Doctoral Program Chair (Full-Time)

University of the Potomac•Washington, DC

About The Position

Doctoral Program Chair (Full-Time) Position Summary The Doctoral Program Chair provides academic, operational, and strategic leadership for the universities doctoral program. The Chair ensures program quality and continuous improvement; leads faculty and dissertation/doctoral research support; oversees assessment and compliance; and collaborates across the university to achieve strong student outcomes, timely progression, and a high-quality doctoral experience. Reporting Relationship Reports to: Chief Academic Officer. Supervises: IRB Coordinator, adjunct faculty and dissertation chairs. The Chair of doctoral programs will have curriculum oversight, faculty leadership, dissertation/research support processes, enrollment and retention partnership, assessment and accreditation readiness, and student success. Essential Duties and Responsibilities · Program leadership & strategy: Set and execute annual goals for quality, student outcomes, enrollment collaboration, and continuous improvement; lead program planning aligned to institutional mission. · Academic quality & curriculum: Lead curriculum design, review, and revisions; ensure alignment to doctoral-level learning outcomes, discipline standards, and institutional policies; maintain syllabi and curriculum maps as required. · Faculty leadership: Recruit, onboard, support, and evaluate faculty (full-time and/or adjunct); establish teaching and dissertation chair expectations; facilitate professional development and community of practice. · Dissertation / capstone governance: Oversee doctoral research processes (committee assignments, milestones, rubrics, integrity checks, IRB coordination where applicable); troubleshoot complex student progression issues; ensure consistency and fairness across dissertation chairs/committees. · Student success & advising partnership: Partner with advising/coaching teams to support orientation, progression monitoring, at-risk outreach, and retention initiatives; analyze drivers of attrition and time-to-completion; implement improvements. · Assessment & outcomes: Lead assessment planning, data collection, and annual reporting; use evidence to improve courses, research supports, and program design; monitor KPIs (retention, completion, time-to-degree, satisfaction, learning outcomes). · Accreditation & compliance readiness: Ensure adherence to institutional, state, and accreditor requirements; maintain documentation for reviews; lead program contributions to self-studies, substantive change requests, and annual reports as assigned. · Operational management: Manage schedules and staffing plans; coordinate course offerings and dissertation sections; collaborate on resource planning (faculty load, chair coverage, dissertation support capacity). · Budget & resource stewardship: Participate in budget planning for instructional and doctoral support resources; recommend investments based on student demand and outcomes. · Stakeholder collaboration: Work closely with admissions, enrollment management, student services, library, writing center, research support, and institutional research to deliver a cohesive doctoral experience. · Teaching/service: Teach a limited number of doctoral courses and/or chair dissertations consistent with workload expectations; serve on university committees and contribute to shared governance. · Scholarly engagement: Maintain ongoing scholarly activity appropriate to the discipline and institutional expectations; support a culture of ethical, rigorous scholarship.

Requirements

Earned doctorate (PhD, EdD, DBA, DNP, or discipline-appropriate terminal degree) from an accredited institution.
Demonstrated doctoral-level teaching experience (online, hybrid, or campus-based as applicable).
Demonstrated experience chairing dissertations/capstones or serving on doctoral committees (discipline-appropriate).
Progressive leadership experience in higher education (e.g., program leadership, director role, coordinator, department chair, or equivalent).
Working knowledge of assessment, continuous improvement, and accreditation/compliance expectations.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including ability to coach faculty and communicate expectations to doctoral learners.
Ability to analyze data (progression, retention, completion) and translate insights into operational and academic improvements.
Commitment to student-centered practices, equity, academic integrity, and ethical scholarship.

Nice To Haves

Experience leading a doctoral program of substantial scale (e.g., 100+ active students) including dissertation operations and faculty capacity planning.
Experience designing/improving dissertation milestones, rubrics, and doctoral research supports (writing, methods, statistics, research coaching).
Experience with online program operations and quality frameworks (e.g., consistent course design standards, faculty training, regular course review cycles).
Experience with institutional research/analytics tools and learning management systems to monitor performance and engagement.
Record of scholarship and professional engagement consistent with the discipline (publications, presentations, grants, applied research).
Demonstrated success improving retention, progression, and time-to-degree through evidence-based interventions.

Responsibilities

Program leadership & strategy: Set and execute annual goals for quality, student outcomes, enrollment collaboration, and continuous improvement; lead program planning aligned to institutional mission.
Academic quality & curriculum: Lead curriculum design, review, and revisions; ensure alignment to doctoral-level learning outcomes, discipline standards, and institutional policies; maintain syllabi and curriculum maps as required.
Faculty leadership: Recruit, onboard, support, and evaluate faculty (full-time and/or adjunct); establish teaching and dissertation chair expectations; facilitate professional development and community of practice.
Dissertation / capstone governance: Oversee doctoral research processes (committee assignments, milestones, rubrics, integrity checks, IRB coordination where applicable); troubleshoot complex student progression issues; ensure consistency and fairness across dissertation chairs/committees.
Student success & advising partnership: Partner with advising/coaching teams to support orientation, progression monitoring, at-risk outreach, and retention initiatives; analyze drivers of attrition and time-to-completion; implement improvements.
Assessment & outcomes: Lead assessment planning, data collection, and annual reporting; use evidence to improve courses, research supports, and program design; monitor KPIs (retention, completion, time-to-degree, satisfaction, learning outcomes).
Accreditation & compliance readiness: Ensure adherence to institutional, state, and accreditor requirements; maintain documentation for reviews; lead program contributions to self-studies, substantive change requests, and annual reports as assigned.
Operational management: Manage schedules and staffing plans; coordinate course offerings and dissertation sections; collaborate on resource planning (faculty load, chair coverage, dissertation support capacity).
Budget & resource stewardship: Participate in budget planning for instructional and doctoral support resources; recommend investments based on student demand and outcomes.
Stakeholder collaboration: Work closely with admissions, enrollment management, student services, library, writing center, research support, and institutional research to deliver a cohesive doctoral experience.
Teaching/service: Teach a limited number of doctoral courses and/or chair dissertations consistent with workload expectations; serve on university committees and contribute to shared governance.
Scholarly engagement: Maintain ongoing scholarly activity appropriate to the discipline and institutional expectations; support a culture of ethical, rigorous scholarship.