Overview of Assistant Dean of Students
The Assistant Dean of Students serves as a senior administrator within the Office of the Dean of Students and provides leadership for student support, student conduct administration, crisis response, case management, behavioral intervention, and campus outreach initiatives. This position supports student success, retention, and well-being by addressing complex student concerns, overseeing conduct processes, managing intervention strategies, and collaborating across the university to promote a safe and supportive campus environment. The Assistant Dean serves as a key resource for students, faculty, staff, and families navigating challenging student situations, and works closely with the Dean of Students to support strategic planning, assessment, policy implementation, and divisional operations.
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Duties and Responsibilities of Assistant Dean of Students
- Serve as a primary Student Conduct Administrator for violations of the Regulations Governing Student Conduct, including high-level and complex conduct matters that may result in suspension or expulsion.
- Investigating reports of misconduct and behavioral concerns
- Conducting student meetings and administrative hearings
- Preparing conduct notices, hearing notifications, and outcome letters
- Writing case summaries and disciplinary decisions
- Managing appeal preparation and documentation
- Maintaining student disciplinary records in compliance with university policy and FERPA requirements
- Ensuring consistency, fairness, and educational outcomes throughout the conduct process
- Behavioral Intervention, Student Support, and Crisis Response
- Provide direct intervention and support for students experiencing personal, academic, behavioral, or crisis-related concerns.
- Serving as a key member of the Student Behavioral Intervention Team (SBIT)
- Coordinating student outreach, follow-up, referrals, and intervention planning
- Assessing student risk and recommending appropriate support strategies
- Collaborating with PNW offices including but not limited to the PNW Counseling Center, Housing and Residential Education, Academic Affairs, University Police, Title IX, and external resources
- Supporting students and families during emergencies, hospitalizations, deaths, and other significant crises
- Assisting with emergency response protocols and university-wide student support efforts
- Creating reports and dashboards to track student concerns, conduct trends, outreach outcomes, and intervention patterns
- Identifying emerging campus trends and recommending prevention strategies
- Supporting annual reporting, compliance review, and assessment initiatives
- Maintaining data integrity and ensuring appropriate record retention practices
- Lead and support campus outreach initiatives designed to promote student safety, wellbeing, and intervention awareness.
- Coordinating and facilitating bystander intervention training programs
- Supporting prevention education initiatives related to student safety, conduct awareness, and help-seeking behaviors
- Developing educational presentations for students, faculty, and staff
- Representing the Office of the Dean of Students on university committees and collaborative initiatives
- Supporting orientation, Welcome Week, retention efforts, and campus-wide student success programming
- Provide administrative supervision for professional staff and support daily operations of the Office of the Dean of Students.
- Supervising staff assignments, workflow, and case management processes
- Assisting with hiring, training, performance management, and staff development
- Supporting budget oversight with operational planning
- Collaborating with the Dean of Students on departmental assessment, policy development and long-term strategic planning.
Benefits of Assistant Dean of Students
- Full benefits – Medical, Dental, Vision, Short Term Disability, Retirement, Life Insurance and more
- Accrue 15 days’ vacation your first year, then 22 days’ vacation your 2nd year plus rollover
- University contribution of 10% to retirement (3 year waiting period)
- University contributions to Health Savings Account –
- Plus a chance to earn more through participating in University Wellness Initiatives
- 10 paid holidays
- Employee Wellness Programs
- Paid Parental Leave after one year of service
- Tuition remission for you, your spouse and dependent children at any Purdue campus
For more information on our excellent benefit package, please visit: https://www.pnw.edu/human-resources/benefits/
Education of Assistant Dean of Students
- Master's degree in Counseling, Higher Education Administration, Student Affairs, Education, Public Administration, Social Work, or a closely related field.
Experience of Assistant Dean of Students
- Minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible professional experience in higher education, student affairs administration, student conduct, case management, behavioral intervention, counseling, or related administrative work.
Additional Information
Purdue will not sponsor employment authorization for this position
Professional references will be verified prior to any offer of employment. Employment is contingent upon completion of successful background check along with a motor vehicle records check if applicable.
Purdue University Northwest is an equal opportunity/equal access university.
Purdue University Northwest (PNW) is a student-centered university that transforms lives through innovative education, impactful research and community engagement. Located in Northwest Indiana in the greater Chicago area and near the Indiana Dunes National Park, PNW serves approximately 9,000 students, including 6,000 core students, in a wide range of academic programs at the baccalaureate, master’s and applied doctoral levels.
Purdue Northwest employs more than 1,000 faculty and staff members for operations at its main campus in Hammond, Ind., and its branch campus in Westville, Ind., plus additional sites in Northwest Indiana including the Gabis Arboretum near Valparaiso, Ind. PNW’s values reflect the university’s commitment to respect, innovation, a student-centric university, and excellence.
PNW is consistently ranked among the best public regional universities in U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best Colleges report and is recognized as a First Scholars institution as well an Innovation and Economic Prosperity University. With its vision to cultivate leaders, inspire excellence, and impact our world, PNW advances the socioeconomic mobility of its students and positively impacts regional development.