MBA Program Director

University of Northern Colorado • Greeley, CO

4d • $95,700 - $107,700 • Onsite

About The Position

The MBA Director is a full-time staff position with responsibility for the operational leadership, strategic direction, and student success of the MBA program. The Director oversees program administration, admissions, retention initiatives, student engagement, program assessment, and day-to-day operations, and works closely with faculty on curriculum, accreditation, and academic policy. In addition to administrative responsibilities, the Director teaches two MBA courses per academic year. The Director serves as the primary point of contact for the program's third-party partner, an external vendor providing marketing, student-facing communication, and operational support, and works closely with the Office of Admissions, the Office of the Registrar, the Graduate School, and other university offices to ensure program success.

Requirements

• A master's degree in business administration or a related field (MBA or equivalent), sufficient to meet AACSB qualification standards for teaching MBA courses.
• A minimum of three to five years of progressive experience in higher education administration, graduate program management, or a comparable professional role.
• Experience should include some combination of the following: graduate student advising, program coordination or administration, admissions decision-making, retention or student success work, faculty coordination, program assessment or accreditation support, and experience working with external vendors or partners.
• Valid U.S. work authorization at the time of application.

Nice To Haves

• Prior teaching experience at the graduate level is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate curriculum review and continuous improvement processes with faculty and Graduate Committee; maintain oversight of program-level academic quality and student experience.
• Lead AACSB accreditation reporting and assurance-of-learning processes in partnership with faculty.
• Set program strategy, including long-term direction, market positioning, and program differentiators, in collaboration with key stakeholders such as the Dean's office and the Graduate School.
• Determine equitable course offerings each term and recommend updates to the official university catalog and schedule.
• Lead program assessment, including learning outcomes reporting and accreditation deliverables.
• Coordinate faculty participation in assessment, curriculum review, and program improvement.
• Participate in the Graduate Committee and other governance bodies as appropriate to the role.
• Teach two MBA courses per academic year, aligned with the program's staffing plan and the Director's area of expertise.
• Fulfill standard instructional duties, including course design, delivery, assessment, student feedback, and office hours.
• Model program culture and expectations through classroom engagement with MBA students.
• Coordinate MBA faculty assignments, teaching schedules, and program-level expectations, in coordination with the Associate Dean and department chairs.
• Determine instructional coaching needs and onboard instructional coaches.
• Coordinate operational communication with faculty and escalate issues as needed.
• Complete annual program reporting and other administrative deliverables required by the college, Graduate School, and accrediting bodies.
• Analyze retention data at the cohort, program, and demographic levels; identify trends, at-risk students, and structural contributors to attrition.
• Design, implement, and evaluate retention strategies, including proactive outreach, academic support coordination, early alert systems, and program-level interventions.
• Track outcomes of retention initiatives and report progress to college leadership and the Graduate School.
• Conduct or commission student surveys (satisfaction, mid-program pulse, exit, alumni) and translate results into program improvements.
• Coordinate with faculty, advisors, university support offices, and the third-party partner on individual student cases requiring intervention.
• Create and maintain onboarding materials for new MBA students, including welcome packets, orientation guides, program handbooks, and pre-term communications.
• Continuously update onboarding and orientation materials to reflect program changes, policy updates, and student feedback.
• Design and coordinate MBA orientation events for each new cohort.
• Foster MBA community through cohort activities, networking events, industry speaker series, and program traditions.
• Coordinate with the third-party partner on automated onboarding communications to ensure alignment with program messaging.
• Coordinate with the university's career services office on MBA-specific career support, workshops, and resources.
• Track student and alumni career outcomes for program assessment, accreditation reporting, and marketing purposes.
• Build and maintain employer relationships for internships, capstone projects, and job placement opportunities.
• Approve transfer credits, course substitutions, and individual course selections.
• Handle policy exceptions, academic appeals, and other academic decisions affecting MBA students.
• Approve leaves of absence (LOAs) and other status changes.
• Oversee foundation course requirements and verify completion before student progression.
• Receive notifications from the third-party partner when students complete foundation course requirements; authorize Banner coding accordingly.
• Set program standards for foundation course progress; the third-party partner monitors student progress and sends reminders on the Director's behalf.
• Maintain official records related to foundation courses.
• Monitor student performance on the program-administered comprehensive evaluation, including individual student outcomes and program-level trends.
• Adjust the evaluation instrument, scoring criteria, and administration processes as needed to reflect curriculum changes, accreditation standards, and program priorities.
• Report evaluation results to faculty, the college, the Graduate School, and accreditation bodies as part of ongoing program assessment and continuous improvement.
