An Invitation to Apply: Director of Institutional Assessment (DIA)

Transcription

1 An Invitation to Apply: Director of Institutional Assessment (DIA) THE SEARCH East Carolina University (ECU) seeks applications and nominations for the position of Director of Institutional Assessment (DIA). ECU 1, a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina (UNC), is the fastest growing university in the nationally renowned UNC system. Sustained enrollment is expected to grow from 27,783 students in autumn of 2010 to approximately 37,000 students within the next ten years. A doctoral intensive university, ECU s 12 colleges and schools, with their 1,782 faculty members, offer 104 bachelor s degree programs, 95 graduate degree programs including 19 doctoral programs, 2 first professional degree programs [MD, Doctor of Medical Dentistry (DMD), first class to be admitted in 2011] and 74 certificate programs. Also, ECU has the largest Distance Education (DE) operation of any institution in the UNC system. East Carolina University offers an excellent quality of life. The University is located in Greenville, North Carolina 2, the educational, commercial, medical and cultural center of the state s historic coastal plain. The city/county population is over 149,000 (82,000 city). The area is approximately midway between the metropolitan Raleigh-Durham area and the beautiful Outer Banks, one of the fastest growing areas of the state. The Director of Institutional Assessment has management responsibility for all Institutional Assessment functions. The Director is responsible for the leadership and development of a comprehensive institutional assessment program to support the University s mission and strategic initiatives. The successful candidate will play a key role in setting directions for the office of Institutional Assessment as well as providing hands-on data collection and analysis, interpretation of analysis, and preparation of reports for both internal and external use and distribution. Translation of data into usable information for the university community is a key function of this position. The Director provides information and analytic support to the University s administrative decision makers in order to facilitate strategic planning, policy-making, resource allocations, enrollment projections, and other processes requiring sound strategic analysis. The Director will work cooperatively with the Office of Planning and the Office of Research. 1 More information about ECU, including many aspects relevant to the VCAF position, is available through the campus website 2 See for more information about Greenville, NC. -1-

2 The Director reports to the Associate Provost for Institutional Planning, Assessment and Research (IPAR) with an understanding of and direct responsibility for assignments and support to the Chancellor, Provost and Vice Chancellors. The Director serves as a member of key institutional and divisional committees, task forces and councils. Additionally and very importantly, the Director must have a close working relationship with staff at University of North Carolina (UNC) General Administration on data reporting activities and research projects. The utmost accuracy is required in performance of the Director s role and responsibilities. Crucial decisions and planning strategies depend on the assessment and evaluation information provided by the Office of Institutional Assessment. Errors may have long lasting effects and may affect other individuals and organizations in complex and often unforeseen ways relating to policy, staffing and funding decisions. General instructions are provided to the Director as needed with guidelines and parameters provided as appropriate for specific individual projects. The Director: (i) works independently to design and conduct special studies, (ii) develops program logic and code, (iii) produce data and reports as appropriate and (iv) consults with the Associate Provost to set priorities and to determine the need for special studies and analyses. He/she must provide a schematic of the formal planning and evaluation process (cycle) as it pertains to programs and services, indicating at what points institutional research and budgeting intersect with the process. The Director must be able to describe how goals are developed and linked to the mission statement and work with the Office of Academic Programs in providing a schedule for planning and evaluation. KEY QUALIFICATIONS The ideal candidate will possess the following qualifications and professional experience. Earned master s degree (doctorate preferred) in an appropriate academic discipline with emphasis on quality, program productivity and evaluation of institutional initiatives. Demonstrated experience with quantitative research methods and statistics, and a sound knowledge of qualitative research methods. At least 5 years of relevant experience in a higher education management/leadership role, in particular leading a multi-staff office. Relevant experience in areas including, but not limited to: o Data collection, analysis and interpretation. o Strategic planning. o Project management and assessment. o Accreditation processes and requirements. o Assessment of student learning. A strong statistical and analytical skill set, demonstrating deep knowledge of financial modeling and trend analysis. Excellent oral and written communication skills. Ability to: o Work independently. o Meet deadlines. o Attend to multiple projects concurrently. o Work with the Banner system. -2-

3 o Work with SAS analytics, query and reporting tools and/or SQL (highly desirable, because UNC General Administration deals with extensively with SAS-formatted data sets). Substantial experience with: o Institutional assessment and effectiveness. o Using electronic spreadsheets and data base management software in an academic environment. Sufficient programming experience to recognize programming methods and techniques adaptable to a variety of situations (highly desirable). SPECIFIC ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Key roles and responsibilities of the Director of Institutional Assessment position include, but are not limited to: Provide critically important reporting, assessment, benchmarking, planning and public information services to support and respond to the needs of the University. Work closely with senior administrators, in particular in the processes involved in resource allocations, enrollment management, and system data requirements for the University of North Carolina General Administration. Assist the University by providing reliable, relevant, and quality data and information to facilitate planning, budgeting, accountability, program evaluation, and development of policy decisions. Work to enhance effective data and information flow between the schools/colleges, the executive offices and partnering with other offices, faculty, and staff to enhance Universitywide data collection. Support faculty in the development and implementation of unit-based academic assessment protocols. Support regional and discipline-specific accreditation efforts overseeing the university s continuing compliance with accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). Provide direction and administrative management in all aspects of the Institutional Assessment and Evaluation operation. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE IDEAL CANDIDATE The successful candidate will be an outstanding institutional assessment and evaluation leader for a research-intensive university with a record of excellence and a motto to serve. In addition, the following leadership characteristics as specified by the Chancellor for all senior administrators are essential. A. Character and Integrity High integrity, honesty, trustworthiness. Direct, open and clear in communications. Understands, practices and cultivates responsibility and accountability. Self-awareness: understanding of personal strengths and weaknesses. Continuously seeks to learn and develop. B. Team Behaviors -3-

