Associate Director, Curricular Assessment

Position Title :

Associate Director, Curricular Assessment

Position Type : Regular

Regular

Hiring Range :

$83,500 - 98,200 per year; Compensation will be based on education, experience, skills relevant to the role and internal equity.

Pay Frequency : Annual

Annual

POSITION PURPOSE

Within the Office of Educational Assessment, The Associate Director of Curricular Assessment will work closely with the Director of Educational Assessment and the Associate Director of Co-curricular Assessment to support, promote, and expand the meaningful assessment of undergraduate and graduate student learning at Santa Clara University in line with the University’s mission, vision, and values, and in service of continuous improvement, equity, educational excellence, and student success.

About Educational Assessment

Santa Clara University is committed to an education of the whole person in the Jesuit tradition that prepares students to contribute to a more humane, just, and sustainable world.

Educational Assessment plays a leadership role in identifying institutional evidence of the ways in which students develop a set of lifelong habits of mind and heart through a personalized, integrative, and rigorous Jesuit education.

Located within the Provost’s Office, provides leadership and management in the coordination of university-wide efforts to support and improve student learning and success.

As a unit that includes assessment of academic learning and co-curricular learning, it models a holistic and integrative approach to teaching, learning, and the ways of demonstrating student learning.

Assessment at SCU is driven by a commitment to fostering collaborative, meaningful, and sustainable processes of inquiry to ensure that all of our programs’ educational aspirations for student achievement, equity, success, and performance are realized.

Educational Assessment contributes directly to critical institutional assessment-related priorities, and other continuous improvement efforts including the program review process, WSCUC accreditation and other specialized accreditors, and university and divisional strategic planning.

Educational Assessment provides support for the assessment efforts of faculty, staff, and other assessment coordinators in all undergraduate and graduate academic programs, the University Core Curriculum, Student Life, Undergraduate Studies, and other centers or units on campus that offer academic or co-curricular learning experiences.

As teaching and learning is central to the mission, vision, and strategic priorities of Santa Clara University, Educational Assessment works particularly closely with Faculty Development and Academic Technology in SCU’s teaching center (currently called the Faculty Collaborative for Teaching Innovation) to use assessment results to guide reflection, planning, and decisions about pedagogy and curricula.

Educational Assessment partners with Institutional Research and the University Assessment Committee (UAC) and various other offices on campus as needed to guide data gathering, communication, and use for improvement, innovation, and change.

Educational Assessment is committed to innovative and evidence-based practices in the assessment of student learning. It has created programs to bring students directly into the work of assessment and to attend to issues of equity by promoting culturally responsive assessment to recognize and support the needs of SCU’s increasingly diverse populations.

• Working with others in the Provost’s Office and beyond, Educational Assessment collaborates on resources and tools for institutional transformation, excellence, and efficacy;
• supports the development and delivery of evidence-based interventions; assists campus partners in their work of continuous improvement and innovation;

and advocates for institutional policies in support of student learning, equity, and success.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

With support and oversight from the Director of Educational Assessment, the Associate Director of Curricular Assessment will lead and collaborate to support the following priorities :

Assessment of Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs) at the undergraduate and graduate level.

Assessment of the Core Curriculum.

Management of campus-wide survey efforts such as NSSE and other home-grown surveys.

Develop WSCUC accreditation reporting and documentation support as needed.

Program level assessment support and partnership. This involves supporting program assessment and improvement of student learning through consultation, mentoring and hands-on training with individuals or units, tracking annual assessment submissions, and documenting unit level continuous improvement efforts.

These efforts are often conducted in collaboration with other assessment coordinators within the schools and colleges.

Participate in the University Assessment Committee and chair a Graduate Assessment Sub-Committee.

Assessment support for other strategic, campus-wide projects and activities as they arise.

ADDITIONAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The Associate Director for Curricular Assessment will, in close collaboration with the Educational Assessment Team, also contribute to the following :

Fostering a Continuous Improvement and Assessment Culture at SCU : Towards this end

Promote assessment and data use for continuous improvement, and for equity and innovation, while meeting compliance and accountability expectations.

Develop and establish campus-wide practices of equitable assessment, including disaggregation of data, using methods of assessment most appropriate to differing groups of students, effective communication of findings, and adopting methods to reflect the student voice.

Serving as a thought partner within Educational Assessment and beyond :

Towards this end -

Conduct and document assessment and institutional effectiveness activities needed for compliance purposes and for WSCUC accreditation, Program Review, and other college-and / or program-level specialized accreditations.

