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7 Executive Director, Student Success and Retention Resume Templates with Example

By Ria · Last Updated On October 6, 2026
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This guide shows you how to build an Executive Director, Student Success and Retention resume that is clear, focused, and easy to review. You will see how to organize senior-level evidence so recruiters can quickly understand your scope, leadership, and results.

Strong resumes for this role connect student success strategy with retention, persistence, completion, advising, counseling, career services, staff leadership, budgets, grants, FERPA, data analysis, and continuous improvement. Use clear section headings, concise achievement bullets, and role-specific keywords that match the work you have actually done.

The same resume is presented in 7 layouts so you can compare reading order, section balance, and visual structure. Each example includes format guidance, free PDF access, and practical notes to help you choose a layout that fits your amount of experience and supporting detail.

What Makes a Great Executive Director, Student Success and Retention Resume in 2026

A strong resume for this role shows executive leadership, clear career progression, and evidence of improving student support systems. It should make retention, completion, team leadership, and cross-campus work easy to find.

Use accurate keywords such as student success strategy, coordinated care, data analytics, KPIs, budgeting, grant administration, FERPA, and change management when your background supports them.

The examples shown below are intentionally detailed to demonstrate a range of experiences, skills, accomplishments and relevant keywords. We prefer detailed resumes as they provide more context to the hiring managers and also help the ATS systems identify relevant qualifications and score your resume better for a match. But the length of a resume is an individual choice. If you want a one page resume, just keep the most relevant experience and information for the job. Note: Resume examples are for educational purposes only. Use only information that accurately reflects your experience and qualifications. References to real organizations do not imply affiliation or endorsement.

#1 Plain Two Column Format Resume Example

The Plain Two Column Format separates supporting details from core experience, helping recruiters scan a substantial leadership resume without losing the main career story.

 
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Resume Snapshot

  • 14 years of higher education leadership experience
  • Master of Science in Higher Education Administration
  • Executive leadership across retention, advising, counseling, and career readiness
  • Experience with budgets, grants, KPIs, FERPA, and continuous improvement

Why This Format Works

  • Parallel sections keep long experience readable while preserving clear career progression.
  • Supporting skills stay distinct from achievements, reducing clutter in the main history.
  • Two-column balance gives education and credentials space without interrupting leadership evidence.

Best For

  • Long leadership histories
  • Resumes with many supporting sections
  • Readers comparing experience and credentials
  • Senior higher education applications
  • Balanced detail without dense paragraphs

Resume Keywords

  • Executive leadership
  • Student Success
  • persistence
  • Retention
  • completion
  • graduation
  • advising
  • Counseling
  • Career Services
  • career readiness
  • hiring
  • coaching
  • performance management
  • delegation
  • Staff Development
See all keywords
 

#2 Simple One Column Format Resume Example

The Simple One Column Format gives recruiters one direct reading path, making a detailed resume easy to follow from summary through experience, education, and credentials.

 
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Why This Format Works

  • A single reading path makes career progression easy to follow in order.
  • Full-width sections give leadership achievements room for clear, complete bullet points.
  • Straight section flow keeps education and credentials visible without competing columns.

Best For

  • Direct recruiter scanning
  • Chronological career stories
  • Detailed achievement bullets
  • Conservative application settings
  • Simple ATS-friendly structure
 

#3 Clean Two Column Sidebar Format Resume Example

The Clean Two Column Sidebar Format places secondary information beside the main career narrative, helping recruiters locate skills and credentials while keeping experience easy to scan.

 
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Why This Format Works

  • The sidebar separates supporting skills from the main experience narrative cleanly.
  • Main-column space keeps leadership history prominent and easier to compare across roles.
  • Side content gives education and credentials a stable place for quick reference.

Best For

  • Experience-heavy resumes
  • Separate skills and credential areas
  • Fast reference to supporting details
  • Career histories with several leadership roles
  • Readers who prefer visible section separation
 

#4 Two Column Format Resume Example

The Two Column Format uses side-by-side sections to shorten visual travel, helping recruiters compare core experience with supporting qualifications more efficiently.

 
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Why This Format Works

  • Side-by-side organization shortens the distance between experience and supporting qualifications.
  • Separate columns prevent skills and credentials from crowding leadership achievements.
  • Balanced section blocks help reviewers compare career depth with education quickly.

