DESCRIPTION

The mission of the Teaching + Learning Commons (the Commons) is to advance student success through teaching excellence and comprehensive academic student support; to be an incubator for student academic success innovations; to increase access to education on campus and beyond; and to advance equity and inclusion within the organization and through its programs and services. The Commons’ work encompasses four areas: instructor support to advance teaching excellence; undergraduate and graduate student support to advance student success at UC San Diego and beyond; intellectual and professional development of graduate and undergraduate students, including Commons’ student employees; and equity and inclusion for all UC San Diego students, staff, and educators.

The Commons is committed to recruiting, advancing, and supporting a diverse team that will contribute to our mission by working effectively with individuals of diverse backgrounds, actively promoting equity and inclusion within the organization and through our programs and services, and is dedicated to continuous learning.

The Commons’ Assessment team provides leadership, guidance, and resources to help the Commons and campus partners, including the Division of Undergraduate Education, Education Innovation, IR, Student Affairs, Graduate Division, and EDI, promote a culture of assessment, and support the university’s continuous educational improvement efforts. Our goals are to improve the learning experiences for students through equitable and actionable assessment of interventions and ongoing improvements of student learning experiences with the goals of (1) closing equity gaps (2) improving the learning outcomes and learning environments for online and traditional learners, (3) helping better identify students in need of support, and (4) tailoring learning experiences.

Under the general direction of the Faculty Director of the Teaching and Learning Commons, and in collaboration with leadership of Institutional Research and campus assessment professionals, the Director of Assessment and Educational Research assumes leadership and functional responsibility for the planning, development, implementation, and evaluation of a comprehensive program review on student learning and outcomes for UC San Diego's student population. The incumbent works closely and collaboratively with administrative and academic units to collect relevant data, from both local and external sources. The Director establishes and prioritizes short- and long-range goals for program implementation, growth and assessment. The Director is responsible for completing management level assignments including data collection, analysis, interpretation, and reporting; works closely with administrative and academic units to collect and analyze outcomes data. The incumbent consults with administrative units in measuring and analyzing performance outcomes, designs, measures and collects data to assess campus-wide goals and objectives on student learning and teaching effectiveness.

The Director manages strategic planning and implementation of an integrated plan for the development of equity-focused, data-informed academic program reviews seeking to identify needs by analyzing complex data sets, collaborate in building working theories to improve student learning and academic success and developing data-driven interventions. Working in concert with the university’s schools, colleges, departments, and programs, the Director leads the assessment of student learning for the university. The Director provides evidence on the evaluation of measuring the impact of university educational initiatives on student learning and academic success to inform programming decisions and guide educational data mining and learning analytics to extract meaningful and actionable insights about learners and UC San Diego learning environments. Analyses include producing descriptive results and developing sophisticated statistical models to predict outcomes (e.g., linear regression with fixed effects, multilevel modeling, event history analysis, survival analysis).

The Director measures and analyzes performance outcomes to assess progress toward institutional goals and objectives as they correlate to student academic progress and teaching effectiveness. The director participates in research studies related to these pedagogical areas to inform the creation of policy and strategic planning. The incumbent supports new initiatives to create and maintain robust accountability systems including the development of assessment tools for academic progress and the campus systems and methods to support them. The director serves as a resource to the campus community (students, faculty, and administrators) in areas requiring technical expertise and knowledge related to the interpretation and review of teaching and learning assessment data. Responsibilities encompass a broad array of functions that draw on technical training and experience in statistical analysis, research and evaluation methodology, pedagogy, and educational policy.

The Director oversees a comprehensive assessment function essential to monitoring and reporting on academic program effectiveness for the faculty-facing and student-facing services offered by the Commons, including design of instruments and protocols (qualitative and quantitative), data collection, analysis, and reporting. The Director oversees a comprehensive assessment function essential to monitoring, evaluating, and impact reporting on program and unit effectiveness by synthesizing and summarizing complex information in formats appropriate for various audiences. The Director researches current issues and trends on teaching and learning assessment to inform decision-making. The incumbent synthesizes and summarizes complex information in formats appropriate for various audiences. The Director operates with a high level of autonomy, exercising independent judgment to perform assigned duties and solve problems.

The Director also has operational responsibilities for the Commons’ Assessment team, including hiring, training, coaching, mentoring, supervising, and coordinating the efforts of Assessment staff employees.

• Occasional evenings and weekends may be required. Must be willing and able to travel to conferences.

• Submission of a cover letter along with a resume is required for a complete application.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Demonstrated experience in researching, writing and discussing institutional research reports for campus wide constituencies, including definition of issues and/or problems, quantitative results of statistical analyses, and communications to academic and administrative management. Knowledge of institutional research and project management skills.

• Demonstrated knowledge and experience in data management computer applications, query tools (e.g., SQL) and relational databases in order to extract data from existing systems and restructure data in a manner that allows for robust analysis and information. Knowledge of organizational and system protocols and procedures.

• Demonstrated ability to utilize advanced level statistical knowledge (SPSS/SAS/STATA software, methodologies, and theory) in order to analyze complex and diverse computer-generated data to aid in strategic planning and dissemination of information.

• Able to access information through data warehouses and provide quantitative analysis. Training in qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, with demonstrated experience in program evaluation, applied research methods (e.g., analysis of survey data, longitudinal analysis) and outcomes assessment.

• Able to effectively communicate, both verbally and in writing, complex and technical information in a clear and concise manner. Strong writing skills and ability to organize ideas, data, and meaning to communicate clearly to a wide range of personnel. Skill in writing logical, grammatically correct analytical reports, correspondence, training materials, and procedures, which clearly articulate ideas and meaning.

• A commitment to equity and ensuring the success of historically underrepresented groups in higher education.

• Position requires strong inter-personal skills and ability to work effectively across the organization at all levels. Strong ability to communicate effectively one-on-one and before large and small audiences, considering differences in social, cultural, professional and educational backgrounds.

• Demonstrated skills to organize workload priorities and manage multiple projects simultaneously in a fast-paced environment; ability to be flexible to respond to unexpected job demands and changes in priorities.

• Demonstrated ability to take initiative in developing, independently planning, organizing, researching, and writing special studies and projects.

• Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with staff, faculty, administrators and representatives from other educational institutions and agencies.

SPECIAL CONDITIONS

• Job offer is contingent upon satisfactory clearance based on Background Check results.

• Duties may require direct contact and/or supervision of children (defined as individuals under the age of 18); completion of the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA) form will be required.