University Registrar - Western Washington University

Another Source • Bellingham, WA

1d • $115,776 - $150,510 • Onsite

About The Position

Western Washington University is seeking its next University Registrar. Located in beautiful Bellingham, WA, Western offers a distinctive combination of strong academics, an engaged student community, and a highly collaborative, student-centered environment. Supporting approximately 14,000 FTE students and the degree completion of roughly 3,500 graduates annually, the Registrar plays a critical role across the university. This is a unique opportunity to reestablish and shape the Registrar function, strengthen partnerships with faculty and campus leaders, and lead the office through an important period of transformation.

Western Washington University is committed to achieving excellence through advancing inclusive success, increasing our Washington impact, and focusing on transformational education grounded in the liberal arts and sciences and based on innovative scholarship, research, and creative activity. Western’s greatest strength is the outstanding students, faculty, staff, and alumni/ae who make up its community. Western supports an inclusive governance structure for all and provides a learning and working environment in which everyone can thrive. In pursuit of this excellence, individual employees are expected to establish and maintain productive and effective inclusive working relationships amongst diverse populations including staff, faculty, administration, students, and external constituents.

The Registrar's Office is a key partner within Western Washington University's Division of Enrollment Management, supporting the academic journey of every student from enrollment through graduation. The office oversees the integrity, accuracy, security, and compliance of the university's academic records while providing leadership for registration, degree evaluation and conferral, commencement, transfer credit evaluation, course scheduling, enrollment reporting, residency classification, FERPA compliance, and the administration of the university's student information systems.

As a collaborative campus partner, the Registrar's Office works closely with Academic Affairs, Information Technology, Institutional Effectiveness, faculty, colleges, and student support offices to ensure accurate data governance, support institutional planning and accreditation, and enhance the student experience through continuous process improvement and technology innovation. The department plays a vital role in advancing student success while supporting the university's strategic enrollment and academic priorities.

The Registrar’s Office supports approximately 14,000 FTE students and the degree completion of roughly 3,500 graduates each year, managing four annual registration cycles along with significant scheduling, records, and degree-processing activity. This is a unique opportunity for the next University Registrar to provide dedicated leadership to the office, strengthen its connections across the university, and further integrate the Registrar function with faculty, academic leadership, and the broader campus community.

Reporting to the Vice Provost for Enrollment Management, the University Registrar provides strategic direction for the Registrar’s Office and oversees the integrity, accuracy, security, and regulatory compliance of the university’s academic records. This position provides oversight for all Registrar’s Office functions and the effective administration of the student information system. Responsibilities include registration; student academic records; degree evaluation and conferral; commencement; student certification services; transcripts; athletic eligibility and certification; residency review; transfer credit evaluation; course scheduling; publications, including the schedule of classes, catalog, and university calendar; exam scheduling; scoring services; enrollment reporting and data management; some tuition waiver programs; and residency classification.

The University Registrar serves as a member of the Enrollment Management leadership team and plays a key role in the development, implementation, and assessment of strategic enrollment initiatives while working collaboratively with colleagues across the university to advance student success and institutional priorities. The Registrar is responsible for student records administration, FERPA compliance, institutional certification processes, academic systems administration and data governance, and the development and administration of academic and administrative policies affecting students and courses. Leads and develops a dynamic team by overseeing the recruitment, supervision, professional development, and evaluation of Registrar's Office staff.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree
• Progressive management experience in operational management, preferably in a higher education registrar’s office
• Demonstrated experience with supervising staff
• Experience analyzing and interpreting data to support decision making for leadership

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree or terminal degree
• Prior experience serving as a University Registrar in a public, master’s granting institution
• Demonstrated strong focus on the student experience and student success
• Strong record of successful team building and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Demonstrated professional record of collaboration and partnering with faculty and leadership

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and oversight to all Registrar’s Office functions
• Foster and maintain an environment that promotes diversity, equity, inclusion, access, and belonging
• Supervise, train, manage, evaluate, and develop staff within the office
• Serve on university committees and represent Western on state-wide committees and organizations in support of inter-institutional policies, agreements, and data management and reporting
• Manage the budget of the Registrar’s Office, which includes both funding from the state and from revenue generating sources
• Serves as the institutional steward for student academic data and collaborates with Institutional Effectiveness, Information Technology, Enrollment Management, and Academic Affairs to establish data governance standards, ensure data quality, and support institutional planning, compliance reporting, accreditation, and decision-making.
• Lead continuous process improvement initiatives that enhance operational efficiency, service delivery, data accuracy, compliance, and the student experience.
• Oversee the review and validation of student academic records to ensure their accuracy, integrity, and compliance with university policies and regulatory requirements.
• Establish and maintain effective relationships with faculty and academic partners across campus, collaborating on issues relating to curriculum, university policies, and other areas of Registrar responsibility
• Ensure the accurate awarding of academic credit in accordance with university policy
• Work closely with partners on campus to ensure appropriate security of data and protection of sensitive and personally identifiable information
• Administer all functions relating to confidential student data, including FERPA training and FERPA compliance.
• Issue official transcripts and certifications, ensuring compliance with FERPA
• Advise and consult on academic policies, curriculum data management, and other academic matters on a regular basis, including with colleges and departments, the Provost’s Office, the Graduate School, the Faculty Senate, Academic Coordinating Commission, and the Academic Advising and Student Success Center
• Oversee the collection, validation, analysis, and reporting of student and academic data to support institutional planning, compliance, accreditation, and external reporting requirements.
• Oversee the effective use of systems for student information, document imaging, academic planning and degree progress, course scheduling, university catalog, and other systems
• Devise proactive initiatives, using data and systems, to assist in the overall effort to address challenges in retention and graduation rates, including the achievement gap.
• Lead the strategic evaluation, implementation, optimization, and governance of student information systems, degree audit technologies, curriculum management applications, scheduling systems, transcript services, and related technologies that support academic operations and student success.
• Oversee course scheduling and exam scheduling
• In coordination with the Faculty Senate and the Academic Coordinating Commission, maintain and publish the university catalog
• Coordinate the publishing of the academic calendar and related calendars.
• Other Duties as Assigned

Benefits

• Comprehensive health coverage, including medical, dental, and vision plans
• Retirement benefits through Washington State retirement systems, along with optional supplemental retirement savings plans
• Generous paid time off, including vacation, sick leave, and university holidays
• Tuition benefits for employees
• Professional development opportunities and support for continued learning
• Access to campus recreation facilities, wellness programs, and cultural events
• Family-friendly policies and programs that support work-life balance
• Relocation assistance may be available per University guidelines, and the overall compensation package may include housing and travel assistance.

What This Job Offers

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