Overview
The Director of Assessment provides institution-wide leadership for outcomes assessment and continuous improvement. The role designs and stewards the assessment cycle across academic programs, general education, co-curricular learning, and administrative/support units; manages assessment technologies (e.g., Watermark's Planning and Self-Study); and translates evidence into actionable insights that inform planning, resource allocation, and student success.
The Director partners closely with faculty, academic leadership, Institutional Research, and Student Affairs to ensure high-quality data collection, analysis, and reporting in support of institutional goals and accreditation.
The projected salary or hourly pay range for this position which represents the full range of anticipated compensation is: $110,000-115,000.
Responsibilities
- Assessment Strategy & Leadership
- Design, implement, and continuously improve a documented, institution-wide assessment cycle (outcomes, measures, targets, results, and improvement actions).
- Set assessment standards, calendars, and templates; ensure alignment with institutional mission, strategic plan, and program/department goals.
- Accreditation & Compliance
- Ensure assessment practices and documentation meet expectations of regional, state, and professional accreditors.
- Maintain organized, auditable evidence (plans, rubrics, samples/artifacts, reports, improvement actions) to support program review and accreditation submissions.
- Knowledge of Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) accreditation requirements and plans to demonstrate compliance.
- Coordinate with program leads on discipline-specific accreditation assessment needs.
- Data, Analytics & Reporting
- Oversee valid, reliable collection of direct and indirect measures (e.g., student achievement, signature assignments, rubric-based scoring, surveys, focus groups).
- Analyze student learning and operational effectiveness data; disaggregate to surface equity gaps and drive targeted interventions.
- Develop concise reports and dashboards for faculty, deans, cabinet, and boards; translate findings into recommendations.
- Contribute to the formulation of and/or validation of reports transmitted to IPEDS and NC-SARA.
- Technology & Data Governance
- Administer assessment platforms (e.g., Watermark); integrate with LMS (D2L BrightSpace) to streamline artifact collection and reporting.
- Collaborate with Institutional Research on data definitions, documentation, and quality checks; promote self-service analytics (e.g., Tableau/Power BI).
- Stakeholder Collaboration & Capacity Building
- Consult with academic leadership (Deans/Program Directors) and key staff to map outcomes, select measures, set performance targets, and design improvement plans.
- Lead training, workshops, and rubric-norming sessions; provide individualized coaching on methods and report writing.
- Partner with Student Affairs and administrative units to assess co-curricular learning and service outcomes.
- Program Review & Self-Study Support
- Coordinate an ongoing assessment calendar and assessment components of academic program review and institutional self-study processes.
- Curate trends, benchmarks, and exemplars; contribute narrative and evidence packages that demonstrate effectiveness and improvement for the MSCHE Self-Study.
- Continuous Improvement & Planning Linkage
- Track and publicize "closing-the-loop" actions; link assessment findings to strategic priorities, resource requests, and budgeting.
- Establish feedback mechanisms to evaluate the impact of improvement actions over time.
Qualifications
- Master's degree in education, social science, analytics, or related field (doctorate preferred).
- Advanced knowledge of research methodologies, assessment theory, and practice.
- Demonstrated expertise in outcomes mapping, rubric design/norming, direct/indirect measures, and report synthesis.
- Proficiency with assessment systems (e.g., Watermark's Planning and Self-Study) and data/BI tools (e.g., Excel, Tableau, Power BI).
- Strong quantitative and qualitative analysis skills; ability to communicate complex results clearly to varied audiences.
- Record of collaborative leadership with faculty and staff.
- Experience coordinating assessment for general education, online programs, additional locations, and student support units.
- 5+ years leading assessment of student learning and/or institutional effectiveness in higher education.
- Familiarity with LMS (e.g., D2L Brightspace) and LMS integrations for artifact collection.
- Experience linking assessment findings to strategic planning, budgeting, and program review cycles.
- Supervisory experience (staff, graduate assistants, or faculty fellows).