• Commission and review custom enrollment, retention, and program performance reports through Institutional Reporting (IRAS).
• Conduct strategic analyses to inform program direction, course offerings, and resource allocation.
• Benchmark the program against peer MBA programs to identify improvement opportunities.
• Work with Graduate Committee to recommend curriculum and program changes to faculty based on assessment, market, and outcome data.
• Review standard operational reports provided by the third-party partner.
• Serve as the academic point of contact for MBA student questions requiring program judgment, including curriculum pathing, course selection, prerequisite questions, transfer credit eligibility, and program-specific requirements.
• Triage incoming student questions: respond directly when questions require academic judgment; refer students to the third-party partner for frontline support on registration mechanics, deadlines, schedules, holds, onboarding, graduation pathing logistics, and general process navigation.
• Refer students to the Graduate School for questions involving university-wide graduate policy (e.g., grade replacement, academic standing, repeat course rules, continuous enrollment, time-to-degree).
• Refer students to the Office of the Registrar for official records questions and to the Bursar and Financial Aid offices for billing and aid issues; the third-party partner may handle initial referrals on the Director's behalf.
• Receive escalations from the third-party partner on student questions that frontline support cannot resolve, and route to the appropriate university office or handle directly as appropriate.
• Maintain awareness of the third-party partner's student outreach and onboarding communications to ensure consistency with program messaging.
• Review and approve MBA applications and set admission conditions, including provisional admission requirements.
• Follow up on conditional and provisional admissions to confirm that outstanding requirements are satisfied, such as receipt of final official transcripts.
• Approve deferrals; the third-party partner discusses deferral logistics with students and supports communication workflows.
• Oversee official graduate verification processes from the program side, in coordination with the Graduate School.
• Consult with the third-party partner on operational deadlines and application status workflows (including SFTP-based status transfers); official admissions processes and deadlines remain with the university.
• Coordinate with the third-party partner on prospective student communication and outreach campaigns.
• Coordinate with the Graduate School on student questions and cases involving university-wide graduate policy, including grade replacement, academic probation and standing, repeat course rules, continuous enrollment, time-to-degree limits, and leaves of absence.
• Refer policy interpretation questions to the Graduate School and communicate decisions and required steps back to students.
• Coordinate on provisional admission requirements and deferrals.
• Coordinate on official graduate verification and degree conferral processes.
• Participate in graduate-level governance discussions and share program-level operational insights and student trends, including those surfaced by the third-party partner.
• Approve registration overrides, including closed-course overrides, prerequisite waivers, capacity overrides, late add/drop exceptions, and enrollment limit exceptions.
• Approve enrollment changes such as section changes and late registration.
• Authorize coding of students in Banner for program milestones; the Registrar maintains official records.
• Coordinate with the Registrar's Catalog Team on maintenance of official university schedules and the catalog, including approved course offerings, prerequisite chains, and degree requirements; changes to these are authorized through the Curriculum Workflow.
• Reinforce approved degree pathways and registration guidance to students; the third-party partner provides frontline registration support and escalates non-routine questions to the Director.
• Monitor enrollment trends with the third-party partner and escalate capacity or scheduling concerns to the Registrar as needed.
• Approve graduation applications from the program side and confirm degree requirements have been met.
• Confirm comprehensive program evaluation completion as part of graduation approval.
• Coordinate with the Graduate School and the Registrar on degree conferral and official records.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for the third-party partnership.
• Review and approve marketing strategy, messaging, and promotional materials produced by the third-party partner, in coordination with University Marketing.
• Maintain final institutional oversight and brand approval for program-related marketing assets, including the program website, newsletters, and campaign materials; coordinate with University Marketing to ensure alignment with institutional brand standards.
• Review and approve prospect nurturing communications and student-facing campaigns, in coordination with University Marketing.
• Coordinate faculty support needs, including Canvas training and IT coordination.
• Oversee HR and invoice processes for instructional coaches in coordination with the appropriate university offices.
• Serve as the academic escalation point for student issues that cannot be resolved by the third-party partner's frontline support or by the appropriate university office.
• Handle policy exceptions and academic approvals that arise from those escalations.

Benefits

• health, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance
• a selection of several defined contribution retirement plans
• sick leave
• other leave options may be available based on position
• tuition waiver benefits
• dependents and spouses of UNC Employees who are employed at 0.5 FTE or above are eligible for undergraduate dependent tuition grants of up to 50% (covering in-state tuition charges)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager