Associate Commissioner of Academic Affairs and Chief Academic Officer

Details

Open Date

Requisition Number PRN40989B

Job Title OCHE Associate Commissioner

Working Title Associate Commissioner of Academic Affairs and Chief Academic Officer

Job Grade EXE

FLSA Code Professional

Patient Sensitive Job Code? No

Standard Hours per Week 40

Full Time or Part Time? Full Time

Shift Day

Work Schedule Summary

Monday - Friday

VP Area President

Department 01379 - USHE Commissioner

Location Office of the Commissioner - Downtown SLC

City Salt Lake City, UT

Type of Recruitment External Posting

Pay Rate Range $200,000 to $225,000

Close Date 02/07/2025

Priority Review Date (Note - Posting may close at any time)

Job Summary

The Associate Commissioner of Academic Education represents the Commissioner's Office, the Utah System of Higher Education ( USHE ), and/or the State of Utah as Chief Academic Officer. This position leads system oversight of institutional roles for degree granting institutions, academic program approval and review, instructional quality, faculty development, and undergraduate and graduate student research, academic success, and degree completion. Additionally, this position manages OCHE Academic Affairs staff and budgets.

Responsibilities

Essential Functions :

1. Provide support for the Board of Higher Education and the Commissioner, driving strategic and innovative initiatives that align with the Board's and legislative priorities; prepare Board agenda items, meeting discussions, and presentations.

2. Provide forward-thinking oversight of academic program offerings to ensure they are within institutional roles and aligned with the changing educational landscape. Coordinate assessments of new program proposals to guide Boards of Trustees in academic approval, and coordinate Board of Higher Education approval of out-of-role programs, out-of-service-region offerings, and new academic units.

3. Advance strategies to enhance key initiatives related to access, affordability, and completion goals of the state in collaboration with institution Provosts.

4. Conduct cyclical, data-driven reviews of academic programs to ensure ongoing academic quality while meeting the state's dynamic programmatic needs.

5. Serve as the point person on shared governance in the system, championing innovative solutions in the oversight of faculty workload and tenure processes and policies, academic freedom and coordination with Faculty Senate Leaders. Foster a culture of creative problem-solving to navigate challenges.

6. Lead the strategic planning, design, and coordination of initiatives that reimagine and enhance institutional academic offerings and students' progress through degree pathways. Key responsibilities include:

• Developing and implementing academic policies, particularly around transfer and articulation of general education and major degree pathways, ensuring pedagogical best practices and research-informed instruction.

• Strengthening academic alignment with USBE / USHE by bringing creative solutions to: 1. college preparatory academic pathways (i. e. , math, English, etc. ); 2. Concurrent Enrollment; 3. Teacher/educator, school counselor, and principal graduate programs across the system.

• Driving system-level academic success and degree completion initiatives, including: identifying and addressing barriers to student academic success and degree completion; redesigning curriculum through co-requisite remediation, inclusive pedagogy, etc. to address courses with low success rates; and scaling pedagogical innovations to ensure the success of all students.

• Overseeing State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements.

• Managing and enhancing the databases used to track and message academic programs, such as the Programs and Majors Guide and the Utah Transfer Guide.

1. Coordinate with institutional academic leadership, including:

• Chair and oversee the Council of Chief Academic Officers (CAOs) and coordinate with the Council of Presidents as needed.

• Coordinate expert groups necessary for the implementation of Board priority initiatives, such as the USHE Transfer Council.

• Collaborate with and facilitate academic administration/faculty groups as needed, including through the Major Committees, the Utah Council of Education Deans, the General Education Council, the Prior Learning Committee, etc. to ensure academic quality and alignment and implementation of system priorities.

1. Represent the Commissioner's Office and/or the State of Utah as Chief Academic Officer with external groups:

• Participate as Utah's CAO in national organizations like AASCU , AACU , SHEEO , NASH , WICHE , the Education Commission of the States, and CAEL .

• Attend or coordinate staff participation in partnership meetings with the Utah State Board of Education, including various curriculum committees, the USBE accreditation committee, the math task force, and other college academic readiness alignment groups, the Utah Partnership for the Transformation of Education Preparation, the School Counselors Pre-service Coordination Committee, and the Principals Pipeline Initiative.

1. Review and respond to drafts and requests for information/materials from the Governor's office, legislators, and legislative committees.

2. Plan, initiate, and oversee policy/procedure development and updates mandated by legislative action.

3. Manage and coordinate the Academic Affairs administrative unit, including:

• Coordinating staff assignments, meeting regularly with staff as a unit and individually, and supporting staff in their work.

• Completing travel, financial, and performance review paperwork; tracking various department budgets and completing required reports (e. g. , Legislative Fiscal Analyst's COBI reports, internal budget processes and audits, etc. ).

1. Keep abreast of higher education research and best practices in order to inform system directions and decisions; engage in national conferences (e. g. , WICHE , SHEEO , and NASH Chief Academic Officers groups); and read relevant publications from national groups, etc. in order to share perspectives and information with staff and consortia groups.

Comments

Typical office working conditions and hours with occasional meetings/events in the early morning, evenings, or weekends. Frequent local and statewide travel.

Work Environment and Level of Frequency typically required

Nearly Continuously: Office environment.

Physical Requirements and Level of Frequenc.