4 Builds high performance teams. Strong in building relationships and empowerment. Motivates others to achieve excellence in performance and results. Celebrates success and learns from failures. Collaborative: an effective and reliable partner. Excellent active listening skills. C. Organizational Competencies Capacity to proactively formulate and articulate a financial vision for ECU, and advocate for and garner resources for that vision. Results-oriented: capacity to focus on outcomes for the organization as a whole. Capacity to use different leadership styles depending on context and opportunity. Institutional loyalty with a track record illustrating diverse and sustained service excellence. Ability to work institutionally in a matrixed manner. TO APPLY: The executive search firm The Hollander Group has been selected to assist the search committee in its efforts for this recruitment. Review of candidates will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. Applications - comprising cover letter, curriculum vitae and list of references with contact information - must be made online in strict confidence via the University s PeopleAdmin system using the Jobs at ECU link at Requests for additional information and nominations for the position should be directed to: Clifford R. Hollander, PhD or Sharon M. Flynn Hollander info@thehollandergroup.net Phone: East Carolina University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and encourages a diverse pool of candidates for this search. East Carolina University Tomorrow Starts Here. EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY In 1907 East Carolina University was chartered to alleviate a shortage of teachers in the eastern part of the state. From this modest beginning as a teacher training school, ECU has grown to become an emerging, national research university and continues to supply the nation with some of its best leaders and offer programs of high distinction in areas such as health, education, business, liberal arts and sciences, and the fine and performing arts. The University is an engine of economic development, a center for research and a vanguard within the UNC system. -4-

5 Students Total student enrollment 3 at ECU in autumn 2010 was 27,783. Of these, 21,490 are undergraduates, 5,721 are graduate students and 399 are doctoral/professional students. The student body brings together students from 45 states and the District of Columbia. Minority representation on campus is high with African Americans making up approximately 14% of the student body with roughly an additional 5% of the student body representing other minority groups. ECU is also home to 259 international students representing more than 49 countries. As ECU continues to grow, an increasing number of freshmen come to ECU from outside the state of North Carolina. Faculty The 1,804 faculty members at ECU are committed to teaching, research/creative activity and service with approximately 85 percent of faculty members holding terminal degrees. The faculty are strongly committed to and involved in the university s system of shared governance. ECU is committed to fostering small class size in order to promote interaction between faculty and students. Staff ECU s faculty and students are supported by 3,550 administrative staff members. OFFICE OF INSTITUTIONAL PLANNING, ASSESSMENT & RESEARCH (IPAR) 4 The Office of Institutional Planning, Assessment and Research assists University administration, departments and units in the functional areas of Planning, Assessment and Research to support ECU s mission and strategic initiatives. Planning at ECU Successful quality enhancement at the institutional level is contingent upon a shared and cohesive planning process that spans academics, services, resources and facilities. The University has established an integrated planning process to accomplish its mission and support its strategic initiatives. The process is organized and executed as a cycle of integration and communication, as depicted in the following conceptual diagram: 3 These enrollment numbers are preliminary until they are approved by the Board of Governors. 4 For more information on IPAR and its functional areas of Planning, Assessment and Research, see -5-

6 Assessment at ECU In assuring a high quality education its students, ECU is looking purposefully toward developing a culture of evidence. This integrated process provides an evidence-based framework for improving, revising and introducing comprehensive systems for the collection, dissemination and utilization of information on meaningful student learning outcomes. Such information can be used to develop new pedagogies, curricula and technologies to improve learning. Embracing such a culture of innovation and quality improvement has been specifically called for in the report of the Commission on the Future of Higher Education, otherwise known as the Spellings Commission ( IPAR works collaboratively with academic and non-academic units in a sound and meaningful process of outcome assessment. Partnering with associate deans, departmental faculty and administrators, IPAR assists in the development and implementation of assessment plans and reports for each academic, administrative and educational support unit so that outcomes are aligned to the University s mission and strategic initiatives. IPAR provides support in the development, implementation and assessment of a variety of research methods to advance this work including institution-wide surveys, which are tracked and scheduled by a Survey Review Outcomes Committee. Research at ECU Research plays a central role in the University s commitment to institutional effectiveness. Working collaboratively, the Office is responsible for the analysis, distribution and presentation of data and information for use in planning, decision-making and policy formulation at ECU. IPAR staff members are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of vital University statistics and for reporting these data to a broad spectrum of constituents and stakeholders. A function of the Office is tasked with responding to diverse requests for data from members of the University community and with assisting personnel in other units with research and assessment methodology, evaluation and analysis. -6-