Best For

  • Resumes with broad qualification sets
  • Quick comparison of major sections
  • Leadership records needing compact organization
  • Applications with both experience and credentials
  • Readers comfortable with parallel sections
 
 

#5 Photo Header Two Column Format Resume Example

The Photo Header Two Column Format combines a prominent identity area with two-column body sections, letting recruiters confirm the person quickly while scanning experience and supporting details.

 
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Why This Format Works

  • The photo header identifies the person without changing the body reading structure.
  • Two-column sections keep experience distinct from skills, education, and credentials.
  • Clear body separation helps recruiters scan leadership evidence after the visual header.

Best For

  • Regions where resume photos are customary
  • Applications requesting a professional photo
  • Strong visual identity with structured content
  • Resumes balancing experience and credentials
  • Readers who prefer clear body separation
 

#6 Colored Two Column Format Resume Example

The Colored Two Column Format uses color-backed section separation with a two-column body, helping recruiters distinguish content groups while moving through a detailed resume.

 
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Why This Format Works

  • Color-backed section boundaries make major content groups easier to distinguish.
  • Two columns reduce visual crowding across experience, skills, education, and credentials.
  • Structured contrast helps recruiters return quickly to sections during comparison.

Best For

  • Applications allowing restrained color
  • Resumes with many content groups
  • Readers comparing several qualification areas
  • Leadership profiles needing visible section boundaries
  • Modern presentation without a photo
 

#7 Stylish Two Column Designer Format Resume Example

The Stylish Two Column Designer Format adds stronger visual structure to a two-column body, helping recruiters navigate a complex resume while keeping major sections clearly separated.

 
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Why This Format Works

  • Distinct section treatment helps recruiters locate experience and supporting qualifications quickly.
  • Two-column structure divides dense content without breaking the overall career narrative.
  • Clear visual grouping keeps skills, education, and credentials easy to revisit.

Best For

  • Polished presentation with clear structure
  • Resumes carrying substantial supporting detail
  • Applications where visual organization matters
  • Complex leadership histories needing separation
  • Readers who revisit sections during review
 
 

Why Build Your Executive Director, Student Success and Retention Resume with ResumeInMinutes

ResumeInMinutes helps higher education leaders organize complex experience into a resume that is easier to scan, tailor, and compare against senior student success requirements.

  • Multiple professional resume formats
  • ATS-friendly section structure
  • Role-specific keyword guidance
  • Clear leadership and achievement sections
  • Free PDF resume previews
  • Easy resume customization

Use the layouts to present executive leadership, staff supervision, student support strategy, data-informed decisions, budgets, policy work, and cross-functional partnerships with less visual clutter.

 

See Also

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Are these Executive Director, Student Success and Retention resume templates ATS-friendly?

Yes. The layouts use clear headings and standard resume sections that support ATS scanning. Your results still depend on accurate keywords, readable content, and a file format the employer accepts.

Are these different resumes?

No. This guide shows the same Executive Director, Student Success and Retention resume in different visual formats so you can compare organization and readability.

What should an Executive Director, Student Success and Retention resume include?

Include a focused summary, senior student success experience, leadership scope, retention and completion work, advising or counseling oversight, data and KPI use, budgets, grants, FERPA knowledge, education, certifications, and relevant tools.

Can I download the resume templates as PDFs?

Yes. Each resume design includes a free PDF preview so you can review the layout before choosing a format for your application.

Which resume style is best for an Executive Director, Student Success and Retention position?

A simple one-column format is strong when you want a direct reading order. A two-column format can help separate skills, education, and credentials from a longer leadership history without making the resume harder to scan.

How should I show leadership experience on this resume?

Use bullets that show the teams, services, budgets, systems, policies, and improvement work you led. Keep claims specific and add measurable results only when you can support them.

Should I include a photo on my resume?

For U.S. applications, a no-photo resume is usually the safer choice. Use a photo only when local practice or the application process clearly calls for one.

Can I customize these resume templates?

Yes. You can revise the text, section order, design style, and PDF layout so the resume reflects your own student success leadership experience.

