Position Title: Lecturer (Student Success)

Department: Ctr Student Success and Retention

Campus Location: Washburn University

Application Deadline:  Application review will begin as applications are received and will continue until the position is filled. Applicants can be assured of full consideration if submitted by: June 23, 2025.

Position Summary: Washburn University's Center for Student Success and Retention invites applications for a Student Success Lecturer to begin in Fall 2025. This is a 12 month, non-tenure track position with benefits.

Each selected candidate will have a demonstrated commitment to pursuing teaching excellence at Washburn University, including a dedication to developing inclusive teaching practices that engage all learners.

The Center for Student Success and Retention at Washburn University is home to nationally-recognized student success programs. Faculty in the Center for Student Success and Retention play a critical role in the University’s strategic efforts to help every Washburn student find a pathway to success. The Student Success Lecturer teaches multiple sections of Washburn’s First-Year Experience course, as well as other courses, such as Major and Career Exploration, that equip students with the knowledge, skills, and habits required to achieve academic success. The instruction provided by the Student Success Lecturer is a key component of a comprehensive plan to improve students’ learning, retention, and on-time graduation.

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.

Essential Functions:
• Fulfill teaching expectations associated with non-tenure-track appointment. Teach 12-hours per semester (either in-person or online, according to departmental needs) or equivalent full workload as outlined in the faculty handbook.
• Teach and develop undergraduate classes and seminars as assigned and as dependent upon department needs, which may include Major and Career Exploration, or some combination of classes consistent with the candidate’s training and interests that also supports the retention and on-time graduation of Washburn students.
• Fulfill service expectations associated with a non-tenure-track appointment by engaging in service activities in the department, university, and profession.
• Help First-Year students successfully transition from high school to college by building relationships with them, and equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and habits required for academic success
• Promote First-Year students’ engagement in the Washburn Community of Learning
• Identify retention concerns among individual students, and collaborate with faculty, staff, and administrators to connect students to the appropriate resources
• Use Washburn’s student success software to manage student alerts, appointments, progress reports, referrals, and communications
• Lead a teaching team of up to five members for each First-Year experience course. As the Lead Faculty, conduct weekly meetings with the teaching team, providing leadership on student success philosophy and practice, and leveraging the strengths of the team to address student retention concerns in a timely manner
• Assist the Director of First-Year Experience in the training and mentoring of Peer Educators
• Collaborate with the Director of First-Year Experience on curricular and programmatic issues and needs
• Maintain awareness of best practices that support student retention, particularly in First-Year Experience Programs
• Assist the Center for Student Success and Retention with Summer Programming as needed
• Perform additional job-related duties as assigned or as appropriate.

Required Qualifications:
• Master’s degree from an accredited college or university.
• Experience teaching at the secondary level or higher.
• Demonstrated dedication to developing inclusive teaching practices that engage all learners.
• Official educational transcripts are required at the time of hire.

Preferred Qualifications:
• Doctoral degree.
• One or more years of experience teaching at the postsecondary level.
• Experience working in First-Year Experience programs, or similar transition programs.
• Bi-lingual capability.

Special Instructions to Applicants:

• Please upload the following items as a pdf to the “additional document” field via the electronic application: a statement of teaching philosophy. Contact information for three current professional references will be collected as part of the application form.
• If you have questions about the position, please contact Steve Hageman, Director of First-Year Experience: steve.hageman@washburn.edu.

Background Check Required