Strengthen partnerships with other units, such as Institutional Research, Academic Departments, and Faculty Development and the Collaborative for Teaching Innovation, to integrate teaching, learning, assessment, and data use.

Develop opportunities for professional learning in course and program level assessment, assignment design, assessment of student learning, and efficacy of new teaching and learning initiatives.

Develop and facilitate the success of a program to involve students as partners in assessment Bronco Assessment Student Ambassadors (BASA program).

Leverage assessment results to identify gaps in organizational structure, services, and opportunities and collaborate with others to launch strategic efforts to close gaps.

Support other projects and initiatives in Educational Assessment as needed.

Serve on university committees and / or working groups to support institutional excellence and growth.

Facilitate the integration of co-curricular and curricular assessment and collaborate on projects that have curricular and co-curricular overlaps.

Analyzing and Reporting Data : Towards this end

Conduct statistical and qualitative analyses of data from national surveys (NSSE, etc.) and other assessment efforts to evaluate program and university goals and learning outcomes.

Participate in the collection and analysis of various assessment data to support departmental accreditation and program reviews, including dissemination of results and assist others with understanding and appropriately using them.

Identify needs for additional data to support assessment and continuous improvement (e.g., alumni surveys, focus groups), recommend appropriate instruments, and develop new survey or interview questions.

Communicate assessment results through multiple modalities to diverse audiences.

Engaging in Proactive Communications : Towards this end

Promote internal and external communication of assessment results.

Promote programs and events using multiple modalities.

Improve and update digital resources, including the Educational Assessment website and other communications about assessment opportunities and efforts.

Assist in the coordination of meetings, including the University Assessment Committee.

Providing Work Direction : Towards this end

Supervise and mentor student assistants in Educational Assessment.

Mentor and guide student participants in the Bronco Assessment Student Ambassadors (BASA) program.

REQUIREMENTS

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Knowledge of research literature on assessment and evaluation of teaching and learning in higher education, and the ability to translate that knowledge into practice.

Training in and experience with the assessment of student learning in higher education, with a focus on academic outcomes.

Co-curricular assessment knowledge and expertise is a plus.

Demonstrated experience in and strong passion for empirical research and answering questions with data.

Survey design, rubric design, and assessment / program evaluation design experience and / or expertise.

Ability to use data retrieval tools and create data sets from multiple sources.

Demonstrated proficiency with statistical tools such as SPSS, SAS, R or similar tools.

Ability to use visual data tools to represent data to non-technical audiences.

Strong interpersonal and communication skills to effectively convey findings and broad trends to a variety of audiences, including senior leadership and faculty.

Demonstrated experience and ability to work collaboratively with diverse individuals and groups that have varying perspectives, levels of knowledge, and skills about assessment.

Ability to work independently and in teams and to take the initiative, especially in new ventures.

Excellent analytical and organizational skills and ability to manage multiple tasks.

Ability to listen effectively, to provide tactful feedback and support, and to use sound judgment in confidential matters.

Multicultural literacy, including comfort and experience working with diverse cultures and populations.

Excellent written and oral communication skills.

Ability to learn on the job, with engagement, excitement, and efficiency.

Strong relationship-building skills.

Demonstrated ability to advance equity and promote student success.

Demonstrated ability in creative thinking for problem-solving.

Experience in culture change and change management.

Education

Master's degree required (ideally in a related field such as higher education, statistics, social sciences, evaluation or assessment).

Doctorate degree preferred.

Supplementary professional development in outcomes assessment is a plus.

Experience

Three or more years of higher education experience working directly with academic / curricular student learning assessment at the program and / or institutional level.

Previous university or college teaching experience and / or work with faculty development is desirable.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described below are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended, the California Fair Employment & Housing Act, and all other applicable laws, SCU provides reasonable accommodations for qualified persons with disabilities.

A qualified individual is a person who meets skill, experience, education, or other requirements of the position, and who can perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.

Considerable time is spent at a desk using a computer terminal.

Likely to travel to other buildings on the campus.

May be required to attend conference and training sessions within Bay Area or in- or out-of-state locations.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work environment characteristics described below are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.

Typical office environment.

Mostly an indoor office environment with windows.

May involve some evening meetings or commitments on campus

Location is Santa Clara University in California. This will be a full-time, in-person role. Some flex hours may be accommodated.

There is no possibility of this being a fully remote role now or in the future.

Applicant Instructions

The priority review application deadline is September 8th. Priority review of applications will begin on September 9th.