Director for Assessment and Program Evaluation (Student Services Professional 3 - MR11)

Housing and Residence Life

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

The Director of Assessment and Program Evaluation leads the assessment and program evaluation for Campus Life (Housing & Residence Life, Campus Recreation, and the University Center). The director provides assessment leadership analysis that informs policy, programs, and services; centers on student success; ensures that assessment and evaluation projects meet institutional and ethical requirements; and is responsible for providing leadership to increase staff's knowledge of student experiences, program effectiveness, student learning, and best practices.

The purpose of the campus life's assessment, evaluation, and research initiatives is to gather insights useful for the continuous development, improvement, and innovation of programs, services, and facilities. The Director of assessment leads the development and implementation of a comprehensive assessment strategy for the Campus Life departments. This strategy will illuminate student engagement, success and belonging; program participation; utilization of services and facilities; learning outcomes; key performance indicators and performance metrics; and departmental, divisional, and institutional goals.

The Director serves as the liaison for Campus Life departments and OPIER, Enrollment Management and Student Affairs (EMSA), Residential Colleges, and Institutional Review Board; and develops policies and procedures for project planning, review, data collection, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of results.

The Director for Assessment and Program Evaluation will report to the Executive Director for Residential Education & Campus Life.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Management/Strategic Planning

• Oversees the design and implementation of all ongoing assessment and evaluation of High Impact Practices
• Conducts data collection, data analysis, and reporting for robust program evaluation and quality services and improvements
• Coordinates data collection for units' educational programs and services through such activities as revising and coordinating annual surveys and identifying and triangulating data sources
• Responsible for analysis and reporting of survey/data results to ensure comprehensive program evaluation needs are met
• Creates processes for the timely analysis and delivery of data to relevant stakeholder
• Maintains a high degree of contact with the direct supervisor and unit leads to maintain a high degree of communication regarding student learning, programming, and services provided
• As requested, identifies data, conducts analyses and generates reports to be shared with leadership and relevant committees to inform policies and decision-making
• Actively and regularly ensures ongoing review of program evaluation and quality improvement activities
• Facilitates test construction and assessment quality improvement by providing item level data, psychometric data, and working with faculty for test improvement

Data Analysis Management

• Chairs the departmental Assessment Committee and serves on various committees
• Coordinates assessment workshops or competency development plans for staff
• Coordinates the development of annual reports and other documents shared with university partners, and effectively uses results in determining Department's accomplishments of programs, services, and initiatives
• Analyzes, interprets, and disseminates data from professional literature, national and institutional data, and student-focused studies to inform new initiatives, strategic projects, and best practices
• Ensures Campus Life assessment efforts are consistent with Institutional Research and SACS guidelines, and extracts data sets that predict future outcomes and trends related to students and the services and programs provided by the departments
• Collaborates with OPIER and IT to develop and implement dashboard indicators to inform stakeholders of practices and services
• Works to identify grant writing opportunities that would provide potential funding for academic and leadership initiatives

The ideal candidate will possess the following:

• Ability to collect, interpret, and report data and to write informational materials and reports
• Ability to build teams and work collaboratively
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Ability to manage several responsibilities at the same time
• Ability to work well under pressure with multiple and changing deadlines
• Possess the ability to interpret and communicate statistical processes and findings to a diverse audience with varying levels of data acumen
• Strong Effective communication skills (oral and written)
• Excellent writing and speaking skills, report writing, and presentation skills for varied audiences
• Detail-oriented, highly organized, proactive, creative thinker and problem-solver skills
• Strong analytical skills
• Advanced skills in Microsoft Office Suite
• Professional experience working with the development of learning outcomes, assessment plans, and conducting assessment projects
• Demonstrated experience working in and fostering a diverse faculty, staff, and student environment
• Demonstrated proficiency utilizing technology in the implementation, analysis, and reporting of data such as web applications, online systems, database software, and standard office packages
• Knowledge of strategic planning, assessment leadership, program evaluation
• Knowledge of student learning theory and developmental outcomes, and experience in its application
• Knowledge of quantitative and qualitative research designs and methodologies
• Knowledge of research methodology and the assessment cycle, educational research design, accountability issues and student learning outcomes
• Knowledge of manipulating data sets including querying, integration, and data cleaning
• Knowledge of statistical techniques and methodologies (descriptive, correlational, and inferential)
• Working knowledge of relational databases
• Understanding and knowledge of student and staff development within the context of Student Affairs

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Applications received by this date will receive priority consideration.

Minimum qualifications: Typically requires a bachelor's degree in a relevant field and six years of relevant, progressively responsible experience, or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.

Preferred qualifications: Master's degree and previous experience working with residential education or co-curricular learning initiatives; experience and involvement with state or regional conferences; familiarity with systems such as Campus Labs and EBI Skyfactor; familiarity or experience working with SQL; and experience with living learning communities and faculty members are preferred.

The University of Tennessee Chattanooga is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA institution. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, or protected veteran status.