ATS score and resume checks

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ATS score 82%

How we calculate this score

  • Keywords: 60% of the total. AI extracts keywords from your job description. If you do not provide one, a standard job description for the title matching your resume is used. This is not a match to a specific vacancy.
  • Text-based resume: 20%. The text resume assessed here receives 100 for this part.
  • Resume quality: 20%. We start at 100 and subtract points for issues found by our resume checks, down to a minimum of zero.
  • Keyword coverage = 100 × (confirmed matches + 0.8 × possible matches) ÷ total keywords, rounded and capped at 100. Possible matches still need checking. Saved generation audits use their saved keyword percentage.
  • Final score = 60% of keyword coverage + 20% of the text score + 20% of the quality score, rounded to a whole number. Without keywords, no overall ATS score is available.

What this score means

Our scores are estimates, not employer ratings. They may contain errors and do not guarantee accurate parsing, a ranking, an interview, or a job. Check your document against the employer’s requirements. You are responsible for relying on this score.

Terms and Conditions

Score weights: Keywords 60% · Text based resume 20% · Resume quality 20%

Live keyword match: 49 of 70 (70%) · Resume quality: 100%

Resume quality 100% · Weight 20% · Issues (0)

Details
  • ✓Name present: Savannah Arroyo
  • ✓Email format: savannah.arroyo@example.com
  • ✓Phone format: (608) 555-7316
  • ✓Experience 1: Job title: Associate Vice President, Student Success
  • ✓Experience 1: Company name: Great Lakes Community College
  • ✓Experience 1: Employment dates: January 2022 - Present
  • ✓Experience 1: Description or achievements: Present
  • ✓Experience 2: Job title: Executive Director, Retention and Completion
  • ✓Experience 2: Company name: Lakeshore Technical Institute
  • ✓Experience 2: Employment dates: July 2018 - December 2021
  • ✓Experience 2: Description or achievements: Present
  • ✓Experience 3: Job title: Director, Advising and Career Services
  • ✓Experience 3: Company name: Capital City College
  • ✓Experience 3: Employment dates: August 2015 - June 2018
  • ✓Experience 3: Description or achievements: Present
  • ✓Experience 4: Job title: Assistant Director, Student Development
  • ✓Experience 4: Company name: Northwoods University
  • ✓Experience 4: Employment dates: June 2012 - July 2015
  • ✓Experience 4: Description or achievements: Present
  • ✓Experience 5: Job title: Student Success Coordinator
  • ✓Experience 5: Company name: Fox Valley College
  • ✓Experience 5: Employment dates: June 2009 - May 2012
  • ✓Experience 5: Description or achievements: Present
  • ✓No placeholder fields
  • ✓No repeated achievement bullets
  • ✓No empty bullets

No issues found by the current checks.

