Program Director of Assessment & Institutional Learning

University of Colorado•Denver, CO

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director of Assessment and Institutional Learning provides strategic leadership for CU Denver’s assessment ecosystem, advancing a faculty-centered, improvement-oriented approach to student learning and institutional effectiveness. The position integrates program-level assessment, Core and co-curricular assessment, and emerging areas such as micro-credentials and AI-supported practices to ensure the university generates credible, actionable evidence of student learning. Working in close collaboration with Academic Planning, Institutional Research and Effectiveness (OIRE), faculty governance, and academic units, the Director aligns assessment with program review, accreditation, and strategic planning. The role emphasizes “closing the loop” by translating assessment findings into meaningful improvements in curriculum, pedagogy, and student success, while contributing to a broader institutional research agenda on assessment and learning.

Requirements

Doctoral degree (Ph.D., Ed.D., or equivalent) in a relevant field (e.g., education, assessment, higher education, social sciences, or a disciplinary field with strong assessment experience)
Six (6)+ years of progressively responsible experience in higher education
Demonstrated experience with student learning outcomes assessment (program-level and/or institutional).
Demonstrated experience with faculty collaboration and support.
Demonstrated experience with the use of data to inform improvement.

Nice To Haves

Demonstrated scholarly or applied work in assessment, institutional effectiveness, or teaching and learning
Experience working in or alongside faculty governance structures
Experience with accreditation processes (e.g., HLC or equivalent)
Experience integrating assessment with program review, planning, or strategy
Demonstrated use of AI or emerging technologies in learning assessment.

Responsibilities

Serves as CU Denver’s primary integrator of assessment evidence in coordination with the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness (OIRE).
Supports faculty in collecting, interpreting, and integrating evidence of student learning into program review and improvement, while coordinating accreditation reporting.
Advances a research agenda on assessment (including modalities and student success) and synthesizes findings to inform institutional practice and policy.
Collaborates with faculty development units to provide training, workshops, and learning communities that embed assessment into teaching and curriculum design.
Contributes to the design, implementation, and reporting of Core Curriculum assessment, including rubrics, scoring processes, and governance reporting.
Develops frameworks and tools for assessing student learning in co-curricular programs and integrates findings into institutional effectiveness efforts.
Establishes learning outcomes, evaluation standards, and evidence practices for micro-credentials to ensure academic credibility and workforce relevance.
Explores and implements AI-supported assessment practices (e.g., scoring, synthesis, analytics) while developing ethical and governance guidelines.
Creates systems to document and track how assessment findings lead to improvements in curriculum, pedagogy, and student support.
Conducts gap analysis and revises policy (Policy 7024) to ensure alignment with actual practices and clarify expectations.
Redesigns and maintains assessment resources (e.g., website, templates, exemplars) to improve clarity, transparency, and usability.
Manages timelines, templates, and processes for program review (7-year cycle), ensuring integration of assessment evidence and minimizing burden.
Oversees tools and processes for annual program check-ins (annual cycle), synthesizes insights across programs, and connects findings to institutional planning and improvement.