Assistant Dean, Exploratory Studies and Undergraduate Education

Company: University of Colorado Boulder
Location: Boulder
Posted on: November 17, 2022

Job Description:

Requisition Number:

44172

Location:

Boulder, Colorado

Employment Type:

University Staff

Schedule:

Full-Time

Posting Close Date:

27-Nov-2022

Date Posted:

04-Nov-2022
Job Summary

The University of Colorado Boulder seeks a dynamic leader to serve as the Assistant Dean for Exploratory Studies and Undergraduate Education! This role provides strategic leadership and oversight of dean's office functions for students in the Program in Exploratory Studies (PES) and also serves as a member of the Office of Undergraduate Education (OUE), providing leadership for the campus-wide retroactive withdrawal process and contributing to OUE initiatives related to academic policy and process. The Assistant Dean reports directly to and partners closely with the Associate Vice Provost for Advising and Exploratory Studies.

The University of Colorado Boulder is committed to building a culturally diverse community of faculty, staff, and students dedicated to contributing to an inclusive campus environment. We are an Equal Opportunity employer, including veterans and individuals with disabilities.
Who We Are

The Program in Exploratory Studies (PES) has over 3,000 undergraduate students and is home to approximately 25% of entering first-year students. PES provides the resources and mentorship to help students discover and shape their academic and career journey. We encourage students to explore their options and assist them in successfully choosing their best-fit academic major.

The Office of Undergraduate Education (OUE) is a campus office reporting to the Provost. Our charge is to examine the academic undergraduate experience across the CU Boulder campus, provide extraordinary educational experiences, serve exploring students, and collaborate with a variety of units to ensure that students have access to the resources they need to succeed. OUE encompasses a variety of academic programs and collaborates with a wide array of campus partners to conceptualize and develop new student success initiatives that will enable CU Boulder to recruit and retain a highly competitive and diverse undergraduate student body. We assess student and program outcomes, identify gaps, and launch and support student-facing campus initiatives to promote student success.

What Your Key Responsibilities Will Be

Program in Exploratory Studies

Within PES, this role provides leadership for academic and administrative policies and processes, reviews and resolves student-facing petitions and policy exceptions, and handles student and parent concerns that emerge through dean's office cases. The Assistant Dean supervises the PES Program Coordinator, who manages dean's office operations, and partners with the coordinator to ensure a student-centered environment. The Assistant Dean articulates the PES value proposition to prospective and newly admitted students and families and maintains a dotted-line partnership with the PES Admission & Recruitment Manager, who leads recruitment strategy and related program-level marketing and communication and is embedded in the PES advising unit. This role oversees, funds, and evaluates annual critical initiatives and serves as part of the PES leadership team, partnering closely with the Director of First Year & Exploratory Advising and PES Program Coordinator to provide relevant training and communication to student support staff within PES and to sponsor and support First Year Exploration (FYXP) courses, while upholding PES policies and dean's office processes.

PES Leadership & Assessment of Student Success Practices:

Practice a commitment to equity, inclusion, diversity, and social justice.
Partner with the Office of Data Analytics to track PES patterns and maintain the PES Tableau dashboard; using data to assess success rates of priority PES student populations and relevant policy changes or initiatives.
Partner closely with the Director of First Year and Exploratory Advising and the assistant directors within the University Exploration & Advising Center (UEAC) to ensure First Year Academic Experience funding proposals and projects are implemented, assessed, and developed.
Collaborate with assistant deans from other colleges/schools/programs to ensure smooth policy and process transitions for students leaving PES, serving as primary point of contact for questions and feedback about PES policies, deadlines, and practices.

PES Curriculum:

Manage PES curriculum, including course proposal submission process, course load planning, staff stipends, and course assessments for First Year Exploration (FYXP) courses.
Support PES partners who are responsible for individual FYXP course content as needed and manage or participate in relevant new instructor training and communication and teach FYXP courses.
Work with Director of First-Year and Exploratory Advising to coordinate UEAC staff support, including instructor observations and development by UEAC assistant directors.
Supervise batch-enrollment for incoming PES students, including partnering with the Director of First Year & Exploratory Advising to determine course needs and collaborating closely with relevant academic departments to save seats in key courses; e.g., within ECON, MATH, GEEN, PWR. You will manage funding to support PES-specific courses and assess and report on impact.
Partner with the Associate Vice Provost to manage the First Year Seminar program as it relates to PES students (e.g., marketing and recruitment, seat savings and enrollment).
Within PES Enrollment Management this position will Advise Associate Vice Provost, and Dean & Vice Provost, on issues pertaining to enrollment management, recruitment, and marketing strategy, attending enrollment management meetings as part of the PES/admissions team.
Maintain a dotted-line partnership with the PES Admission & Recruitment Manager in support of their efforts to create PES programming options timed with the admissions cycle for prospective, admitted, and confirmed students and families.
Coordinate the development and ongoing refinement of PES recruitment strategies, including those for priority populations such as first-generation students and those applying directly to PES, as well as participating in admissions events and presentations.
Partner with the Office Data Analytics to monitor PES enrollments and confirmation patterns; update PES leadership with relevant trends and projections, develop data-informed responses to shifting enrollment data, using campus systems such as Slate and Tableau.
Partner with the PES Admission & Recruitment Manager in support of their efforts to lead application and admissions processes and manage and assess enrollment strategy pilots related to students who initially apply to engineering or business.

