The Assistant Director of Accreditation and Compliance in the Office for Planning and Institutional Effectiveness (PIE) at Vanderbilt University provides operational leadership to support Vanderbilt's engagement with its regional accrediting agency, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), and with state and federal agencies charged with oversight of higher education.

The Assistant Director is part of the Office for Planning and Institutional Effectiveness (PIE) team. The Assistant Director is line managed by the Director of Institutional Research & Analysis but also works directly with the Assistant Provost and Executive Director of PIE, who is also the SACSCOC Institutional Liaison. They work closely with the PIE team, with faculty leadership in the Provost's Office and in the schools and colleges, and with other administrative units.

The Office for Planning and Institutional Effectiveness (PIE) partners with leaders in Academic Affairs and beyond to support decision-making, planning, and actions based on high-quality and relevant data, information, and analysis. The Office includes Partnering, Institutional Research & Analysis, Assessment & Accreditation, and Data Governance & Solutions.

Duties and Responsibilities
The Assistant Director provides operational leadership to support Vanderbilt's engagement with institutional accreditation and academic regulatory processes. They know the requirements of SACSCOC and key state and federal agencies with oversight of higher education and help academic leadership demonstrate compliance. They develop and implement systems and processes that ensure that Vanderbilt can remain compliant while minimizing the bureaucratic burden of these processes. The Assistant Director works with the Assistant Provost and the Director of IR&A to align compliance processes with Vanderbilt's strategic priorities and objectives.

Provide operational leadership to support Vanderbilt's engagement with SACSCOC.

• Working closely with the SACSCOC Institutional Liaison, develop systems and processes that support Vanderbilt's compliance with the SACSCOC Principles of Accreditation.
• Enhance existing systems and processes to ensure they align with Vanderbilt's strategic priorities, technical facilities, and operational needs, working with faculty leadership and key administrative partners to streamline and simplify procedures as much as possible.
• Support the work of the accreditation leads in Vanderbilt's ten academic schools and colleges, ensuring effective communication and supporting them to submit timely and compliant documentation.
• Serve as the point of contact for regulatory and policy requirements for the accreditation leads in Vanderbilt's schools and colleges, working alongside them in (e.g.) the development of new programs to ensure that processes run smoothly.

Coordinate institutional reporting and data collection to comply with federal and state requirements and other ad hoc institutional submissions of data.

• Coordinate the submission of data to the Department of Educations in compliance with IPEDS requirements, working closely with the Director of Institutional Research & Analysis, the Associate Director of Data Governance & Solutions, and other administrative units at Vanderbilt as required.
• Coordinate the submission of data to the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC).
• Coordinate the submission of data to the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA).
• Coordinate other ad hoc data requests as required by the Assistant Provost.

Working with the Assistant Provost, relevant Vice Provosts, and key staff partners such as the University Registrar, contribute to the development of academic policies and procedures.

• Remain abreast of requirements from SACSCOC and state and federal regulatory agencies and consider and flag to relevant parties the implications of any changes.
• Work with the relevant parties to develop revised policies that remain compliant.
• Manage the process of compiling formal reports and documentation to SACSCOC, working with the SACSCOC Liaison and faculty leadership.
• Support the submission of substantive change documentation.
• Coordinate the compilation of reporting to SACSCOC, including the Five Year Review documentation, the Quality Enhancement Project, and the SACSCOC Reaffirmation Review.
• Manage any site visits, working with the Provost's Office and other academic leadership.

Support Vanderbilt's ongoing efforts to enhance equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI).

• Strive for representative working groups and committees involved in accreditation and compliance activity.
• Work with PIE and academic leadership to ensure new policies take into account EDI priorities as much as possible.
• Make data available with EDI splits when appropriate / possible.

Manage website communications around accreditation and ensure publicly available documentation complies with SACSCOC and state and federal requirements.

• Maintain web-based resources around accreditation for Vanderbilt users, and monitor school and program webpages where accreditation-relevant material, such as student achievement information, is timely, complete, and accurate to ensure compliance.

Provide training and internal communications about accreditation and compliance.

• Brief and train faculty , administrators, and staff, as part of supporting a culture of assessment.
• Develop a communications strategy for assessment outcomes to ensure awareness among appropriate leaders of the messages and information generated by assessment activity.

Remain abreast of developments in accreditation and compliance.

• Represent Vanderbilt at external meetings, conferences, and venues. # Remain abreast of developments in higher education and institutional research and use external networks to inform Vanderbilt decision-making.
• Manage staff and student workers as appropriate.
• Expectations in this space may vary over time based on staffing size/shape, but management responsibilities will likely include at least one student worker.

Qualifications

• A master's degree in social sciences, with training in quantitative and qualitative research methodologies is necessary.
• A doctorate is preferred.
• Experience with higher education accreditation is necessary. Experience with SACSCOC accreditation is strongly preferred.
• Experience in using quantitative techniques in an assessment context is necessary.
• Experience with writing reports and formal submissions is necessary.
• A proven track record with project managing complex processes is necessary.
• A proven track record of working in a complex institution with competing stakeholders is necessary.
• Experience working with academic and professional leaders in a higher education setting is necessary. Experience in a research-intensive institution is preferred.
• Commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion in a higher educational setting is necessary.
• The willingness and ability to represent Vanderbilt nationally through participation in consortium and other professional associations in a professional and positive manner is necessary.
• Experience delivering training and communicating complex matters to groups is preferred.
• Experience in managing professional staff is preferred.
• Experience in designing, administering, and analyzing quantitative/qualitative research tools, including surveys, is preferred.
• Experience drafting institutional policy is preferred.

Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion