Associate Director, Curriculum, Assessment & Accreditation

Overview

Who We Are:

National Louis is a 135+ year old university that has been grounded in the values of innovation, access, excellence, and equity from its inception. As an institution, we believe in providing access to educational opportunity and that education is our greatest lever for social and economic mobility. We are a student-focused community that is committed to continuous improvement and superior student service. We believe that through education we are able to empower change and build healthy communities. Our hard-working community is based on collaboration and respect for all team members and students.

What We Offer:

At National Louis University, we offer our employees an innovative environment to work together and inspire the ideas that will make an impact. As our external environment changes, our employees are provided the opportunities and tools needed to grow both personally and professionally to remain successful. NLU employees and dependents are offered a wide range of benefits, including but not limited to, Health Insurance benefits, Retirement benefits, Paid Time Off and Educational Benefits.

Job Summary

The Associate Director of Curriculum, Assessment and Accreditation serves as the department leader for curricular and assessment integrity, leading the department-wide assessment plan and ensuring successful regulatory compliance and satisfactory cycles of continuous improvement. The Associate Director is responsible for all matters related to CAEP Accreditation as well as supporting regulatory and curricular compliance related to licensure programs within the department (supporting the Licensure Officer in tracking and reporting on student progress toward goals within the Licensure majors). This role oversees the assessment plan for the department and leads the UGC Ed. Prep. Curriculum and Assessment Committee, ensuring that departmental goals related to curriculum and assessment are monitored closely and met with fidelity annually, as designed within the department's annual program and strategic plans. This position maintains responsibility for representing UG ED Prep. within the National College of Education (NCE) curriculum and assessment committee as well as CAEP working groups. Additionally, this position closely collaborates with the NCE Director of Accreditation as well as university accreditation staff, in an effort to ensure UG ED Prep. programming is compliant and representative of the caliber of quality expected internally and externally. As such, the Associate Director completes and maintains quality curriculum and assessment certifications (as deemed necessary by the university/college). This role is a key member of the leadership team for the department, and as such, is expected to represent the department internally and externally as needed, collaborating with stakeholders accordingly.

Essential Responsibilities

CAEP Accreditation/Regulatory Compliance:

• Attends NCE meetings as needed to align CAEP and SPA submissions as well as the NCE Curriculum and Assessment committee, representing UG ED Prep. and also ensuring alignment.

• Is responsible for all submissions to all accreditation bodies, as required by departmental/college leadership. Creates plans, deadlines and templates for submissions and works with faculty, chairs and staff across the department to ensure UG submissions are timely and complete.

• Leads all reliability and validity work for CAEP (and other regulatory-required) assessments, collaborating with data analysts, making recommendations for continuous improvement to appropriate faculty and department leadership as necessary.

• Leads and ensures the completion of full curriculum alignment to CAEP (and other regulatory - i.e. ISBE, ISTE, NAEYC, INCCRRA, HLC, NCTM, NCTE, etc.) standards across all licensure majors and subsequent endorsement courses.

• Works closely with the Office of Field Experience and UG ED Prep. Teacher Development Coaching team to ensure all CAEP accreditation requirements as related to field experiences are met across the department.

• Coordinates Specialized Professional Associations (SPAs) submissions across the department, liaising with NCE to ensure timeliness and appropriate templates are used.

• Writes portions of and coordinates the submission of narrative components for self-study report(s) for CAEP and other regulatory bodies.

• Works closely with the Department Licensure Officer to enact policies related to ISBE licensure and CAEP and supports the collection of materials for audits and various reports.

Program Assessment:

• Ensures assessments are completed with fidelity across the department.

• Identifies when signature and key assessments are not completed and works with Sr. Directors, Chairs and faculty to problem solve and ensure completion.

• Ensures data from program assessments is aggregated, reported and analyzed regularly (at least twice yearly-in collaboration with department assigned data analysts)--especially in regard to our priority areas (race/ethnicity, first gen. and Pell status).

• Identifies concerns with assessment in our priority areas and reports to Sr. Director(s), who addresses appropriate chairs, faculty and staff.

• Provides regular updates to course managers on assessments in courses, particularly those aligned with annual reporting and CAEP.

• Works with the Senior Director to hold quarterly data retreats with faculty and department leadership in an effort to engage in continuous improvement.

Curricular Integrity:

• Serves as a central leader in the department to ensure curricular integrity, quality and rigor, particularly as related to regulatory requirements and standard/competency alignment(s).

