Manager for Academic Affairs

About the Commission for Higher Education

Created in 1971, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education (CHE, Commission) is the State's higher education coordinating agency, driven to improve economic and social mobility for fellow Hoosiers through postsecondary education and training, and is a part of Governor Mike Braun's Office of Education. The Commission also administers Indiana’s state financial aid programs, including 21st Century Scholars, which celebrates 35 years in 2025. More information can be found at che.in.gov.

About the Role

The Manager of Academic Affairs directly assists the Commission’s Senior Associate Commissioner and Chief Academic Officer (CAO) in fulfilling statutory responsibilities to approve new academic degree programs in the public postsecondary sector, to review and monitor established public academic programs, and to maintain key information about all programs in all sectors through the Commission for Higher Education Data Submission System (CHEDSS). The role will also complete targeted research projects, the results of which will often be presented to senior staff, the Academic Affairs and Quality Committee (AA&Q), and/or the full Commission. The Manager is a direct report to the Senior Associate Commissioner and CAO and is vital to ensure the organized, timely processing of the above workflow.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary lead for maintaining the accuracy of the Commission’s Academic Program Inventory (API) for the public, private non-profit, and private for-profit postsecondary sectors.
• Manage all Routine Staff Actions for public institutions’ API entries, as well as prepare and send approval letters to postsecondary institutions.
• Process new academic program proposal submissions from public institutions, including coordinating “degree calls” with faculty and providing written feedback and questions after careful review of application proposals.
• Support the CAO in planning for monthly AA&Q Committee meetings, including preparing, circulating, and posting key agenda documents and other materials, such as staff recommendations, memoranda, and action items.
• Contribute to the review and improvement monitoring processes of academic programs at public institutions, including the implementation and usage of identified viability measures and metrics.
• Establish and maintain collaborative relationships with state educational institutions’ academic affairs leadership and staff.
• Assist the Academic Affairs Team in conveying key information to key audiences, including the AA&Q Committee, institutional Academic Officers, and, potentially, the full Commission.
• Undertake short-term, applied research projects to support major responsibilities of the Academic Affairs Team, including researching higher education policy, making data runs using the CHEDSS extraction tools, and assembling data from external sources.
• Liaise with counterpart state agencies, regional/specialty accreditors, and other authoritative organizations to remain current with best practices and to articulate Commission policies and operations.
• Update and distribute policy guidance documents and various institutional submission forms, including program approval and review packets, as well as maintain the Academic Affairs Team’s ‘Degree Programs’ Commission webpage.
• Support the Academic Affairs Team’s work with vendors to continuously improve the functionality of the CHEDSS interface on behalf of institutional users, such as providing input for developer tickets and general troubleshooting of new and updated features, and attending bi-weekly sprint meetings.
• Assist with the monitoring of contracts and the Academic Affairs Team’s budget, as needed.
• Assist all members of the Academic Affairs Team in communicating policies and other useful information to key constituencies, especially postsecondary institutions.

The job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Other duties, responsibilities, and activities may change or be assigned at any time.

Qualifications

• Ability to work collaboratively in a team setting and display initiative in helping other staff as needed in achieving the goals of the agency.
• Ability to establish and maintain collaborative relationships with external stakeholders, especially the academic affairs staff of state educational institutions, including anticipation of stakeholder needs and responsive customer service.
• A working knowledge of postsecondary education public policy and academic programs, including accreditation standards and CIP Codes (experience working with or within higher education is highly desirable).
• Ability to research, interpret, and summarize program and policy information in a manner that provides actionable insights to advance the Commission’s priorities and mission.
• Excellent listening, written, and oral communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex and specialized program and policy information to a wide spectrum of audiences in a courteous and effective manner.
• Ability to represent both the CAO and Commission in academic affairs settings.
• Ability to set priorities and manage one's time.
• A strong working knowledge of Adobe PDF and Microsoft Office applications, including Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, and, most especially, Excel, which can be used to track workflow, inventory processes, and produce finished tables and graphs for presentations and published reports.
• Able to perform essential functions with or without reasonable accommodation.

Pay

The salary for this position traditionally starts at $60,000.00.

Benefits

The State of Indiana offers a comprehensive benefit package for full-time employees which includes:

• Three (3) medical plan options (including RX coverage) as well as vision and dental plans.
• Wellness Rewards Program: Complete wellness activities to earn gift card rewards.
• Health savings account, which includes bi-weekly state contribution.
• Deferred compensation 457(b) account (similar to 401(k) plan) with employer match.
• Two (2) fully-funded pension plan options.
• A robust, comprehensive program of leave policies covering a variety of employee needs, including but not limited to:
  • 150 hours of paid New Parent Leave and up to eight weeks of paid Childbirth Recovery Leave for eligible mothers.
  • Up to 15 hours of paid community service leave.
  • Combined 180 hours of paid vacation, personal, and sick leave time off.
  • 12 paid holidays, 14 on election years.
• Education Reimbursement Program.
• Group life insurance.
• Referral Bonus program.
• Employee assistance program that allows for covered behavioral health visits.
• Qualified employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.
• Free parking for most positions.
• Free LinkedIn Learning access.

Schedule

Commission employees report to the Central Office in Indianapolis five days per week. This position is exempt from overtime compensation for additional work hours which may be required to complete essential functions or other assigned work. Exempt employees may work more than 75 hours in a pay period without additional compensation and must report a minimum of 75 hours per pay period of work hours and/or paid leave taken to receive their base biweekly salary.