Senior Fellow – Student Voice & Engagement

Position: Part-time, time-limited
Location: Remote, with a Kentucky workstation
Term: May 2026 – January 30, 2027 (extension may be possible)
Commitment: Up to 20 hours per month
Travel: Will be invited to attend in-person convenings at the Frankfort office of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education and at Kentucky postsecondary institutions.
Compensation: $50/hr.
Priority application: April 27, 2025

About the Council

The Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) is Kentucky’s higher education coordinating agency committed to strengthening our workforce, economy, and quality of life. We do this by guiding the continuous improvement and efficient operation of a high-quality, diverse, and accessible system of postsecondary education.

The Kentucky Student Success Collaborative (KYSSC) works with higher education institutions in the state to advance and support efforts to improve student outcomes. CPE, in partnership with the James Graham Brown Foundation, created KYSSC to foster a culture of collaboration, build capacity for leading change, and measure gains in student success. The KYSSC approach centers student voice to ensure an accurate understanding of complex student success issues and identify effective, high impact interventions to address student barriers.

The Kentucky Student Success Collaborative (KYSSC) partners with institutions across the state to implement strategic recommendations focused on transfer success, gateway course success, student basic needs, mental health, and adult attainment.

Position Overview

The Senior Fellow for Student Voice & Engagement will lead and develop an infrastructure and approach to authentically elevate student perspectives in KYSSC and CPE initiatives.

This role will design, launch, and facilitate a Statewide Student Voice Network, comprised of selected students representing diverse institutional types, backgrounds, and lived experiences across Kentucky. The Fellow will ensure that student input meaningfully informs the design, implementation, and evaluation of key student success initiatives.

This role is focused not only on gathering feedback from students, but on embedding student voice into policy conversations, strategic planning, and continuous improvement efforts.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Statewide Student Voice Network Development
  • Design and implement an infrastructure and model for a statewide Student Voice Network.
  • Recruit and support a broad and representative group of student leaders who reflect Kentucky’s full postsecondary landscape — including students from 2-year and 4-year institutions, adult learners, students from different regions of the state, public and private campuses, transfer students, and others whose experiences help tell the full story of higher education in Kentucky.
  • Facilitate structured virtual and/or in-person engagement opportunities throughout the year.
  • Develop communication and feedback processes to ensure accountability in gathering student perspectives, sharing actionable insights with KYSSC and CPE, and supporting student growth and professional development.
  • Provides training and ongoing support to students to effectively understand and carry out their roles and responsibilities.
• Strategic Integration of Student Voice
  • Partner with KYSSC strategy leads (Adult Attainment, Gateway Course Success, Mental Health, Student Basic Needs, and Transfer) and other CPE unit leaders to embed student voice into strategy development, pilot initiatives, and evaluation efforts.
  • Promote engagement strategies that ensure all students have meaningful opportunities to share input and inform decision-making.
  • Ensure “closing the loop” practices so students understand how their input informed decisions.
• Student Success & Inclusive Engagement
  • Elevate perspectives from students across institutional types, backgrounds, and lived experiences to ensure broad representation.
  • Identify cross-cutting themes and barriers that impact student access and success, particularly for students navigating academic, financial, or personal challenges.
  • Translate feedback into actionable recommendations for CPE and campus leadership.
• Capacity Building & Collaboration
  • Serve as a liaison between students, institutional leaders, and KYSSC staff.
  • Share insights on student voice engagement with CPE and campus leaders
  • Support continuous improvement efforts by incorporating student-informed insights into statewide reporting and strategy refinement.
  • Develop tools, templates, or frameworks to help institutions strengthen student voice practices locally.

Essential Skills and Experience:

• Demonstrated commitment to student success for all – with specific focus on first generation, low-income, and adult learners.
• Experience working directly with college students in higher education settings.
• Strong facilitation skills with the ability to create inclusive and psychologically safe dialogue spaces.
• Experience synthesizing qualitative feedback into strategic recommendations.
• Ability to manage long-term initiatives and build sustainable systems.
• Experience convening stakeholders and building cross-sector partnerships.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Master’s degree in higher education administration or related field preferred.

Application Instructions:

Submit your Resume/CV and a written response to the following prompt (500 words or less) to CPE.HR@ky.gov, by April 27, 2026, for priority consideration:
What does meaningful student voice look like in statewide student success work, and how would you ensure student input leads to actionable change?