Nicholas Ambrose

Higher education technology, enrollment strategy, and student success leader with 15 years of experience increasing retention, recovering stop-outs, and modernizing academic operations. Lead cross-functional teams that turn complex student data into student-centered enrollment strategies. Deep expertise in lifecycle management, transfer articulation, compliance, and institutional effectiveness.Known for aligning systems, policy, and people across student information systems to move students from entry to completion.

Program Manager (Graduation Specialist Lead)

myFootpath, LLC

2025 – 2026

• Directed a strategic customer engagement initiative that reactivated 105 dormant customers, generated $125K in revenue, and achieved a 67% long-term retention rate within six months.
• Developed data-driven engagement strategies using customer lifecycle analytics to improve conversion and retention.
• Partnered with executive stakeholders to align operational strategy with customer success objectives.
• Represented the organization at national conferences while expanding strategic partnerships and customer adoption.

Program Manager (Associate Registrar)

Chicago State University

2022 – 2024

• Co-led system technology implementation serving more than ~8K users, increasing retention by 25%.
• Redesigned enterprise workflows that increased operational throughput by 30%.
• Modernized records management by digitizing 18,000 files, reducing processing time by 60%.
• Partnered with executive leadership on governance, compliance, operational strategy, and policy modernization.

Operations Manager (Director of Testing Services)

University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

2019 – 2021

• Managed a $300K operating budget and supervised a team of nine professionals.
• Increased customer feedback participation by 70% through process redesign.
• Expanded operational capacity by 20% while improving service delivery.
• Led compliance, accessibility, and organizational policy initiatives across multiple business units.

Operations Manager (Assistant Registrar & Registrar)

City Colleges of Chicago

2016 – 2019 & 2021

• Managed multi-site operational teams supporting thousands of customers across a large enterprise environment.
• Improved engagement and retention by 20% through centralized service delivery and workflow optimization.
• Directed regulatory compliance initiatives while improving onboarding and customer experience.
• Led cross-functional projects involving operations, compliance, technology, and customer success.

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Specialist (College Advisor)

City Colleges of Chicago

2014 – 2016

• Advised 400+ clients across 65 programs and developed retention strategies that increased graduation rates by 18%.
• Guided academic planning, appeals, and career alignment; improved student performance outcomes by 20%.
• Analyzed completion data with leadership; supported targeted retention and student success initiatives.
• Collaborated with faculty and departments to implement support systems that improved student persistence.

Doctor of Education - EdD, Educational Leadership and Administration (Anticipated 2027)

American College of Education

Master of Science (MS), College Student Personnel (Awarded)

Arkansas Tech University

Bachelor of Arts (BA), Liberal Arts and Sciences (Awarded)

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign