking systems, and partnerships-while working directly with students to address academic, personal, and institutional barriers to success. This role is ideal for a student-centered professional who is energized by creating new systems, shaping practice, and directly impacting student success. As an inaugural member of the retention coaching team, the Retention Coach will play a critical role in establishing consistent, equitable, and proactive support structures for new, first-year, at-risk, and returning students.
Position Overview
The Retention Coach provides proactive, first-year, case-management-based coaching aligned to Guided Pathways and First-Year Experience frameworks, supporting students from entry through successful transition into their academic pathways. This position contributes directly to the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of first-year retention strategies and new student orientation programming.
The Retention Coach works collaboratively with advising, enrollment services, faculty, financial aid, tutoring, and student support programs to ensure a coordinated, student-centered experience that removes barriers and promotes early academic momentum.
Key Responsibilities
Program Development & Team-Based Support
• Serve as an inaugural contributor to the development and launch of the colleges first-year success program and new student orientation model retention coaching program, including shared goals, workflows, communication protocols, and success metrics. • Participate in building and refining case management, outreach, and documentation practices to ensure consistent, high-quality student support. • Collaborate as part of a coordinated coaching team to deliver proactive, equity-centered retention and completion support. • Use data, early alert systems, and faculty/staff referrals to identify students in need of intervention and coordinate timely support. • Track student engagement progress and outcomes to inform continuous improvement and program scaling. • Partner with faculty advisors, tutoring, and student support services to provide integrated wraparound support. • Identify and address academic, personal, financial, and basic-needs barriers through equity-minded, student-centered practices. • Support critical first-year milestones, including onboarding, course registration, early alerts, and re-enrollment. • Collaborate across academic and student affairs to ensure pathway-aligned, seamless support. • Utilize student success systems, early alert tools, and data to prioritize outreach and inform interventions. • Use disaggregated data to identify equity gaps in course success and persistence and adjust coaching strategies accordingly. • Participate in ongoing professional development related to coaching, equity-minded practices, and subject-specific pedagogy. • Contribute to assessment reporting and refinement of the retention coaching model as it scales. • Maintain accurate FERPA-compliant documentation and contribute to assessment reporting and continuous improvement.
Generalist Retention Coaching
• Provide holistic, proactive coaching, including maintaining regular outreach and follow-up to an assigned first-year student caseload, addressing study strategies, time management, motivation, and help-seeking behaviors to improve student persistence and completion. • Identify non-academic barriers, such as basic needs, technology access, work-life balance, and proactively connect students to appropriate resources to create solutions for at-risk students and those facing academic, personal, and social difficulties. • Support students in navigating college processes, policies, and resources that impact persistence and completion. • Develop and implement effective, personalized academic success plans tailored to student unique goals, strengths, and challenges. • Develop and maintain meaningful relationships with students, fostering a sense of belonging and accountability for their educational journey. • Implement and continually develop effective best practices and retention strategies to retain students, specifically first-year and other students. • Communicate regularly with students and conduct regular check-ins with at-risk or struggling students. • Conduct timely outreach to at-risk students and help them create action plans for improvement. • Support guide and empower students through their first year to build the formation for continued success and develop skills necessary to advocate for themselves. • Embed learning opportunities to develop student self-advocacy skills and foster autonomy. • Contribute toward creating a positive and respectful workplace. • Support students and counsel them to better understand their MCC experience. • Stay current with best practices in student development and retention strategies, particularly first-year, through professional development opportunities.
Math Success Coach Subject-Specialized
• Provide targeted coaching and academic support focused on math persistence and course success, particularly in developmental gateway and high-enrollment math courses. • Collaborate with math faculty, tutoring centers, and learning labs to align coaching with course expectations and supports. • Partner with faculty across programs to reinforce effective strategies embedded in coursework. • Use course performance data to identify risk points and intervene early with students enrolled in math-intensive pathways.
