What are the responsibilities and job description for the Director of Disability, Access, and Success position at Pitzer College?
Below you will find the details for the position including any supplementary documentation and questions you should review before applying for the opening.
Inquiries Regarding Application Status
Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we cannot respond to inquiries regarding the status of submitted applications. Applicants selected for interviews will be contacted using the email and/or phone information provided in the online application.
Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we cannot respond to inquiries regarding the status of submitted applications. Applicants selected for interviews will be contacted using the email and/or phone information provided in the online application.
Location:
Claremont, CA
Job Posting Title:
Director of Disability, Access, and Success
Job Details and Requirement:
Department: Office of Student Affairs Supervisor: AVP/Dean of Student Success & Wellbeing
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Director of Disability, Access, & Success (DAS) is a key leadership position for the Division of Student Affairs within the Unit of Success and Pitzer College. This individual will oversee and coordinate all aspects of the DAS program. This position will report to the AVP & Dean of Student Success & Wellbeing. Under their leadership the DAS Director is responsible for reviewing accommodation requests from students with disabilities and their supporting documentation, consulting with students with disabilities and their faculty regarding requests for accommodation, educating faculty and others in the Pitzer community about disability-related issues, and ensuring the efficient and effective implementation of accommodation procedures. Committed to inclusive excellence, this position will also serve as the main point person for enhancing support for neurodiverse students, leading support for students on a leave of absence, academic probation and other avenues increasing persistence and retention. A collaborative thought partner, they will be instrumental in liaising with campus offices to provide high quality timely student success support, including, but not limited to, oversight of student exam proctoring and tutoring services as well as assist housing with accommodation placements.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
Professional Staff Leadership and Management
- Manage 1.5 professional staff employees
- Provide guidance, direction, collaboration, and consultation on priorities of the College, Division, & Unit concerning matters focused on disability, liability, access, accommodations, and success
- Provide a key consultative role with Faculty, Academic Affairs, Residential Life, Case Management Team (and others as needed)
- Provide clear processes and procedures to ensure clarity of expectations of all parties involved
Program Leadership, Management and Assessment
- Provide clear and concise policies, procedures, and practices
- Address gaps in data sharing with faculty and staff
- Explore/create an easy-to-follow diagram/training to clarify the delineation of roles of faculty and staff
- Identify metrics that determine qualifications for student accommodation requests across the College
- Identify and problem solve gaps in design and delivery of services across platforms and populations
- Identify strategic data collection to highlight strengths, gaps, satisfaction, and innovation for the future
- Identify complex, high touch cases. Convene appropriate colleagues and experts as needed
- Participate in meetings in DSA, Academic Affairs, etc. as needed
- Collaborate with faculty, staff, and students to promote awareness
Accommodations and Access Support
- Review of accommodation requests and documentation including scheduling of intake meetings with students to determine accommodations; review documentation; review of disability documentation and determination of eligibility and reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities; orient students to provision of accommodations and services; provide individual support for students with disabilities; responsible for determining initial housing accommodations; Develop supportive relationships with students.
- Support new students through consultation with faculty regarding accommodations.
- Responsible for managing AIM accommodation software including but not limited to uploading documentation, sending out accommodation letters in a timely manner, contacting students to complete file, confirming accommodation needs.
- Increase support for neurodiverse students including consultation with students and faculty regarding accommodations.
- Act as a liaison between students and faculty; Assist student as they navigate the transition to college; Facilitate conversations between faculty and students with understanding multiple needs and perspectives when there are questions about accommodations; provide expert knowledge regarding accommodation strategies in educational settings, disability-based needs and experiences; use appropriate professional judgment regarding when to involve others in complex situations around accommodations and law or policy based-requirements.
- Education of the Pitzer community members regarding disability-related issues.
- Provide information individually, for groups, and through various media to the faculty, staff and students about the experience of disability and access needs; supporting neurodiverse students, strategize to positively impact classroom learning effects of disabilities; assist in advising Access Advocates (peer mentors)
- Oversee development and maintenance of AIM accommodation management website, PASS webpage, and online resource content for office required.
- Schedule and oversee proctoring of exams for students with accommodations
- In depth understanding of navigating disability/access accommodations in complex academic environment
Student Success and Persistence
- Assist with the coordination, development, and implementation of appropriate high engagement student success strategies and supporting technologies. Achieve or exceed semester retention goals for assigned programs including students on leave of absence, returning from leave of absence, students receiving low grade notices and probation notices.
