Program Director, Student Support Services

Position Title: Program Director, Student Support Services

Department: Academic Affairs

Advertised Pay: Upper $70,000's

Campus

Location:

Washburn University

Review of applications will begin the week of January 5, 2026

The Program Director, Student Support Services (SSS), provides strategic leadership, oversight, and day‑to‑day management of Washburn’s new federally‑funded TRIO SSS program. The SSS program supports 140 eligible students evidencing academic need who are first‑generation, low‑income, or have documented disabilities. This role is responsible for critical program and grant management functions, including participant recruitment, selection, assessment, and engagement; delivering effective support services;

maintaining compliance with federal regulations; and using data to drive continuous improvement. The Program Director oversees all aspects of program delivery, supervises professional staff, manages the program budget, assesses key services, and reports program outcomes data to the U.S. Department of Education. This grant‑funded position plays a critical leadership role in achieving Washburn's institutional goals of increasing retention, academic performance, and on‑time graduation rates for SSS participants and sustaining the success of the TRIO SSS program.

This position is funded in full by a grant award.

Washburn University is a teaching‑focused, student‑centered, public institution located in the metropolitan setting of Topeka that has earned national recognition for its high‑impact programs for first‑generation students. Washburn has a student body of over 5,500 undergraduate, graduate, and law students, a significant and growing number of whom are first‑generation and Pell‑Grant eligible. The University has created educational pathways for all students to be successful and achieve their educational goals.

Washburn is dedicated to recruiting and retaining a dynamic faculty, staff, and student body and cultivating a robust learning and working environment and curriculum. We employ more than one thousand faculty and staff on our campuses throughout Topeka and strive to offer competitive wages, an excellent benefits program, and a supportive culture and a healthy work/life balance. Washburn seeks to create an environment that reflects our core values for creating positive IMPACT: inclusion, modernization, partnership, achievement, community and transformation.

In 2024, Washburn was recognized as one of the best colleges in the nation to work for, according to Great Colleges to Work For® program.

• Provide leadership for the SSS program to ensure strong student engagement, effective program services, and progress toward program outcomes.
• Administer all aspects of the SSS grant, including implementation, assessment, and programming.
• Oversee recruitment, selection, orientation, and continued engagement of 140 program participants annually, ensuring compliance with federal guidelines and supporting long‑term student retention and success.
• Develop and execute assessments of all program components to monitor progress toward objectives, guide data‑informed improvements, and adapt as needed to enhance outcomes for program participants.
• Ensure timely, accurate submission of compliance reports to the Department of Education, including documentation of student participation and budget expenditures, in full accordance with federal requirements.
• Actively participate in regional and/or national TRIO communities to ensure compliance with current SSS policies and federal regulations and serve as a knowledgeable resource to assist campus colleagues in understanding and meeting program requirements.
• Collaborate with SSS staff, the Center for Student Success and Retention, the Provost's Office, the Office of Sponsored Projects, faculty, and institutional leadership in support of project objectives.
• Collaborate with campus service providers to encourage program participants to fully utilize all available supports.
• Provide support to program participants, including basic academic, financial, and career counseling.
• Manage a small caseload of participants…