Director, Academic Operations

Lone Star College; Houston (TX); Remote; USD 77,000 - 89,000; Full time

Job summary

Lone Star College-Online is seeking a Director of Academic Operations to lead its online academic operations, reporting to the CAIO. The Director oversees scheduling, faculty deployment, budgets, program compliance, and accreditation readiness across online modalities.

Responsibilities include workforce planning, data reporting for accreditation, and developing procedures that support enrollment growth and student success.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and at least 5 years of experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience
• Master's degree and at least 7 years of experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience
• Experienced in faculty load, credentialing, SACSCOC compliance, academic data, governance, THECB approvals, and CBM reporting

Responsibilities

• Oversees master academic schedule across formats (online, accelerated, HyFlex, etc.)
• Analyzes enrollment trends, faculty capacity, and resource needs to optimize sections and deployment
• Leads faculty workforce planning and deployment across LSC-Online
• Recommends staffing strategies and resolves complex operational issues
• Manages accreditation-related reporting and program compliance

Skills

Scheduling systems

LMS administration

Budgeting

Leadership

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree and at least 5 years experience

Master's degree and at least 7 years experience

Job description

Job Title: Director, Academic Operations

Location: LSC-Online

Regular/Temporary: Regular

Full/Part Time: Full-Time

Job ID: 45442

Commitment to Mission

At Lone Star College System, every employee contributes to our mission of providing transformational educational opportunities that help individuals get from where they are to where they want to be. Guided by our vision to lead higher education through high-quality, affordable, and innovative learning opportunities, employees are expected to exemplify professionalism, integrity, accountability, and collaboration.

Through our One LSC Philosophy, we deliver excellent and uniform customer service, providing consistent information, and uniformly helping every student regardless of physical location, modality, college, campus, center, or medium.

This commitment supports Lone Star College System's strategic goals:

1. Opportunity through financial resilience
2. Leading in academic excellence
3. Strength in culture and talent development
4. Connections through bridges of prosperity

Great Colleges to Work For®

Lone Star College System is proud to be recognized as a Great Colleges to Work For® institution by The Chronicle of Higher Education. This recognition reflects our commitment to creating an organizational culture where employees are valued, supported, and empowered.

Campus Marketing Statement

Lone Star College-Online

With 100,000 students and counting, Lone Star College System provides transformational educational opportunities that help individuals get from where they are to where they want to be. The two-year institution is training tomorrow's workforce today, offering more than 200 degrees and certification programs that empower students to take the next step.

Lone Star College System has eight main campuses and more than 20 locations in the Houston area. Learn more at LoneStar.edu.

Lone Star College-Online is the fully online college of Lone Star College System, providing students across Texas with flexible access to high-quality education designed to fit their lives and goals.

Through online degree and certificate pathways, LSC-Online connects students with engaging instruction, dedicated support services, and opportunities to build the knowledge and skills needed to advance their education and careers, all with the flexibility of learning online.

Digital Learning. Accelerated.

LSC-Online is located at 20515 SH 249, Houston, Texas 77070. Online course enrollment is currently available to students living in Texas. Applicants for employee programs must reside in Texas.

Job Description

PURPOSE AND SCOPE:

The Director of Academic Operations is a senior leader responsible for managing and improving LSC-Online's academic operations. Reporting to the Chief Academic & Innovation Officer (CAIO), the Director supervises assigned professional staff and provides operational leadership for faculty and academic personnel. The Director oversees academic scheduling, faculty deployment, budgets and resource allocation, academic calendars, course development and readiness, and program and accreditation compliance. The position exercises independent judgment in managing employees and resources, resolving complex operational issues, recommending expenditures, and developing procedures that support enrollment growth, student success, and fiscal stewardship.

As a member of the academic leadership team, the Director translates strategic priorities into effective, accountable operational practices and acts on behalf of the CAIO on designated matters. The Director also leads quality efforts, including course templates, co-designed courses, and course readiness processes, and supports compliance with LSC policies and procedures, THECB requirements, and applicable federal and state accreditation and regulatory standards.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

1. Provides leadership and final operational oversight for development and execution of the LSC-Online master academic schedule across standard, accelerated, Velocity, CBE, HyFlex, and other instructional formats
2. Analyzes enrollment trends, student demand, faculty capacity, instructional costs, and program requirements to determine appropriate section offerings and deployment of instructional resources. Exercise delegated authority to recommend or implement section additions, cancellations, consolidations, faculty reassignments, and other operational adjustments. Develops multi-term scheduling strategies designed to improve enrollment efficiency, student progression, credential completion, and effective utilization of instructional resources. Establishes scheduling standards, timelines, procedures, and accountability measures for academic departments
3. Provides operational leadership for faculty workforce planning and deployment across LSC-Online, including faculty assignments, teaching loads, workload analysis, staffing projections, credential compliance, onboarding, and instructional capacity planning
4. Evaluates faculty staffing needs based on enrollment forecasts, course demand, program growth, and instructional requirements and recommends full-time and adjunct staffing strategies to the CAIO. Resolves complex faculty operational issues involving assignments, workload, scheduling, course delivery, and related academic processes, escalating matters to the CAIO when appropriate
5. Oversees the collection, organization, and reporting of institutional data required for SACSCOC accreditation compliance, THECB program approval submissions, and annual Higher Education Act reporting. Maintains program inventory records, course attribute data, and curriculum compliance documentation across all LSC-Online academic offerings
6. Coordinates with the CAIO and system-level academic affairs on program review cycles, new program submissions, and course modification approvals through the THECB and LSCS curriculum committee processes
7. Develops and maintains internal academic operations dashboards and reports that provide the CAIO and President with real-time visibility into scheduling, compliance, and faculty deployment metrics
8. Directly supervises assigned professional staff, including faculty support and instructional designers. Establishes performance expectations, assigns and prioritizes work, monitors performance, provides coaching and feedback, conducts performance evaluations, and addresses performance or employee relations concerns in consultation with the CAIO and Human Resources. Participates in recruitment, interviewing, selection, onboarding, professional development, retention, and succession planning for assigned employees. Develop team goals, workflows, service expectations, and accountability measures aligned with LSC-Online and institutional priorities
9. Provides operational leadership (dotted line reporting) to employees supporting academic operations
10. Assess staffing capacity and recommends organizational, staffing, workload, and resource changes necessary to support enrollment growth and new academic initiatives
11. Fosters collaboration, professional development, accountability, and a strong sense of community among academic operations employees

12. Develops, manages, monitors, and reconciles academic operations budgets and annual resource projections based on enrollment, staffing, instructional demand, and strategic priorities. Monitors and approves expenditures within delegated authority, recommends reallocations, and ensures compliance with LSC's fiscal and purchasing policies. Conducts financial and operational analyses to support resource planning

13. Develops, implements, evaluates, and continuously improves academic operational procedures, workflows, internal controls, and service standards. Identifies operational risks and systemic issues affecting academic quality, compliance, faculty effectiveness, student experience, or institutional resources and develops corrective strategies. Leads cross-functional initiatives to improve efficiency, scalability, accountability, and consistency across LSC-Online academic operations

14. Interprets institutional policies and regulatory requirements and translates them into operational procedures for academic departments and employees. Serves as an escalation point for complex academic operational issues requiring cross-departmental resolution

15. Responsible for other reasonable, related duties as assigned

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

• Extensive knowledge of higher education and academic operations, including scheduling systems, LMS administration, course catalogs, and complex scheduling across online, hybrid, accelerated, and HyFlex modalities
• Expertise in employee supervision, performance management, budgeting, resource allocation, operational planning, process improvement, and change management
• Ability to effectively exercise independent judgment to manage staff, establish priorities, oversee budgets, analyze financial and operational data, resolve complex issues, and make recommendations with organizational, financial, academic, and strategic impact
• Strong leadership and communication skills with ability to manage competing priorities

PHYSICAL ABILITIES:

The work is sedentary. Typically, the employee sits comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking; standing; bending; carrying of light items, such as papers, books, or small parts; or driving an automobile. No special physical demands are required to perform the work.

WORK SCHEDULE AND CONDITIONS:

• Equipment used includes, PC workstation running on a LAN in a Microsoft Windows environment, calculator, phone, and other general office equipment
• Interface with internal and external contacts as needed to carry out the functions of the position
• Work is performed in a climate-controlled office with minimal exposure to safety hazards
• Bachelor's degree and at least 5 years of experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree and at least 5 years of experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master's degree and at least 7 years of experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience
• Experienced in faculty load, credentialing, SACSCOC compliance, academic data, governance, THECB approvals, and CBM reporting

Salary

Hiring salary range is $77,356 - $88,960

Lone Star College provides a hiring salary range for all posted full-time non-faculty positions. Where your salary offer would fall in that range is determined by your related experience and education. Should you receive an offer of employment from Lone Star College, the resume submitted in the application process will be utilized to calculate your salary offer. The information outlined below will provide the Office of Human Resources everything needed to determine an accurate starting salary.

Your resume should provide a complete picture of your work experience. The resume should include the following information for each position listed:

1. Length of time (specific months and years) of employment
2. If the position was full time or part time
3. If the position was paid or unpaid
4. Level of degree completed including date earned.
5. Unofficial transcript for highest earned degree

Additionally, any certifications listed as required or preferred in the Lone Star College job description should be included in the resume submitted.

Benefits Marketing Statement

By joining our top-notch institution, you will enjoy being a part of an organization that offers a supportive, collegial work environment and excellent work/life balance. This includes a full comprehensive and competitive benefits package, a generous number of paid holidays and vacation days, wellness programs, tuition waiver, professional development opportunities and more.

Lone Star College is an EEO Employer. All positions are subject to a criminal background check.