- Meet on a regular basis with the Assistant Dean of Student Success Initiatives to report on the status of retention data and efforts. Advise students with a continuous focus on degree progress, personal wellness, and student retention and graduation rates.
- Maintain and create student plans in close collaboration with the Assistant Dean of Student Success Initiatives to ensure accurate counseling, resolve student issues, and communicate and receive feedback from partnering offices
- Supervise cross-trained peer-based academic guides and establish study skills, time management, work-life-scholar-student leader balance, imposter syndrome, cultural conflict, and understanding essential transitional skills
Operations
- Provide oversight of academic support services operational effectiveness related to desired student outcomes, development, data tracking, assessment and analysis for trends, issues, strategic development of new innovative academic support initiatives, and impact report generation.
- Co-lead the development of a divisional systems operations continuity plan in partnership with the student affairs operations team, including annual divisional cross-training for continued operations to provide high quality timely student success support, ensure divisional preparedness in the event of any unforeseen crisis and internal staffing back-up support as necessary (i.e. Covid-19 impacts on staffing limitations).
- Manage student program progression and strategically provide academic support to students resulting in increased retention.
- Leads with demonstrated cultural competency expertise to provide support services for diverse student populations, including students with neurodiverse needs.
- Serves as an administrative hearing officer for academic and non-academic related student incidents and serves as part of the restorative justice team. Participates in annual related training.
- Able to work in a fast paced environment at times and manage multiple competing priorities Responsible for oversight of marketing and innovative student-focused education efforts to bolstering awareness and access to student services, including, but not limited to, social media, pop-up tabling support for navigating academic accommodations, integrating services on the One Stop Student Success Support Services website, and forging cross-campus partnerships with students, faculty and staff.
- Assist with student leader training and participate in Weeks of Welcome, Student Resource Fair, Student Accommodations Move-in Pop-up Tabling
- Provides annual leadership support for major divisional events, programs, and emerging needs as necessary (i.e. move-in, orientation, campus life and student leader training, Pitzer Covid-19 support needs, Weeks of Welcome).
- Perform other essential duties and tasks specific to the position.
- Other duties may also be assigned to support divisional or College-wide needs.
Basic Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in social work, student development, psychology, or human services related field. Five years of progressively more responsible experience in student support or disability and access services, program development, student success, retention and/or direct service in education or social services.
Preferred Qualifications: Master’s degree in student development, psychology, higher education administration or related field with ten years of experience and demonstrated expertise in disability and access issues, including proficiency reviewing disability/medical documentation for legal and policy compliance and to determining reasonable accommodation on that basis.
Expertise in navigating student disability and access accommodations required in complex academic environment including disability law and implementation of accommodations in higher education
REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES
The individual must possess knowledge, skills and ability to be able to successfully perform the essential functions of the position or be able to explain or demonstrate how the essential functions will be performed, with or without reasonable accommodation, using some other combination of skills and abilities.
- Expertise required in disability and access issues, including proficiency reviewing disability/medical documentation for legal and policy compliance and to determining reasonable accommodation on that basis.
- Understanding of navigating disability accommodations required in complex academic environment including disability law and implementation of accommodations in higher education
- Understanding of the goals, purposes, and values of higher education as they relate to student access, success and belonging.
- In depth understanding of the needs of underrepresented populations with a strategic emphasis on removing barriers to retention and success required.
- Demonstrated ability to communicate high academic expectations, combined with supportive programming and resources
- Demonstrated experience providing support to under served student populations in and out of the classroom
- Ability to establish and maintain collaborative relationships with faculty, staff, and students across the college community and within the Claremont Colleges Consortium to increase sense of belonging and retention.
- Personable, able to work in a fast-paced environment as needed
- Ability to establish and maintain collaborative relationships with faculty, staff, and students
- Experience with AIM and/or similar accommodation management software as well as high proficiency with Microsoft Office and Excel programs
- Excellent judgment in situations with complex issues and ability perform within the tension of competing values and needs
- High level of appreciation for the impact of disabilities on the experience of students in higher education and for disability culture, and neurodiverse students
- Demonstrated commitment to inclusive excellence and competencies providing support services to historically underrepresented students
- Ability to juggle multiple priorities efficiently and successfully
- Strong interpersonal skills, oral and written communication skills, including making presentations, organization skills.
- An articulate, professional demeanor.
- All candidates must show a demonstrated commitment to diversity and the College‘s mission, vision, and values.