Text Based Resume 100% · Weight 20%

Parsed text
Savannah Arroyo
Executive Director, Student Success and Retention
(608) 555-7316
savannah.arroyo@example.com
linkedin.com/example/savannaharroyo
Madison, WI 53703
STRENGTHS
Retention Strategy
Built institution wide plans across advising and completion services. A shared review rhythm helped leaders act on student persistence patterns.
Staff Development
Coached managers through difficult service decisions and development plans. Colleagues became more confident handling performance conversations.
Data Informed Action
Turned retention and equity reports into focused interventions. Teams often sought practical guidance when numbers raised concerns.
Coordinated Care
Connected referrals, follow up, and reporting across functions. Students received clearer support pathways after process gaps surfaced.
Equity Leadership
Worked with diverse college populations and academic partners. Listening first helped teams shape fairer outreach and service decisions.
SUMMARY
Higher education executive with 14 years advancing student success, retention, persistence, completion, advising, counseling, career readiness, and equitable outcomes across diverse college populations. Leads institution wide retention plans, coordinated care, policy implementation, data informed intervention, and cross functional change. Guides managers and professional staff through coaching, evaluation, development, delegation, and performance management. Connects retention trends with practical interventions, KPIs, assessment, data literacy, budgets, grant administration, audit support, and continuous improvement. Experienced with student success software, FERPA aligned records, student development theory, access and equity, strategic planning, and change management. Trusted partner for faculty, deans, executive leaders, boards, employers, and community stakeholders, with a record of translating shared priorities into stronger services and measurable student outcomes.
EXPERIENCE
Associate Vice President, Student Success
Great Lakes Community College
January 2022 - Present
Madison, WI
Direct institution wide retention, persistence, completion, advising, counseling, career readiness, student success technology, budgets, grants, and coordinated care for a diverse multi campus population. Lead managers and professional staff while partnering with research, academic, executive, and technical stakeholders.
Directed multi campus retention strategy across advising, counseling, completion, and career readiness services.
Led managers through coaching, evaluation, development planning, delegation, and service expectation setting.
Governed student success technology referrals, follow up, outreach, reporting, and stakeholder coordination.
Reviewed retention, completion, equity, and service KPIs with research and academic leaders.
Administered budgets, grant initiatives, fiscal controls, and audit support requirements.
Sponsored Plan Do Study Act cycles supporting FERPA aligned practice and staff data literacy.
Executive Director, Retention and Completion
Lakeshore Technical Institute
July 2018 - December 2021
Sheboygan, WI
Led comprehensive retention and completion planning across advising, early intervention, career services, faculty partnerships, student success software, reporting, budgets, and policy communication. Managed supervisors and professional teams while presenting priorities to senior leaders and governance groups.
Led retention planning across advising, early intervention, career services, and faculty partnerships.
Managed supervisors through hiring, coaching, evaluation, workload allocation, and corrective action.
Built referral procedures and training that clarified support access and follow up.
Analyzed persistence and graduation patterns with deans to prioritize equity interventions.
Oversaw student success software adoption across administrators, content owners, and service leaders.
Presented retention results, budgets, policy changes, and improvement priorities to governance groups.
Director, Advising and Career Services
Capital City College
August 2015 - June 2018
Madison, WI
Directed integrated advising and career services across transfer, technical, and career focused pathways. Supervised advisors and career staff, strengthened referral practices, maintained confidential records, and connected faculty, employers, and community partners with student success priorities.
Directed advising and career services across transfer, technical, and career pathways.
Supervised advisors through caseload planning, coaching, evaluation, and service quality reviews.
Introduced outreach for students showing academic or engagement risk using enrollment data.
Developed workshops covering academic planning, career readiness, transfer, and support services.
Maintained FERPA compliant records for confidential case discussions and authorized referrals.
Cultivated employer, faculty, and community partnerships supporting career preparation and persistence.
Assistant Director, Student Development
Northwoods University
June 2012 - July 2015
Green Bay, WI
Coordinated student development and persistence initiatives involving outreach, counseling referrals, academic support, transitions, staff supervision, assessment, reporting, and policy improvement. Supported cross campus committees and translated service data into outreach priorities.
Coordinated persistence initiatives combining outreach, counseling referrals, academic support, and transitions.
Supervised professional and student staff through scheduling, coaching, and documentation review.
Analyzed enrollment and service reports in Excel to refine outreach priorities.
Designed training on student development, referrals, confidentiality, and diverse learner communication.
Supported budget planning, vendor coordination, program assessment, and annual reporting.
Served on cross campus committees focused on student success and policy improvement.
Student Success Coordinator
Fox Valley College
June 2009 - May 2012
Appleton, WI
Coordinated advising referrals, outreach, persistence programming, workshops, confidential records, recurring reports, process guides, and program assessment for new and continuing students. Supported practical service improvements through follow up data and student feedback.
Coordinated advising referrals, outreach, and persistence programming for new and continuing students.
Maintained confidential records and applied FERPA requirements during authorized communications.
Tracked appointments, referrals, enrollment, and persistence data for recurring reports.
Facilitated workshops on academic planning, campus resources, career exploration, and transitions.
Developed process guides clarifying referral steps and service expectations for staff.
Assessed programs through surveys, service data, and follow up reviews.
SKILLS
Student Success Strategy
Counseling
Success Software
KPI Reporting
Student Development
Persistence
Coordinated Care
Career Services
Budgeting
Strategic Planning
Data Analytics
Completion
Advising
Retention
Equity
LANGUAGES
English
Native
Spanish
Intermediate
MY CAREER
17Years
Associate Vice President, Student Success at Great Lakes Community College (4.8 Years)
Executive Director, Retention and Completion at Lakeshore Technical Institute (3.4 Years)
Director, Advising and Career Services at Capital City College (2.8 Years)
Assistant Director, Student Development at Northwoods University (3.1 Years)
Student Success Coordinator at Fox Valley College (2.9 Years)
PROJECTS
Coordinated Care Reporting Initiative
2025
Connected referral follow up, service reporting, and stakeholder review into a clearer coordinated care process. Shared data helped teams focus outreach and identify student support gaps.
Equity Focused Retention Plan
2021
Used persistence and completion patterns with academic partners to prioritize equitable interventions. Planning conversations turned broad concerns into practical outreach, referral, and assessment actions.
LEADERSHIP & AWARDS
Student Success Leadership Award, Great Lakes Community College, 2025
Recognition for cross campus retention leadership and staff development, 2024
Executive leadership contributor for equitable completion initiatives, 2023
EDUCATION
Master of Science in Higher Education Administration
University of Wisconsin La Crosse
GPA: 4.0
2012
La Crosse, WI
Coursework: Student development theory, retention strategy, higher education leadership, program assessment
Bachelor of Science in Psychology
University of Wisconsin Green Bay
GPA: 4.0
2009
Green Bay, WI
Coursework: Counseling foundations, human development, research methods, group dynamics
CERTIFICATIONS
FERPA Compliance and Student Records Training
2026
Continuous Improvement Foundations
2024
TECHNICAL SKILLS
Student Success Systems: Student success software, coordinated care, referral tracking
Data Analysis: Retention analysis, completion analysis, Excel
Reporting Tools: KPI reporting, dashboards, institutional reports
Office Productivity: Google Suite, Microsoft Office, Word
Communication Tools: Outlook, Google Workspace, email coordination
Continuous Improvement: Plan Do Study Act, program assessment, follow up reviews
Compliance Standards: FERPA, state requirements, federal requirements
Strategic Planning: Retention plans, completion plans, strategic priorities
Budget Administration: Department budgets, grant administration, audit support
Student Services: Advising, counseling, career services
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Wisconsin Student Success Collaborative, Steering Committee Member
Regional Higher Education Retention Network, Executive Peer Group
Community college student success and retention leadership participant
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Work Status
: Authorized to work in United States. No sponsorship required.

