Director of Transfer and Articulation

Ferris State University•Big Rapids, MI

21h•$89,471•Onsite

About The Position

The Director of Transfer and Articulation provides strategic leadership and day-to-day operational oversight for the University’s transfer credit, articulation agreements, and credit-for-prior-learning functions. Reporting to the Associate Dean of the College of Extended Studies, the Director is accountable for ensuring that every credit a student has already earned – at a community college, four-year institution, through an industry credential or apprenticeship, or through documented professional experience – is evaluated accurately, awarded consistently, and posted in time to be useful to the student. This role requires operational precision and relationship-building in equal measure. The Director owns the institutional processes behind articulated credit, credit for credential, and the Assessment of Prior Learning portfolio, while simultaneously serving as Ferris State’s primary articulation contact for Michigan’s community colleges and peer institutions. The Director represents the University in statewide transfer work, including the Michigan Transfer Agreement (MTA), the Michigan Transfer Network, MiTransfer and MiWorkforce Pathways, and MACRAO. The anticipated start date for this position is November of 2026. However, this is an estimated date and can be revised if needed. The selected candidate must be authorized to work in the United States at the time of hire without employer assistance or sponsorship now or in the future. The university will not assist with any F-1 EADs, OPT, H1B, etc. Offers are determined based on a review of the candidate's qualifications, including education, training, experience, and internal pay equity considerations. Placement within the range will generally be based on the following factors: Entry-Range: Candidates who meet the minimum qualifications and core requirements of the position. Mid-Range: Candidates with three or more years of directly related professional experience and demonstrate proficiency in the key responsibilities of the role. Upper Range: Candidates with seven or more years of directly related experience, advanced knowledge, specialized skills, certifications, or expertise that provide significant value to the position. Final compensation will be determined based on the candidate's overall qualifications, experience, and alignment with the University's compensation philosophy in consultation with Human Resources.

Requirements

Master’s degree in higher education administration, education, student affairs, counseling, business, or a related field.
Five years of progressively responsible professional experience in higher education in transfer credit evaluation, articulation, admissions, records and registration, academic advising, prior learning assessment, or a closely related area.
Demonstrated experience developing, negotiating, or administering articulation agreements, transfer guides, or course equivalency processes.
Demonstrated experience leading projects, teams, or cross-departmental processes.
Experience working in a student information system, degree audit, transfer articulation, or a functionally related system.
Exceptional attention to detail and the ability to apply complex policy accurately and consistently across a high volume of individual student cases.
Ability to work simultaneously across multiple cyclical deadlines and to protect fixed operational deadlines such as registration, orientation and term start.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain technical credit policy clearly to students, families, faculty, and external partners.
Demonstrated ability to build and sustain productive relationships across institutional boundaries, including with faculty, community college colleagues, and state agencies.
Sound independent judgment in evaluating coursework, credentials, and experiential learning claims where institutional policy requires interpretation.
Commitment to equitable credit evaluation practices and to removing unnecessary barriers for students who arrive with prior learning from non-traditional pathways.
Demonstrated successful experience working directly with people from diverse backgrounds, including cultural, educational, socioeconomic, and life experiences.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Michigan’s statewide transfer framework, including the Michigan Transfer Agreement, the Michigan Transfer Network, MiTransfer and MiWorkforce Pathways, and MACRAO.
Knowledge of CAEL standards for prior learning assessment and experience administering portfolio-based credit.
Experience awarding credit for industry credentials, AP, CLEP, IB.
Working knowledge of Banner, Ellucian, or comparable enterprise student systems, and of transfer evaluation tools such as TES or Transferology.

Responsibilities

Provide vision, leadership, and direction for all transfer credit, articulation, and credit for prior learning functions across Ferris State University.
Develop, document, and continuously improve written policies, procedures, and process maps for every credit-award pathway within the portfolio.
Manage the operating budget; recommend staffing, technology, and resource investments that improve turnaround time and accuracy.
Partner with the Registrar, Admissions, Financial Aid, Academic Advising, deans, department chairs, and faculty to resolve credit questions and align practice with academic policy.
Establish and publish annual transfer and articulation metrics including transfer credit volume, evaluation turnaround time, agreement status, and award rates and report the results on a defined cycle.
Serve on University committees related to transfer, curriculum, enrollment, and student success, and lead the campus articulation review process with academic departments.
Train, evaluate, and develop professional and support staff and student employees; establish clear workload distribution, coverage plans, and cross-training so that no critical process depends on a single individual.
Lead the development, negotiation, execution, maintenance, and renewal of articulation agreements with Michigan community colleges, in-state and out-of-state institutions, in coordination with academic colleges and the appropriate University signatories.
Serve as Ferris State’s institutional contact for the Michigan Transfer Agreement (MTA), the Michigan Transfer Network, MiTransfer and MiWorkforce Pathways, and MACRAO, including keeping the University’s institutional profile and course equivalency data current.
Manage the course equivalency database and the departmental review workflow, ensuring new and revised equivalency decisions are returned by faculty within established timeframes and recorded in the student information system.
Develop and maintain student-facing transfer guides and equivalency resources that are accurate, accessible, and updated on a published schedule.
Support reverse transfer, guest student, and degree-completion pathways in partnership with community college colleagues.
Monitor the articulation agreement portfolio for expiration and renewal dates, initiating renewals proactively and maintaining organized records of executed agreements.
Oversee the evaluation of all post-secondary transfer credit, ensuring decisions are made accurately, applied consistently with academic policy, and completed within published turnaround standards.
Manage the course equivalency review workflow with academic departments, ensuring timely faculty decisions on new courses and maintaining a complete, current record of all established equivalencies.
Ensure transfer credit is recorded correctly in the student information system and is visible to students and advisors in time to be used for registration and degree planning.
Establish and publish clear service standards for transfer credit evaluation, including turnaround times, student communication protocols, and appeal procedures.
Provide overall leadership for the University’s credit for prior learning (CPL) portfolio, ensuring practice remains consistent with the standards of the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL), Higher Learning Commission expectations, and Ferris State academic policy.
Oversee the Assessment of Prior Learning (APL) portfolio process, including student intake, advising on options, portfolio development support, coordination of faculty assessment, and posting of resulting credit.
Maintain and publish clear, student-facing information on every CPL pathway, including eligibility, cost, timeline, and the limits of transferability to other institutions.
Ensure prior learning credit is recorded accurately in the student information system and reflected correctly in degree audit.
Administer the Credit for Credential program, evaluating industry certifications, licenses, apprenticeships, registered training programs, and other third-party credentials for college credit.
Work with academic departments and industry partners to identify high-value credentials, determine appropriate credit awards, and document approved credential-to-credit equivalencies in a maintained, publicly available crosswalk.
Establish verification standards for credential authenticity and currency, including handling of expired or lapsed credentials.
Review the credential crosswalk on a defined cycle as industry standards, certifying bodies, and Ferris curriculum change.
Support workforce, adult learner, and degree-completion enrollment strategies by making credential-based credit visible early in the recruitment and admission process.
Carries out responsibilities in accordance with university policies and applicable laws.
Cultivate an environment of belonging that values, respects, supports, and celebrates individual similarities and differences, allowing students, faculty, and staff to thrive authentically.
Support, promote, and develop university student enrollment and retention initiatives.
Any other duties assigned within the position classification area.