Director of Academic Effectiveness

Responsibilities

• Serve as UMN Morris’s primary institutional contact with the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), maintaining current knowledge of HLC Criteria for Accreditation, policies, and procedures.
• Care for all HLC-related activities, including Assurance Argument preparation, interim reporting, and responses to HLC inquiries or monitoring requirements.
• Serve as the institutional resource and educator for faculty, staff, and administrators on institutional and program specific accreditation requirements, quality assurance processes, and emerging federal regulatory developments with accreditation implications.
• Lead and coordinate academic assessment, including the evaluation of course, program, Morris Core learning outcomes, and the assessment of the Morris Core Experiences.
• Provide functional direction to the Faculty Assessment Fellows, coordinating their work on the assessment program. The Fellows’ faculty appointments and personnel matters remain within their home divisions.
• Oversee the academic program review cycle, providing methodological support to programs, coordinating external review processes, and synthesizing findings for academic leadership and faculty governance.
• Maintain and improve assessment infrastructure, including assessment planning tools, documentation systems, and reporting frameworks aligned with HLC expectations.
• Partner with faculty governance and division chairs to embed a culture of evidence-based program improvement across academic units.
• Provide oversight and strategic direction to the Institutional Research function, ensuring the accuracy, integrity, and accessibility of institutional data used for planning, assessment, accreditation, and external reporting.
• Supervise Institutional Research staff and serve as liaison between IR and Enrollment Management, the Office of the Chancellor, Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, and the broader campus community.
• Analyze enrollment, retention, graduation, and student success data to identify trends, equity gaps, and opportunities for academic intervention.
• Work closely with senior-level administrators and others to provide information and analysis that supports administrative decision making, strategic planning, and data relevant to federal and other grant applications.
• Develop, maintain, and expand structured degree pathways including 4+1 graduate pathways, 2+2 transfer partnerships, international cohort agreements to broaden student options, and supporting program recruiting efforts.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s/Doctoral degree plus 6 years of experience.
• Demonstrated experience in accreditation, academic assessment, institutional research, program review, or a closely related institutional effectiveness function.
• Demonstrated ability to collect, analyze, and communicate institutional data to diverse audiences, including faculty, administrators, and external bodies.
• Capacity to work collaboratively within a shared governance environment.