Associate Vice President of Institutional Research Assessment & Accreditation (Finance)

Associate Vice President of Institutional Research, Assessment, and Accreditation

Position Summary:

The Associate Vice President of Institutional Research, Assessment, and Accreditation leads the office responsible for developing, enhancing, and maintaining information resources of all types. Provides information, data, and analysis to support administrative decision-making, academic program development, coordination, and strategic initiatives. Coordinates campus-wide assessment and benchmarking activities as well as school-based and institutional/degree program accreditation efforts, including the institution's compliance with Southern Association of Colleges & Schools Commission on Colleges accreditation requirements and assistance with school/degree program-specific accreditation; oversees institutional reporting for federal, state and private agencies, including the U.S. Department of Education, Southern Region Education Board (SREB), Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), and The National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA).

Position Key Accountabilities:

• Serves as the Institutional Liaison to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) and administrative liaison to the University Academic Council.
• Partners with UTHealth Houston school leadership to coordinate updates and publications of the annual academic catalogs.
• Directs the tuition and fee proposal process in accordance with UT System Board of Regents guidance and state law. Develops and maintains a university-wide academic program inventory.
• Coordinates and submits required academic program reviews and directs new program planning efforts focusing on program integrity, quality, and compliance with federal and state rules and regulations.
• Serves as Institutional Accreditation Liaison (IAL) and is primarily responsible for coordinating the university-wide development, implementation, and maintenance of processes and submission of reports to meet the Southern Associate of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) requirements.
• Provides leadership for a contemporary institutional research office that collects, analyzes, and interprets data about the environment, university performance, and institutional characteristics in support of accreditation, assessment initiatives, evaluation activities, and continuous improvement projects and is the IPEDS keyholder.
• Responsible for the design of reporting procedures, development/completion, and submission of various required institutional, state, and federal reports. Develops, coordinates, and conducts regular and ad hoc studies and surveys to analyze data and present results to executive leadership.
• Develops and maintains a website providing information on university facts, statistics, and accreditation.
• Partners with UTHealth schools and school leadership to develop and maintain ongoing assessment activities related to student learning outcomes, academic and student services, general education, and administrative effectiveness.
• Manages the institution's membership in the National Council or State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) to expand students' access to education opportunities and ensure more efficient, consistent, and effective regulation of distance education programs.
• Collaborates with school leadership on distance education needs and approval as required by NC-SARA and the THECB and ensures the accuracy of distance education program listings maintained in the THECB Distance Education portal.
• Oversees daily office operations, including the supervision of staff in collecting and analyzing data while monitoring workloads to ensure service to the campus and external communities is provided in a professional, ethical, and timely manner. Represents UTHealth Houston at both the UT System and the THECB on institutional research, evaluation, and accountability issues.
• Manages Human Resources activities for direct reports in regards to: recruiting and selection; hiring and termination, training, development, mentoring, counseling, performance evaluations, and salary planning.
• Responsible for the design, execution and effectiveness of a system of internal controls which provides reasonable assurance that operations are effective and efficient, assets are safeguarded; financial information is reliable and compliant with applicable laws, regulations, policies and procedures.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Certification/Skills:

• Expertise in managing large data bases and using database management software to query and manipulate data, ability to analyze complex data sets, and maintain data integrity.
• Understanding of accrediting processes in higher education.
• Ability to communicate clearly and professionally both orally and in writing including presentation of data in major publications.
• Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment with ability to lead groups with diverse participations including institutional/school leadership, faculty, students and staff.

Minimum Education:

Master's Degree from an accredited institution with a focus in management information systems, social sciences, higher education administration, public administration, or a related field that includes data analysis and/or research methodology required

Minimum Experience:

9 years of progressively responsible leadership experience in higher education, institutional research, accreditation, program evaluation, campus planning, or a demonstrated record of comparable professional experience required

Physical Requirements:

Exerts up to 20 pounds of force occasionally and/or up to 10 pounds frequently and/or a negligible amount constantly to move objects.

Security Sensitive:

Security Sensitive: This job class may contain positions that are security sensitive and thereby subject to the provisions of Texas Education Code § 51.215

Residency Requirement:

Employees must permanently reside and work in the State of Texas.