Program Director - Deans Administration - Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Description

The Dean's Office in the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at West Virginia University is currently accepting applications for a Program Director.

About the Opportunity

The primary responsibilities of the Program Director include management of the Statler College online programs administrative team, agenda and priority setting, strategic and budget planning, hiring and management of instructors and adjuncts, student recruitment and retention, and coordination of marketing/communications initiatives. Candidates must show creativity, initiative, and good judgment and have the ability to communicate ideas clearly. Decision-making, problem-solving, and researching skills also are important. An outgoing personality, self-confidence and an enthusiasm for motivating people are also important attributes. The ideal candidate will excel in a fast-paced, deadline-driven work environment and will be able to work independently, as well as with members of a team. The position reports directly to the Dean.

We strongly believe in work-life balance and keeping time for things we love outside our work. WVU offers generous benefits, including:

• 37.5-hour work week
• 13 paid holidays (staff holiday calendar)
• 24 annual leave (vacation) days per year or more based on years of service (employee leave)
• 18 sick days per year (for when you're ill, for when you need time to care for sick family, for your own, or your family's, regularly scheduled medical appointments. Who is family for the purpose of this leave? A lot of people in your life including immediate relatives and in-laws as well as others considered to be members of your household living under the same roof)
• WVU offers a range of health insurance and other benefits
• 401(a) retirement savings with 6% employee contribution match, eligibility to continue health insurance, and other retiree perks. Looking for more retirement benefits information? Check out retirement health insurance benefits, retirement income, and FAQ's.
• Wellness programs

What you'll do:

Business Planning and Operations

• Directly supervise curriculum, technology support, PR and social media, marketing and events, instructional designer, and all adjunct instructors.
• Lead program growth and advancement initiatives. Set strategic plan for all the Statler online programs. Prioritize activities for all members of program administration and regularly review progress through workplans and team meetings.
• Explore opportunities to implement new programs in the Statler College to satisfy demand.
• Provide agenda-setting, oversight and management of all operations, including, but not limited to, student recruitment and retention, new course identification, curriculum and management development, in-course technology innovation implementation, marketing programs management, web asset optimization andmanagement, publicity, course management, adjunct faculty hiring andorientation, adjunct faculty development, course scheduling, and competitive research.
• Work closely with the College leadership, especially the department chairs that manage online programs to identify new opportunities.
• Plan and manage program budgets. Establish budget projections for all online programs and set annual goals with Dean. Track budget outcomes and compile budget reports. Control program expenses to ensure achievement of budget goals.
• Assess Statler online programs administrative team performance. Perform annual reviews of instructional designer and all adjunct instructors.
• Represent Statler online programs at visiting committee meetings.
• Serve on Statler Graduate Committee and search committees as assigned by Dean.
• Serve on WVU eCampus Advisory Council.

Adjunct Instructor Hiring and Management

• Spearhead adjunct instructor hiring activities in collaboration with department chairs. Write and distribute advertisements for instructor needs at least once annually. Manage adjunct instructor orientation.
• Complete course scheduling activities in collaboration with department chairs. Project student demand and schedule courses. Assign instructors based on student evaluation results, discussion board participation data and adherence to established program expectations of instructors. Establish course schedule and extend course offers to instructors. Oversee course schedule in STAR and maintain communications with the Associate Dean of Academics and Student Performance.
• Manage faculty relations in collaboration with department chairs. Conduct two faculty meetings annually (live or online). Redistribute annual instructor agreement each year to ensure transparency of expectations for all instructors. In response to student course evaluations, work with individual adjunct instructors to improve performance within courses and adherence to annual instructor agreement. Regularly communicate with instructors, especially around key times (beginning and end of term messaging and major program announcements).
• Oversee adjunct instructor development projects. Plan, produce and present/distribute adjunct development at faculty meetings, retreats and Integrate conferences. Oversee compilation of comprehensive faculty guide and distribute to all instructors. Primary purpose of guide is to proactively address most frequent questions instructors have, including final grade submission process by term, final grade appeal process, assignment of incompletes, management of plagiarism incidents, explanation of course scheduling including course caps and overrides, management of inactive students in courses, instructor selection and course scheduling criteria/process, payroll schedule, development process for those selected, use of program rubrics for both discussion boards and assignments, in-course innovation options and instructions, best practices in online instruction, pre and post-term feedback on courses, setting up evaluations (establishing technology director as designees) and use of evaluation data, and basic standards within all courses and expectations of all instructors.

Marketing and Communications

• Establish and oversee marketing and communications plans for all Statler online programs.
• Identify, research and implement new marketing opportunities.
• Manage brand(s) and build brand equity through external communications activities for key external audiences, including both industry and academic audience groups, such as the PR initiative and publicity plan.
• Design and implement comprehensive marketing plan for student recruitment that includes search engine advertising, online directories, partnerships, HTML e-mail blasts, print advertising, exhibiting at industry association conferences and tradeshows, and recruiting/tabletop exhibiting at student career fairs.
• Implement and oversee comprehensive internal communications plan for al stakeholder audiences, including prospective students, applicants/admits, current students, alumni/graduates, faculty, and advisory committee members.
• Explore opportunities to implement Designated Regional Recruitment Strategy (DRRS)/Road Show for dedicated recruiting in specific, selected markets.

Qualifications

• Master's degree with at least one degree in engineering or a STEM discipline.
• A minimum of two (5) years of experience involving each of the following:
  • Developing and managing academic programs (including online courses preferred).
  • Teaching at a college level.
• Organizational skills needed to coordinate, supervise and monitor graduate student recruitment, enrollment and advising.
• Leadership skills needed to manage an entrepreneurial graduate program.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills required in managing workload, multiple projects, project management, requests, deadlines, etc.
• Demonstrated excellence in written and oral communication.
• Ability to be thorough in the completion of projects.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and protect the proprietary nature of information contained in the daily course of work.
• Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain effective relationships and deal tactfully with others.
• Ability to act independently to accomplish tasks and implement solutions to problems without supervision.
• Demonstrated ability to teach effectively.
• Must be prompt and thorough, with considerable attention to detail.
• Must be able to supervise and evaluate a professional staff.
• Demonstrated experience writing and editing, including the ability to distill and clarify ideas under deadline.
• Demonstrated ability to set priorities and carry out assignments within established deadlines.
• Demonstrated ability to learn specific institution, college and program policies and procedures.
• Demonstrated understanding of online media, with demonstrated ability to analyze social media trends and create strategic social marketing plans accordingly.
• Superior speaking, writing, and editing skills including grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
• Skill in presenting to various audiences.
• Strong computer skills including advanced knowledge of Blackboard-based course delivery platforms are required.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective relationships and deal tactfully with a variety of people, including internal and external constituents, administrators, faculty, staff, other WVU units' employees, vendors, and the general public.
• Demonstrated ability to function with a high degree of independent judgment and personal initiative to identify problems, execute programs, manage concurrent/overlapping and sometimes challenging deadlines and complete projects in a timely manner.
• Demonstrated ability to function professionally, sometimes under deadlines and/or stressful or confrontational situations.
• Demonstrated ability to complete essential duties and tasks and achieve required results.
• Ability to travel to campus and off-campus (including occasional out-of-state) locations as necessary.
• Ability to maintain attendance and punctuality standards.
• Ability to work evenings or weekends as necessary.
• Ability to function effectively individually, as well as part of a team.