DIRECTOR OR RESEACH & ACCREDITATION

Socket.dev; Tennessee; On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

American Baptist College seeks a Director of Research and Accreditation to lead institutional assessment, coordinate accreditation activities, and promote evidence-based decision making across academic programs and campus units. The role emphasizes data integrity and collaboration with faculty, staff, and committees to support student success and strategic planning.

The position requires extensive experience in higher education assessment and accreditation, with a preference for a doctoral

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Educational Leadership, Educational Assessment, Organizational Effectiveness, or related field is required; Doctoral degree preferred.
• Minimum ten years in higher education assessment, institutional effectiveness, or accreditation.
• Demonstrated knowledge of student learning outcomes assessment and continuous improvement processes.
• Experience supporting accreditation activities and preparing reports and documentation.
• Strong quantitative and qualitative research, analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to present assessment data to diverse stakeholders with clarity.
• Proficient with Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate the College's comprehensive assessment program across academic and administrative units.
• Develop measurable outcomes, assessment plans, KPIs, and improvement strategies.
• Monitor assessment cycles and ensure timely data collection, analysis, and reporting.
• Maintain assessment calendars, schedules, and deadlines for reporting.
• Support institutional effectiveness initiatives and continuous improvement efforts.
• Collaborate with faculty and leaders to assess student learning outcomes at multiple levels.
• Ensure accreditation readiness and compliant documentation for reviews.

Skills

Assessment expertise

Data analysis

Educational research

Stakeholder communication

Project management

Excel proficiency

Policy knowledge

Education

Master's in Educational Leadership

Doctoral degree preferred

Tools

Xitracs

Watermark

CAMS

MS Office

Job description

Director of Research and Accreditation

Reports to: Vice President for Academic Affairs

The Director of Research and Accreditation provides leadership and coordination for institutional and academic assessment activities at American Baptist College. The Director supports a culture of evidence-based decision-making and continuous improvement by overseeing assessment planning, data collection, analysis, reporting, and use of assessment findings across academic programs, student learning outcomes, co-curricular initiatives, and institutional effectiveness processes. This position collaborates with faculty, staff, administrators, and committees to ensure that assessment activities support student success, academic excellence, strategic planning, accreditation compliance, and the College’s mission.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Assessment and Institutional Effectiveness

• Coordinate the College's comprehensive assessment program, including academic, administrative, and student support unit assessment activities.
• Assist academic programs and administrative units in developing measurable outcomes, assessment plans, key performance indicators, and improvement strategies.
• Monitor assessment cycles and ensure timely collection, analysis, and reporting of assessment data.
• Maintain assessment calendars, schedules, and reporting deadlines.
• Support institutional effectiveness initiatives and continuous improvement efforts across the College.

Student Learning Outcomes Assessment

• Collaborate with faculty and academic leaders to assess student learning outcomes at the course, program, and institutional levels.
• Assist academic programs in developing assessment instruments, rubrics, and evaluation methodologies.
• Analyze assessment findings and prepare reports that support curricular improvement and student achievement.
• Facilitate the documentation of program modifications and improvements resulting from assessment findings.

Accreditation and Compliance

• Support institutional and programmatic accreditation activities, including preparation for reaffirmation reviews, annual reporting, and compliance monitoring.
• Maintain assessment documentation and evidence required for accreditation and regulatory compliance.
• Assist in preparing accreditation reports, narratives, and supporting documentation.
• Ensure the accuracy, consistency, and integrity of data used in accreditation and assessment reporting.

Data Analysis and Reporting

• Collect, organize, analyze, and interpret institutional data related to student learning, retention, persistence, graduation, enrollment, and other key performance indicators.
• Develop reports, dashboards, presentations, and summaries for faculty, administrators, committees, and governing boards.
• Maintain databases and assessment management systems used to support institutional effectiveness.
• Provide data-informed recommendations to support planning and decision-making.

Training and Consultation

• Provide assessment training, consultation, and technical assistance to faculty and staff.
• Conduct workshops and professional development programs related to assessment best practices and outcomes assessment.
• Serve as a resource for faculty and staff engaged in assessment planning and implementation.
• Promote assessment literacy and a culture of evidence-based improvement throughout the College.

