Director for General Education

Recruitment Title: Director for General Education

Location: Moscow

Division: Provost

Primary Unit: Vice Provost for Academic Initiatives (VPAI)

Employee Category: Faculty or Staff

Anticipated Start Date: Summer 2024

Compensation: Course, research, or other released time equating to 50%-time commitment during the contract period plus a 15% stipend for leadership and administration. Approximately 50%-time (negotiable) will be needed during summer for anyone not on a fiscal year contract.

Position Summary: The University of Idaho (UI) invites employees with general education teaching experience and other relevant qualifications to apply for the 50%-time administrative position of director for general education. The director will work collaboratively with college leadership and UCGE to provide vision, leadership, and support for the continuous refinement, assessment, and improvement of the UI general education program. By working collaboratively with colleagues across units, the director engages the campus community to support an effective, high-quality, well-integrated general education curriculum. Further, the director will ensure robust assessment of general education, implement changes identified through the assessment process, increase student success, build a collaborative instructor cohort, interface with university committees and academic departments, and report annually on program and student learning outcomes. The director will support general education instructors to help students make connections across general education courses, as well as between these courses and courses in their majors; guide instructors in integrating evidence-based approaches into general education curricula and instruction; build even stronger esprit de corps among instructors; actively engage with relevant research, scholarship, conferences, and other national, state, and regional resources; and work with college leadership to manage actively enrollments to prioritize student needs and meet demand for general education coursework, on request from colleges, assist them in developing and implementing procedures to ensure that sufficient seats in general education courses are offered each semester.

• Experience teaching general education courses.
• Experience supporting instructor colleagues and fostering effective collaboration, improvement, and capacity building.
• Experience with curricular policy and processes.
• Current U of I employee.

• Demonstrated passion for and commitment to general education.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Assessment experience and knowledge.
• Demonstrated successful collaboration experience across university units.
• Familiarity with and/or strongly demonstrated interest in student success and other relevant research.
• Interdisciplinary commitment and knowledge.
• Demonstrated organizational and administrative skills.
• Experience with student advising.

Establish and Maintain Familiarity with Student Success and Other Relevant Research, Resources – 15% effort (3 hours/week on average, based on a 20-hour work week)

1. Read relevant research, scholarship, assessment, and other publications.
2. Attend online webinars, trainings, and other events, as well as national, state, and regional conferences (finances permitting) to learn how to shape general education to most effectively support learning and academic achievement.

Network with local, regional, and national colleagues to learn how other general education reform efforts are impacting student learning and academic achievement and how such efforts are designed and implemented in collaboration with the University Committee on General Education (UCGE) and the State Board of Education (SBOE), provide Leadership, Professional Development, and Support to General Education Instructors. Provide campuswide leadership on General Education issues and advocate for quality in the university’s general education program – 35% effort (7 hours/week on average, based on a 20-hour work week) to:

1. Work collaboratively with the University Committee on General Education (UCGE)to:
   1. Develop and share a clear, compelling vision of how UI general education contributes to students’ intellectual, civic, and personal growth and achievement of university learning outcomes.
   2. Monitor the quality of General Education across campus and ensure that courses are meeting the appropriate General Education learning objectives.
   3. Consider and recommend changes to the General Education requirements as the need for changes arises.
2. Provide guidance, encouragement, and connection to general education instructors by implementing pursuit of the vision into regular professional development events, communications, cohort-building activities, and resource offerings.
3. Develop a robust, well-organized set of online resources designed to engage instructors in implementing the vision of general education at UI.

Guide and Support General Education Assessment and Improvement – 15% effort (3 hours/week on average, based on a 20-hour work week)

1. In collaboration with UI colleagues, including the associate director for assessment and accreditation and others, develop and/or refine resources, instructions, procedures, and support for assessing general education courses.
2. Work with colleges and UCGE to support instructors in providing data needed for assessment.
3. Draft and disseminate general education assessment reports.
4. Support instructors and other UI colleagues in using assessment findings to improve general education curricula and instruction.

Provide Leadership in UI’s General Education Work with the State Board of Education and Support to Relevant UI Committees – 20% effort (4 hours/week on average, based on a 20-hour work week)

1. Represent UI at State Board of Education (SBOE) events and on relevant SBOE committees, projects, and endeavors.
2. Ensure that UI has disciplinary and other representatives as needed in SBOE general education efforts.
3. Manage communications, implementation, and other follow-up needed to ensure active, effective UI participation in all SBOE general education endeavors.
4. Support and participate actively in UI’s UCGE and other relevant committees, e.g., University Assessment and Accreditation Committee.
5. Support and participate actively in UI’s Common Read Committee.

Support Colleges in Designing and Implementing Effective Systems for Ensuring Sufficient Seats in General Education Courses – 10% effort (2 hours/week on average, based on a 20-hour work week)

1. When requested by a college, work with its leaders, department chairs/heads, program directors, and others to develop and implement procedures for ensuring that scheduling general education courses is appropriately prioritized.
2. Use relevant analytics and other tools to track availability of general education seats.
3. Work with chairs to ensure that needed seats are provided early in the course registration window to help students complete general education requirements on the schedule needed to optimize their chances of academic success.

Other Duties as Assigned – 5% (1 hour/week on average, based on a 20-hour work week)

• Traci Craig, Chair
• Theresa Allen
• Tyler Easterbrook
• Kris Waynant
• Rula Awwad-Rafferty
• Jen Elbeck
• Sande Schlueter, Search Coordinator