- Possesses a broad knowledge of college level services, including basic financial aid, registration and an understanding of current national issues in higher education including the value of and barriers to a college education
- Must have access to reliable and secure computer and internet connection. Must maintain password protection for work files and records and ensure that no one else has access to password and login credentials at remote work site.
- Must have access to a dedicated and suitable workstation at remote location, including desk or table and supporting, upright chair. Must ensure workstation is safe and free from hazards.
Supervisory Responsibility: Supervise 1.5 employees
Time Type: Full-Time, 40 hours per week
Annual Pay Schedule: 12
Work Schedule: This is a full-time position working 40 hours per week for 12 months per year. The regular hours for this position will be scheduled between 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. These hours may vary due to needs of the College or department.
Work Model: Hybrid
Compensation: Salary Range: $75,000-$80,000 per year
Pitzer College is committed to providing comprehensive benefits to eligible employees and their eligible dependents. Our benefits package includes competitive compensation, health, dental, and vision insurance, retirement savings plans, generous paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick time, parental leave, bereavement, etc.), tuition reimbursement, tuition exchange program participation and more.
Physical Requirements: This is generally a sedentary position. Must be able to:
- Sit for prolonged periods of time;
- Operate a computer for prolonged periods of time;
- Communicate with others by email, in person and over the telephone;
- Read printed materials and a computer screen;
- Have the mobility to work in a standard office setting and use standard office equipment;
- Assist with the set-up and teardown of event tables, signage and other materials.
- Requires reaching overhead, grasping, pulling, pushing, stooping, bending, and twisting;
- Lift 15 pounds from the ground to waist level unassisted; and
- Have the stamina to manage a high-volume workload in a fast-paced work environment.
Instructions: Only qualified applicants please.
Application Materials: Upload the following materials to complete your application:
- Cover Letter: Indicate your reason for interest in this position, describe how your qualifications make you an ideal candidate, and explain which of Pitzer’s core values best relates to your own.
- Resume: List relevant qualifications and dates of experience.
- Professional References: References will be contacted for select applicants and advance notice will be provided. Provide the names of at least three (3) individuals who can speak to your professional qualifications. Include their business titles, contact information and an indication of how you are acquainted with them (e.g., former supervisor, coworker, etc.).
Employment Requirements
Employment is contingent upon a candidate possessing the knowledge, skills and abilities to be able to successfully perform the essential duties of the position, or be able to explain or demonstrate how the essential functions will be performed, with or without reasonable accommodation, using some other combination of skills and abilities. Employment is also contingent upon new employees providing documents verifying U.S. citizenship or, for aliens, documents verifying legal permission to work in the United States. For positions requiring the use of a college-owned vehicle, employment is contingent upon a driving record acceptable to the colleges’ automobile liability insurance. Final candidates in all staff positions will be required to undergo a background investigation; in addition some positions may require a physical lift test and pulmonary function test.
Employment is contingent upon a candidate possessing the knowledge, skills and abilities to be able to successfully perform the essential duties of the position, or be able to explain or demonstrate how the essential functions will be performed, with or without reasonable accommodation, using some other combination of skills and abilities. Employment is also contingent upon new employees providing documents verifying U.S. citizenship or, for aliens, documents verifying legal permission to work in the United States. For positions requiring the use of a college-owned vehicle, employment is contingent upon a driving record acceptable to the colleges’ automobile liability insurance. Final candidates in all staff positions will be required to undergo a background investigation; in addition some positions may require a physical lift test and pulmonary function test.
Covid-19 Vaccination
Pitzer College has mandated the COVID-19 vaccination for all employees. New employees are required to show proof of full vaccination, including booster, against COVID-19 or request a Pitzer College approved medical or religious exemption on or before their first day of employment.
Equal Employment Opportunity and Non-Discrimination
Pitzer College adheres to both the letter and the spirit of Equal Employment opportunity and Affirmative Action. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, gender, age, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, disability, medical condition, or veteran status, in the administration of its admission policies, educational policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletic and other College-administered programs, and employment policies. Pitzer strongly encourages candidates from underrepresented groups to apply.
Safety Report
In compliance with applicable law, Pitzer College publishes an annual report containing statistical information concerning the occurrence of crime on campus and adjacent thereto, as well as policies and practices concerning security. A copy of this report is online at http://www.cuc.claremont.edu/cs/index.asp or by contacting The Claremont Colleges Department of Campus Safety: 251 E. Eleventh Street, Claremont, CA 91711-3947; (909) 621-8170.
Salary : $75,000 - $80,000