Committee and Strategic Planning Support

• Provide support to assessment, accreditation, institutional effectiveness, and strategic planning committees.
• Assist with strategic plan assessment, benchmarking, and institutional performance monitoring.
• Participate in institutional planning initiatives and special projects as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Master's degree in Educational Leadership, Educational Assessment, Organizational Effectiveness, or a closely related discipline from an accredited institution; Doctoral degree preferred.
• Minimum of ten (10) years of professional experience in higher education assessment, institutional effectiveness, accreditation, institutional research, quality assurance, or a related field.
• Demonstrated knowledge of student learning outcomes assessment, program review, institutional effectiveness, and continuous improvement processes.
• Experience supporting accreditation and compliance activities, including the preparation of reports, evidence, and documentation.
• Strong quantitative and qualitative research, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Experience collecting, analyzing, and presenting assessment and institutional data to diverse stakeholders.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.

Preferred Qualifications

• Ten (10) years of work experience in a faith-based institution, Historically Black College or University (HBCU), or liberal arts college, as a professor and/or academic leader.
• Demonstrated experience working with assessment and accreditation management systems, including Xitracs, Watermark, or comparable assessment software.
• Experience developing, managing, and analyzing assessment data within assessment management platforms.
• Familiarity with learning management systems, enterprise resource planning systems, and data visualization tools.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Knowledge of assessment theory, student learning outcomes assessment, institutional effectiveness, strategic planning, and continuous improvement practices.
• Knowledge of accreditation principles, standards, and reporting requirements applicable to higher education institutions.
• Proficiency in the use of assessment and accreditation management systems, including Xitracs, Watermark, or comparable assessment software, to support assessment planning, data collection, analysis, reporting, accreditation, and institutional effectiveness activities.
• Ability to manage assessment processes and documentation within assessment software platforms and generate reports for academic and administrative stakeholders.
• Ability to collect, analyze, interpret, and communicate complex quantitative and qualitative data in support of decision-making and institutional improvement.
• Demonstrated ability to train and support faculty and staff in assessment methodologies, outcomes assessment, assessment software applications, and evidence-based decision-making.
• Strong project management, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written, verbal, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively with faculty, staff, administrators, students, and external stakeholders.
• Demonstrated commitment to data integrity, confidentiality, accuracy, and ethical research practices.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and contribute effectively to institutional goals and strategic initiatives.

Mission Alignment

The Director is expected to support and advance the mission, vision, and values of American Baptist College. The successful candidate will demonstrate a commitment to academic excellence, student success, social justice, faith-informed service, and the preparation of leaders who transform communities through learning, leadership, and service.

Performance Evaluation Criteria

• Quality and timeliness of assessment reports and analyses.
• Compliance with assessment, accreditation, and reporting deadlines.
• Effectiveness of support provided to academic and administrative units.
• Accuracy and usefulness of institutional data and assessment findings.
• Contributions to institutional effectiveness, strategic planning, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Collaboration and service to the College community.

Key Performance Outcomes Include:

• Work with the Division of Academic Affairs to ensure existing data management systems (e.g., CAMS) are optimized to collect and able to report raw data required to support enrollment, academic and student success key performance indicators essential for institutional assessment, improvement, and accreditation.
• Work with the executive administration (Senior Management Team), to select, synthesize, and report sub-sets of key performance indicators shared across divisions to facilitate communication and leadership learning with a campus-wide lens.
• Develop, deploy, and train Operations staff and Administrators on the use of dashboards for each of those respective divisions.
• Develop, deploy, and train the Academic Affairs leadership team monitoring and assessing division effectiveness, regulatory compliance, and accreditation alignment.
• Conduct campus-wide workshops on fundamentals and applications of function-specific learning questions designed to engage systemic actors and produce right-fit evaluation plans.
• Produce and publish an annual learning, measurement, evaluation and accountability report for use within and beyond the American Baptist College community.
• Advise the Committee for Faculty and Curricular Assessment (CFCA) and faculty chairs for academic programs to develop courses designed to provide ABC students with instruction in areas of data studies in which Black Americans are underrepresented.