English & Writing Success Coach Subject-Specialized
• Provide specialized coaching to support student success in English, writing, and composition courses. • Collaborate with English faculty, writing centers, and tutoring services to reinforce aligned strategies and expectations. • Support students in building confidence and persistence in writing-intensive coursework.
Why This Role Matters
As an inaugural position, the Retention Coach will:
• Help define and establish the colleges first-year retention and orientation practices. • Directly influence student persistence, engagement, and success via proactive, case-management-based support to first-year, at-risk, adult, or returning students. • Contribute to institutional effectiveness and accreditation expectations related to student support, equity, and continuous improvement. • Be part of a growing, mission-driven team focused on transforming the student experience.
Join Us
Mesa Community College is committed to creating inclusive, equitable learning environments where all students can succeed. We welcome candidates who are excited to build something new, collaborate across departments, and make a meaningful impact on students educational journeys.
Essential Functions
All Student Affairs positions require consistent, full-on-site attendance and engagement as an essential job function in order to provide in-person student affairs services, including but not limited to:
• Student advising • Support services • Case management • Programming • Student walk-in services • Daily operational support • Collaboration
This role is not eligible for remote or hybrid work options.
• Assist with developing, coordinating, and implementing New Student Orientation and other signature events, information sessions, workshops, etc. • Participate in building and refining case management, outreach, and documentation practices to ensure consistent, high-quality student support. • Use data, early alert systems, and faculty/staff referrals to identify students in need of intervention and coordinate timely support. • Track student engagement progress and outcomes to inform continuous improvement and program scaling. • Partner with faculty advisors, tutoring, and student support services to provide integrated wraparound support. • Support critical first-year milestones, including onboarding, course registration, early alerts, and re-enrollment. • Collaborate across academic and student affairs to ensure pathway-aligned, seamless support. • Utilize student success systems, early alert tools, and data to prioritize outreach and inform interventions. • Use disaggregated data to identify equity gaps in course success and persistence and adjust coaching strategies accordingly. • Participate in ongoing professional development related to coaching, equity-minded practices, and subject-specific pedagogy. • Contribute to assessment reporting and refinement of the retention coaching model as it scales. • Maintain accurate FERPA-compliant documentation and contribute to assessment reporting and continuous improvement.
• Ensure compliance and follow understand and adhere to federal, state, District Office, and institutional regulations, policies. • Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by accreditation agencies, school policies, and administrative regulations. • Utilize relevant, appropriate, and approved systems to communicate and monitor student interaction and progress. • Monitor and remain abreast of compliance and reporting standards and remain abreast of district, state, and federal regulations. • Maintain student confidentiality, including accurate and confidential records. • Maintain accurate records and track student outcomes using assigned technologies. • Use access to sensitive and/or not yet public college-related information only in the performance of the responsibilities of the position and exercise care to prevent unnecessary disclosure to others. • Prepare accurate reports and documentation as required and requested.
• Contribute to and support strategic enrollment planning activities and in partnership with administration to implement SEM planning. • Collaborate with administration to analyze, interpret, and implement processes as they relate to student engagement, retention, persistence, and student success. • Develop metrics, policies, and procedures and program health assessment for establishing and achieving objectives in retention, persistence, and student success. • Develop and utilize a robust data strategy and other technological advances to create a model retention program for in-person and online students. • Demonstrate self-awareness, self-control, motivation, empathy, social skills, and group work skills. • Act with integrity, make the right decision even when that may not be the most popular decision, and be poised, coachable, respectful of authority and the rights of others, and fair. • Identify and address problem areas before they escalate into crises, solve problems courageously and creatively, plan effectively, and carry out those plans, improving individual and unit performance. • Engage in other duties as assigned by administration, supporting initiatives that advance the mission of the office and the division.
• Serve on various executive boards, college, and district committees, including locally, regionally, and nationally, as designated, and participate in meetings and conferences. • Responsible for other reasonable, related duties as assigned, commensurate to the grade level of the position.