Matched keywords (49)

  • Executive leadership
  • Student Success
  • persistence
  • Retention
  • completion
  • graduation
  • advising
  • Counseling
  • Career Services
  • career readiness
  • hiring
  • coaching
  • performance management
  • delegation
  • Staff Development
  • training
  • student success software
  • Coordinated Care
  • reporting
  • assessment
  • research
  • audit support
  • FERPA
  • Data Analytics
  • KPI
  • Plan Do Study Act
  • data literacy
  • faculty
  • Staff
  • administrators
  • academic leaders
  • boards
  • employers
  • community stakeholders
  • Higher education
  • Community College
  • Student Development
  • access
  • equity
  • Strategic Planning
  • Budgeting
  • change management
  • supervision
  • evaluation
  • Google Suite
  • Microsoft Office
  • Excel
  • Word
  • Outlook

Missing keywords (21)

  • employer relations
  • transfer support
  • discipline
  • retention support
  • student interventions
  • standard operating procedures
  • grant funded programs
  • departmental budgets
  • performance measures
  • executive teams
  • retention theory
  • student centered systems
  • retention program design
  • policy development
  • motivation
  • relationship building
  • culturally diverse populations
  • Master's degree
  • five years experience
  • seven years experience
  • ten years supervisory experience
Disclaimer: All names, images, contact information, employment histories, achievements, security clearances, military credentials, and other qualifications shown in this content are fictional and used for illustrative purposes only. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or deceased, is purely coincidental.

Resume and cover-letter examples and recommendations in this article reflect general best practices and professional experience and are provided for guidance only. Results may vary based on role, industry, region, and hiring organization.

Content Accuracy and Verification: To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, we do not represent or warrant that resume or cover-letter guidance, examples, recommendations, or related information are accurate, complete, current, error-free, or suitable for any particular purpose. You are responsible for independently reviewing and verifying the information before relying on it.

ATS and Cover-Letter Scores: ATS scores are estimates calculated using our own formula, informed by publicly available guidance on resume formatting and keyword matching. They are not scores issued or endorsed by an ATS provider or employer. Cover-letter scores are also our own assessments. Parsing, weighting, screening criteria, and results vary between systems, employers, job descriptions, and document formats. No score guarantees successful parsing, a particular ranking, an interview, or employment. Use scores as general guidance and independently check your documents against the employer’s requirements. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, we accept no liability for errors in scores or parsing, or losses arising from reliance on these assessments. Nothing in this notice excludes liability or limits consumer rights that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.

Terms and Conditions
 
 
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