Associate Director of Disciplinary and Institutional Accreditation

Job Description

The Associate Director of Disciplinary and Institutional Accreditation reports to the Associate Vice President for Continuous Improvement and Institutional Performance (AVP/SACSCOC Liaison). The primary function of the Associate Director of Disciplinary and Institutional Accreditation is to serve as the central point of contact between the Office of Continuous Improvement and Institutional Performance and faculty who oversee disciplinary accreditors (including ABET, AABI, ACBSP, AACSB, GAC, HFES, PMI, and RaES). In this role, the Associate Director of Disciplinary and Institutional Accreditation supports programs in maintaining continued compliance with disciplinary accrediting bodies and provides expert guidance on accreditation standards and requirements.

Additionally, the Associate Director of Disciplinary and Institutional Accreditation serves as the primary support to the AVP/SACSCOC Liaison, ensuring institutional compliance with all elements of the SACSCOC Principles of Accreditation.

The Associate Director of Disciplinary and Institutional Accreditation leads efforts to promote a culture of evidence-based inquiry and continuous improvement across the university, supporting: Compliance with SACSCOC Principles of Accreditation and alignment with university policies; programmatic compliance with disciplinary accrediting bodies; the alignment, assessment, implementation, and improvement of all university strategic goals and initiatives; the development and implementation of efficient and effective compliance strategies.

Primary Job Functions, Duties, or Accountabilities:

• Assist in coordination of disciplinary accreditation efforts; provide support and guidance to Deans, program coordinators/chairs, and faculty; and facilitate communication between the institution and accrediting bodies. Serve as an internal consultant for Colleges and programs on all three campuses as they work through receiving or maintaining disciplinary accreditation. Support logistics for the visits of disciplinary accreditation teams, setting visitation agendas across three campuses.  Review accreditation documentation for completeness and accuracy, and assist with necessary revisions. Remain abreast of changes within relevant disciplinary accreditors. Lead annual audits of disciplinary accreditation compliance. Share relevant information with other staff in the Office of Continuous Improvement and Institutional Performance.
• Manage university-wide projects related to institutional accreditation, including accreditation compliance narratives. Manage utilization of reaffirmation software. Support logistics for the visits of institutional accreditation teams, setting visitation agendas across three campuses. Prepare training meetings for accreditation principles across the institution. Manage special projects related to institution needs to assure compliance with accreditation requirements, including reviewing accreditation criteria and narratives to determine institutional and departmental compliance. Monitor and report changes across the ERAU organization that potentially affect the institution’s institutional accreditation; prepare communication for the AVP to the accreditor and/or university personnel to address those changes in a timely and appropriate manner. Coordinate projects with administrators, faculty, and staff from the three ERAU campuses to confirm that substantive change processes have been completed, and to align SACSCOC and ERAU location databases. Assist with all QEP-related tasks and areas in conjunction with the QEP Director.
• Coordinate and serve as point-person for visiting groups, committees, organizational consultants, etc. Manage executive calendar related to accreditation activities. Conduct required research prior to meetings; prepare agendas, take detailed minutes, and sends out minutes to appropriate team members. Schedule and organize meetings, including room setup, table design, and technology set ups. Order/picks up meeting food items as necessary and print/copy needed documents. Coordinates arrangements, including transportation, hotel reservations, schedule flow, airport pickup/drop off, visitor requests, etc. Plans events, including coordination of cross-department teams and projects, as appropriate. Communicates regularly with ERAU academic and administrative leadership about the importance of maintaining alignment with accreditation standards and requirements, especially in years between self-studies. Assists with professional development activities related to SACSCOC accreditation requirements. Maintains confidentiality and integrity of information in support of accreditation.
• Partner with colleagues in Accreditation and Assessment in a collaborative approach to addressing academic assessment, administrative assessment, and program review needs.
• Create and facilitate processes related to developing, communicating, executing, and sustaining of accreditation-related strategic initiatives with the Office of Continuous Improvement and Institutional Performance. Manage logistics of meetings and events at the departmental and university-wide levels. Coordinate with other office staff to manage the University’s accreditation software, assist in the creation of software training, assist in uploading progress updates, and maintain accreditation intranet pages, website, and catalog pages. Monitor cost centers relative to accreditation and the QEP.
• Liaise internally with Information Technology, Centers for Teaching and Learning Excellence, Instructional Design and Development, Institutional Research, Institutional Efficiency, and other offices that support the assessment and program review processes to innovate and expand current practices to better support university strategic initiatives. Liaise externally with assessment software vendors to stay abreast of new advances and ensure we leverage these, and to make product enhancement request for unmet needs.

Qualifications

Required Education: Master's Degree in Business Administration, Communications, Project Management, Academic Assessment, or related field 

Required skills, knowledge, abilities:

• Demonstrated skills in leadership, communication, quality improvement, project management, and the measurement of organizational effectiveness.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze and interpret quantitative and qualitative data, developing comprehensive reports and analyses of the data, and preparing presentations of the results.
• Ability to work within tight time frames, and meet strict deadlines.
• Demonstrated computer skills and competencies working with spreadsheets, graphics, and databases.

1-3 years of related experience.

The most important skills necessary in this position are a thorough attention to detail and a focus on compliance. Some familiarity with accreditation concepts in general, and the SACSCOC principles of accreditation in particular, would be of benefit for applicants. Also needed is advanced knowledge of the use of computers and software, such as word processing, spreadsheets, database and presentation software. The position requires competency with the English language along with the ability to communicate effectively and tactfully with various constituencies in both oral and written formats. The individual should possess accounting and bookkeeping skills, logical thinking, creativity, problem solving, good organizational and project management skills, all of which are essential to the performance of this position. Additionally, must be able to pay close attention to detail, and to manage long-term, multi-faceted projects with many participants.