• Supports department leadership and faculty with mapping and increasing CRTL alignment/implementation across the program.

• Is a key contributor to the NCE Curriculum and Assessment Committee, regularly attending meetings and representing UG ED Prep.

• Leads the UG ED Prep. Curriculum and Assessment Committee. Convenes and leads all committee meetings, soliciting feedback from department leadership and faculty as needed. Monitors and guides progress toward curriculum goals for the department through the committee.

• Oversees the department curriculum and revision agenda for each academic year, coordinating budget submissions and ensuring catalog information sheets, syllabi and other related course materials are current and submitted for approvals according to university published guidelines and timelines.

• Tracks pertinent data that can be used to inform curricular concerns (i.e. courses with high D/W/F rates, course assessments with lower than average success rates, or content test sub-areas with lower than average passage rates), sharing data with department leadership to inform decision making related to curriculum across the department.

Annual Reporting:

• Coordinates UG Ed Prep. submissions for the Annual Report process, supervising Chairs in the analysis of their program data and the development of departmental and individual major's goals.

• Convenes working teams to complete annual reports and associated presentations.

• Supports continuous improvement based on annual reporting (findings, goals, etc.), making recommendations to department leadership about goals, particularly those related to curriculum, assessment and accreditation.

• Ensures ongoing monitoring of annual report/department goals by collecting and disseminating data on annual report goals quarterly, reporting to stakeholders on progress.

• Review and update departmental assessment plan(s) each spring so that data pulled for annual reports in fall is accurate. Work closely with faculty and chairs to ensure the plan is accurate. Liaise with data analytics to make updates to plan as needed.

Other duties as assigned

Qualifications

• Master's Degree in Curriculum and Instruction, or related field. Advanced training/certification in accreditation preferred.

• Three to five (3-5) years demonstrated experience developing curriculum and measuring its' effectiveness.

• Three to five (3-5) years demonstrated experience designing formative and summative assessment, aligned to state or national standards and/or competencies.

• One to three (1-3) years working knowledge of CAEP Accreditation, including the self-study process and stages of initial accreditation and re accreditation.

• One to three (1-3) years leading teams to enact a project and/or execute the deliverables needed to achieve a shared goal (i.e. accreditation).

• One to two (1-2) writing technical reports and/or SMART goals that are aligned to a team project.

• One to two (1-2) experience working in a fast-paced, diverse higher education environment, particularly one that serves underrepresented students.

• Curriculum Development: Ability to design, develop, and implement curriculum aligned with institutional goals, educational standards, and industry requirements.

• Assessment Methodologies: Proficient in designing assessment strategies, including formative and summative assessment methods, to measure student learning outcomes and program effectiveness.

• Accreditation Standards: Deep understanding of accreditation processes, standards, and requirements set forth by relevant accrediting bodies, such as regional accrediting agencies or specialized programmatic accreditors.

• Data Analysis: Strong analytical skills to collect, interpret, and analyze educational data, assessment results, and program evaluations to inform curriculum improvements and accreditation compliance.

• Quality Assurance: Skill in establishing quality assurance mechanisms and processes to ensure continuous improvement in curriculum design, assessment practices, and accreditation readiness.

• Strategic Planning: Strategic vision and planning skills to align curriculum goals, assessment priorities, and accreditation efforts with institutional strategic objectives and long-term priorities.

Work environment/Physical Demands/Travel Requirements:

This is a fully remote position, but requires some travel to Chicago 2-3 times per year. There is an expectation to attend/lead virtual meetings daily.

NLU Inclusion Statement:

National Louis University is deeply committed to serving its community, advancing access and equity, and ensuring that all individuals are welcomed and valued. We are dedicated to fostering a culture where diversity, equity, and inclusion remain at the core of who we are. These are more than just words to us: they are truly a way of life for the NLU community. We recognize that differences in abilities, age, ethnicity, gender (identity and expression), race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, and background bring richness to our work environment. We affirm diverse perspectives, innovative contributions, and authentic presentations of self from every member within the NLU community. We believe inclusion is grounded in the actions we intentionally take each day. Our goal is to inspire and empower NLU employees and community members to cultivate an environment where we collectively focus on uplifting and advancing our institutional culture.

Special Instructions

Special InstructionsPlease Include the following along with your application: - Resume (Required) - Cover Letter (Optional) NLU Employees please also submit an Internal Posting Form