Retention Program Coordinator (10 Months)

General Responsibilities

The Retention Program Coordinator is a graduate student and a member of Kutztown University's Residence Life, Housing, and Dining Services team. The Retention Program Coordinator is supervised by the Assistant Director of Residence Life of Programming & Leadership Development. The Retention Program Coordinator is responsible for student success and retention through efficient day-to-day operation of select programs and activities.

Duties and Responsibilities:

(Under the Supervision of an Assistant Director)

• The Retention Program Coordinator establishes a rapport with students within the residential community and assists these students in the adjustment to community living and university life.
• The Retention Program Coordinator clearly articulates and implements the University policies and Residence Life and Housing procedures and is available to serve as a resource, advise, and refer students when appropriate.
• The Retention Program Coordinator manages and oversees the Board of Governors Scholars Community (designated Special Interest Housing Group) including establishing a community, conducting regularly scheduled meetings with the community students, and serving as a resource to students in the community.
• The Retention Program Coordinator will manage the Imaginarium and supervise the Imaginarium staff. (The Imaginarium is a resource room for the Office of Residence Life, Housing, and Dining Services that Staff and Hall Council can utilize. This is a place where they can come to make bulletin boards, door decorations, and get supplies to help with their programming. It’s located on the 1st floor of Bonner Hall.) This includes providing ongoing training, supervision, and discipline of the undergraduate students who work in the Imaginarium, holding weekly staff meetings, as well as communicating supply needs to the Assistant Director of Residence Life.
• The Retention Program Coordinator will be responsible for monitoring the climate of the Residence Halls by creating and implementing 3 community development initiatives for the campus per semester. In addition, the RPC will conduct 3 spirit initiatives between the halls per semester, and create an ongoing student recognition program for the year. In addition, the Retention Program Coordinator monitors all first year resident students’ adjustment to the University and provides routine contact, mentoring and guidance. The RPC does a weekly rotation to each of the Residence Halls. The RPC will keep a communication log with students to monitor student interactions and retention rates.
• The Retention Program Coordinator, alongside the other Graduate Student Employees of the office, will plan at least one Bears at Night Program for each semester. (This programming series runs on Fridays Nights throughout the academic year to provide large-scale campus programming for the community and to combat alcohol use on those nights.)
• Serve as the NORESCO Liaison for the Department. Coordinate with NORESCO to plan site visits and to gather resources for the department.
• The Retention Program Coordinator in collaboration with the Assistant Director of Residence Life, will work to establish and maintain a Retention Plan for the Residence Life Department. This includes conducting research, and keeping up with national trends in the area of retention.
• The Retention Program Coordinator provides an educational discipline process for residents, which includes timely adjudication of all citations and assigned incident reports as well as efficient management of related correspondence.
• The Retention Program Coordinator performs other duties as assigned by the Executive Director of Residence Life, Housing, and Dining Services and/or their designees. The Retention Program Coordinator pursues continuing professional development through participation in professional associations and University activities and committees as approved by the Assistant Director of Residence Life.
• The Retention Program Coordinator serves as a role model for the Housing and Residence Life team and residents. The Retention Program Coordinator is accountable to exercise appropriate judgment as it relates to professional behavior and sound decision making at all times.
• The Retention Program Coordinator resides on campus and will serve in a nightly evening and weekend duty rotation alongside the other graduate student employees.
• The Retention Program Coordinator will submit items to be promoted in our departments’ Social Media accounts including but not limited to: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and Twitter. All Residence Life Programs should be promoted through social media accounts. The RPC will also manage the Housing/Residence Life Programming Outlook Calendar.
• The Retention Program Coordinator, under the direction of the Assistant Director of Residence Life, assists in managing all aspects of the first- and second-year experience program called The Golden Paw Experience.
• The Retention Program Coordinator establishes a working relationship that provides first year and second year programming support and guidance to the graduate Resident Directors and the work they do in their assigned residence halls. This includes updating and the weekly outreach of the Golden Paw email series.
• The Retention Program Coordinator will also provide leadership, direction, and active support for the development and implementation of the Bear Tracks educational workshops and programs as well as the Habitudes series, which supports the academic mission, the community and student success and retention within the residence halls and at Kutztown University.
• The Retention Program Coordinator, working in conjunction with the Residence Life Team, provides assistance as needed to assure appropriate first and second year student opportunities are in place to assist students in adjustment to and participation in college and academic life. The Retention Program Coordinator maintains regularly scheduled hours in the hall.

For remuneration and frequently asked questions about our graduate student positions, please visit our department's Graduate Student Opportunities page.