Director of Academic Success at Vanderbilt

Director of Academic Success - Vanderbilt

 

The Director of Academic Success is the primary leader for the Law School's Academic Success Program (ASP) which supports students in order to improve and enhance their legal education. The program stresses individual accountability, professionalism, and self-confidence. ASP offers one-on-one coaching, on-demand content, small group workshops and large group talks to our students. Faculty may refer to ASP, students who would benefit from additional help with skills and strategies related to law school success. Time management, stress and burnout, course work consolidation, exam writing, and effective exam review are the most common issues on which ASP works with and supports students. ASP is a support service offered through the Office of Student Affairs. The Director of Academic Success must keep current on developments in the fields of legal academic support, continue to evolve and improve upon ASP, as appropriate, to meet the needs of Vanderbilt law students.

 

The Office of Student Affairs facilitates learning and support the success and well-being of every student by developing a culture of accountability, responsibility, inclusion, and respect to promote a culture of inclusive engagement through opportunities to explore our differences and each student’s unique story. The Office of Student Affairs acts as the adviser to the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Council. We work collaboratively with students to build a community that encourages respect, tolerance, and appreciation of individual differences. Our office works closely with the Vanderbilt Office of Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action, and Disability Services Department to provide reasonable accommodations for students. The Office of Student Affairs is the place students come if they are struggling and need support during their time at Vanderbilt Law School. The Office of Student Affairs runs Orientation at Vanderbilt Law School, which includes a mix of optional and mandatory sessions focusing on success outside of the classroom.  

 

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Design and implement programming to meet the needs and enhance the education of students.
• Establish and implement short- and long-range goals, objectives, policies, and operating procedures; monitor and evaluate operational effectiveness and affect changes required for improvement.
• Support efforts to increase student well-being, access, retention and graduation rates.
• Help students diagnose individual strengths and weaknesses, giving them the tools to tackle their own obstacles and meet personal goals with on-paper achievement.
• Provide one-on-one coaching to law students to students on an opt-in basis.
• Identify students, each semester, who will be expressly offered one-one based on student performance and other qualitative criteria which demonstrates need for support.
• Provide workshops on academic skills & professional development including:
  • Orientation sessions on law school habit formation, critical reading, time management, class prep for LL.M. students, or, as needed and appropriate, new or augmented content as agreed upon by the Director, Office of Student Affairs and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs;
  • Class preparation, including note taking and case briefing;
  • Outlining for LL.M.s (mandatory);
  • Outlining (for all law students);
  • Law school exam including issue spotting and written analysis;
  • Exam review.
• Create, update and disseminate on-demand content.
• Build relationships with faculty and student group leaders in order to increase use and visibility of ASP, and to continually improve ASP’s offerings in accordance with evolving school and student academic support needs.
• Manage final exam process and scheduling for students with ADA exam accommodations, and proctor.

Supervisory Relationships:

• This position does not have any supervisory responsibility and reports administratively and functionally to the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs.

Qualifications:

• A Juris Doctor (J.D.) is necessary.
• At least 4 years of experience directly related to the duties and responsibilities specified, or equivalent experience in translatable work is necessary.
• Experience providing student-centered vision and leadership within a higher education setting; knowledge of strategic planning and research needed to support student success is necessary.
• Ability to communicate effectively in written and oral forms is necessary.
• Knowledge of academic culture, policies, and procedures is necessary.
• Knowledge of student support services is necessary.
• Ability to exhibit a positive attitude and to collaborate with coworkers, students, faculty and staff tactfully and courteously in order to maintain effective service-oriented relationships is necessary.
• Ability to communicate effectively and follow oral and written instructions is necessary.
• Strong collaboration, innovation, and leadership skills are necessary.
• Ability to influence without direct line authority is necessary.
• Understanding and awareness of the needs of diverse student populations is necessary.
• Ability to work independently, to identify and implement innovative strategies, to assess effectiveness in meeting strategic planning goals to increased student retention and success is necessary.
• Excellent customer service skills are necessary.

Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

At Vanderbilt University, we are intentional about and assume accountability for fostering advancement and respect for equity, diversity, and inclusion for all students, faculty, and staff. Our commitment to diversity makes us who we are.  We have created a community that celebrates differences and lets individuality thrive. As part of this commitment, we actively value diversity in our workplace and learning environments as we seek to take advantage of the rich backgrounds and abilities of everyone. The diverse voices of Vanderbilt represent an invaluable resource for the University in its efforts to fulfill its mission and strive to be an example of excellence in higher education.

 

Vanderbilt University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. Women, minorities, people with disabilities and protected veterans are encouraged to apply.

 

Please note, all candidates selected for an offer of employment are subject to pre-employment background checks, which may include but are not limited to, based on the role for which they have been selected: criminal history, education verification, social media review, motor vehicle records, credit history, and professional license verification.