Assistant Director, Academic Special Programs

Saint Leo University Brasil•San Jose, CA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Assistant Director of Academic Special Programs is a full-time, exempt professional position within Academic Affairs, reporting to the Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs and the Director of Online Faculty and Student Services. This role is the primary operational lead for administering, coordinating, and ensuring compliance for the University's academic consortium partnerships, including Acadeum and the Online Consortium of Independent Colleges and Universities (OCICU). The position also involves advising currently enrolled Dual Enrollment (DE) students. The Assistant Director is responsible for maintaining high-quality student services for visiting student populations, managing daily enrollment processing in Colleague (SIS), Canvas (LMS), and related platforms for consortium students, ensuring compliance with FERPA and other regulations, and collaborating with various departments to support data integrity, budget oversight, and enrollment growth. While there are no direct reports currently, the position may lead projects or student workers as assigned.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required with 2 years applicable experience. Equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience in higher education administration will be considered.
Minimum of two (2) years in higher education administration, academic advising, enrollment management, or registrar operations.
Experience managing academic consortium agreements or inter-institutional cooperative programs preferred (e.g., Acadeum, OCICU, or similar).
Experience with Ellucian Colleague (SIS) and CANVAS (LMS) preferred.
Knowledge of higher education standards, policies, procedures, and regulatory frameworks.
Knowledge of FERPA and applicable privacy and compliance requirements for student records.
Knowledge of academic consortium operations, cooperative enrollment academic agreements, and inter-institutional enrollment processes.
Knowledge of student information systems, student communication systems, and learning management systems.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills; ability to communicate professionally with students, faculty, staff, and external partners.
Strong active listening, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams) and other relevant technologies and auditing tools.
Experience with data collection, analysis, and report preparation.
Excellence in customer service and sustained student communication and outreach.
Professionalism toward the University’s Mission, Vision, Values, Strategic Plan, Policies, Programs, Purposes, and goals.
Ability to build relationships across a wide range of constituents, including students, faculty, staff, and external partners.
Ability to handle multiple work unit priorities and projects independently in a high-volume, fast-paced environment.
Ability to work with accuracy, diligence, and strong attention to detail.
Ability to maintain strict confidentiality of student records and institutional data.
Ability to assess and resolve situations and problems related to registration procedures and computerized information systems.
Ability to adapt, change, and learn new procedures and technologies as the institutional environment evolves.
Ability to lead and direct workflow through coaching and operational coordination.
Multicultural competencies; ability to work with diverse student, staff, and faculty populations in a team environment.
Excellent comprehensive reasoning and analytical ability.

Nice To Haves

Experience managing academic consortium agreements or inter-institutional cooperative programs (e.g., Acadeum, OCICU, or similar).
Experience with Ellucian Colleague (SIS) and CANVAS (LMS).

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary operational point of contact for academic consortium partnerships, including Acadeum and OCICU.
Coordinate course schedules and offerings with the Registrar’s scheduling team and post offerings to consortium platforms in advance of official publication.
Process incoming consortium enrollments; create or update student accounts in SIS; register students in requested course sections; and verify LMS access prior to the start of each term.
Create and maintain term parameters and configurations for Acadeum, OCICU, and other consortium relationships.
Serve as liaison between consortium students, home institutions, and Saint Leo University academic and administrative departments.
Coordinate and process student withdrawals, drops, and grade disputes in accordance with institutional and consortium policies.
Manage and monitor the consortium course schedule timeline, ensuring early posting to consortium sites to support enrollment activity.
Conduct sustained student outreach and customer service communications throughout each term, including targeted emails, weekly communications for guidance, and follow-up outreach to inactive students.
Track and report enrollment metrics per term; provide historical enrollment data and trend analyses to academic leadership.
Monitor OCICU enrollment trends and develop outreach strategies to re-engage member institutions; coordinate on potential migration of OCICU partner schools to Acadeum.
Maintain consortium financial records; track revenue impacts; and coordinate budget development for consortium operations, including invoicing and reconciliation.
Provide consistent support and customer service for dual enrollment students to resolve academic record and user account issues.
Conduct midterm academic progress audits to identify at-risk students and facilitate timely academic intervention and support.
Coordinate and process student withdrawals, course drops, and grade appeals in compliance with institutional policies and procedures.
Prepare and distribute final grade reports to participating high schools at the conclusion of each academic term.
Maintain and operate student records and curricular systems using Colleague (SIS), Colleague Self-Service, and related platforms including the University’s CRM, LMS, and Document Management System (DMS).
Ensure accuracy and consistency of student data, course offerings, and academic records across Colleague, CRM, LMS, and affiliated systems.
Perform student data processing operations, including system testing, troubleshooting, and implementation of new features or integrations.
Assist with resolving data discrepancies, student registration errors, and user access or permission issues.
Collaborate with IT and Academic Affairs to assess and improve student information system functionalities, integrations, and reporting capabilities.
Maintain strict compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and all other applicable laws, regulations, and institutional policies.
Review policy updates and ensure alignment of consortium and DE operations with applicable institutional and regulatory requirements.
Support alignment with SACSCOC cooperative academic agreement policy for any consortium and DE agreements requiring notification or signed agreements.
Provide enrollment trend analyses and financial impact summaries for Acadeum, OCICU, and DE programs to support strategic decision-making.
Track budget actuals against projections for assigned program areas; flag variances to leadership as needed.

Benefits

FREE Tuition - Employee, Spouse, and Dependents
Tuition Exchange Opportunity - Dependent of Employees
Generous Paid Leave - Sick, Vacation, and Holidays
Comprehensive Group Health Plan (Medical, Dental, and Vision)
Group Medical Plan includes Teledoc, Surgery Plus, Wellness Incentive Program and more!
100% Employer-Funded Health Reimbursement Account
100% Employer-Paid Short Term Disability Insurance
100% Employer-Funded Employee Assistance Program (healthcare and dependent options)
Employer-provided life insurance
Discounted On-Campus Dining Meal Plans
Nationwide Pet Insurance
Flexible Spending Accounts
403b Retirement Plan
Wellness Center