Office of Undergraduate Education

This role represents OUE on undergraduate academic policy work and partners closely with the Office of the Registrar to streamline and improve the student experience with academic processes across all colleges, schools, and programs. This position will liaise with academic and student support offices across campus, including assistant and associate deans in colleges/schools/programs and partners in Student Affairs and OUE toward campus-wide vision and goals. The Assistant Dean partners with and supervises the Retroactive Withdrawal Coordinator, who manages student cases and overall process, and works with campus partners to ensure an equitable environment. This role will collaborate closely with partners in the colleges/schools/programs as well as Student Support & Case Management, Counseling & Psychological Services, Disability Services, the Office of the Registrar, the Office of the Bursar, and the Office of Undergraduate Education and participate in training and professional development for student support staff across campus on guiding principles and how best to support students.

OUE Service

This role will lead projects related to campus-wide policy and process implementation (e.g., implementation committees/projects with the Office of the Registrar on late drop, academic standing, Grade Replacement). You will work in close consultation with various campus offices to represent the needs and interests of the Office of Undergraduate Education, establishing positive relationships/partnerships and serving as a consultant to the broader campus community on issues related to campus-wide undergraduate student matters. You will participate on campus-wide committees as needed and respond to student/parent inquiries that are referred to OUE.

What You Should Know
Hybrid work schedule - required three days on campus.
All University of Colorado Boulder employees are required to follow the campus COVID-19 vaccine requirement. New employees must provide proof of vaccination or receive a medical or religious exemption within 30 days of employment.
What We Can Offer

The salary for this position is $105,000 - $118,000.

Benefits
The University of Colorado offers excellent benefits, including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefit and ECO Pass. The University of Colorado Boulder is one of the largest employers in Boulder County and offers an inspiring higher education environment. Learn more about the University of Colorado Boulder.
Be Statements
Be accomplished. Be impactful. Be Boulder.
What We Require
Master's degree. Minimum of 5+ years of progressively responsible professional experience in academic management in a complex higher education setting, including at least 3 years working on/with undergraduate academic policies and processes. Equivalent combination of education and experience may substitute.
Demonstrated independence and authority serving in a leadership or management role.
Experience working with students and/or student success initiatives in an educational setting.
Demonstrated commitment to equity, inclusion, diversity, and social justice.
Experience managing parent concerns in an educational setting.
Track record of developing effective communication processes and building relationships at all levels of an organization.
Supervisory experience.
What You Will Need

This position functions independently under the direction of the Associate Vice Provost in Undergraduate Education with minimal supervision. This position directly supervises professional staff positions and mentors and guides student-facing staff in exploratory studies and across the campus community.

Strategic-planning.
Public speaking.
Collaborative approach.
Data-informed decision making and assessment.
Energetic, creative, well-spoken, entrepreneurial, and organized.
What We Would Like You To Have
Experience in a leadership position at the director level or higher.
Familiarity with CU Boulder undergraduate policies and processes.
Experience at a large public university.
Demonstrated change management experience.
Demonstrated project management experience.
Experience with admissions and/or recruitment.
Teaching experience.
Experience facilitating staff training and development.
Special Instructions

To apply, please submit the following materials:

A current resume.
A cover letter that specifically tells us how your background and experience align with the requirements, qualifications, and responsibilities of the position.

We may request references at a later time.

Please apply by November 27, 2022 for consideration.

Note: Application materials will not be accepted via email. For consideration, please apply through CU Boulder Jobs.
Posting Contact Information

Posting Contact Name: Boulder Campus Human Resources

Posting Contact Email: Recruiting@colorado.edu%430367%

Keywords: University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder , Assistant Dean, Exploratory Studies and Undergraduate Education, Other , Boulder, Colorado