Dean, Physical Therapy

Dean, Physical Therapy

The mission of the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences is the development of professional health care practitioners through innovation, individualized, and quality classroom, clinical, and distance education.

The Dean, Physical Therapy provides academic leadership and administrative oversight of all Physical Therapy (PT) programs, resident, and flex, as well as all entry-level program directors on all USAHS campuses. Through use of programmatic data internally and externally, the Dean promotes academic excellence and growth of the PT programs, for the benefit of students and employees. The individual in this position coordinates communication and programmatic consistency across campuses and delivery methods for all PT programs. The individual will assist program directors by coordinating program outcome assessment, accreditation reporting, faculty performance evaluation and development, curricular improvement, and (re)accreditation, etc.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic Planning and Change Management

• With the Chief Academic Officer develops a strategic plan for all PT programs to focus on growth and quality improvement goals and initiatives that align with the goals of the Program, College, and University
• Participates in the development, implementation, and assessment of the program and University's strategic plan
• Serves as spokesperson in determining how PT programs are innovative to position USAHS as a leader in PT education
• Works closely with marketing, university representatives, and admissions personnel to assure enrollment projects and goals are being met; provides feedback on student recruiting methodology

Leadership Development

• Leads intra- and inter-campus PT faculty meetings and retreats; assists program directors with faculty development needs; student academic/professional misconduct issues
• Leads recruitment and training efforts for new PT program directors; performs evaluations of the program directors; is responsible for leadership development
• Provides oversight to faculty performance evaluation process, assuring consistency; works with program directors to develop and reinforce faculty development and retention plans; assures alignment of faculty development goals to program strategic goals; assists directors with faculty recruitment, as needed; recommends faculty hiring to chief academic officer
• Monitors equity in faculty and program director workload
• Supervises orientation and development of new PT program directors and assistant directors

Fiscal and Resource Management

• Examines resource use; works with program directors for allocation and sharing of resources
• Works between program directors and the Chief Academic Officer for the coordination of policy revision/development
• Works with Chief Academic Officer to assure the clinical services office is meeting program needs
• Works between program directors and the Chief Academic Officer for the coordination of resource procurement and management

• Develops annual budget and expenses for area(s) of responsibility and guides subordinate managerial personnel in the development of their budgets; administers or delegates the administration of budgets, approving expenditures and reviewing reports

Quality Improvement and Accreditation

• Stays up-to-date with CAPTE standards, policies, procedures, and changes; assures accreditation reports from each campus are completed
• Coordinates programmatic (re)accreditation for new programs/locations
• Works with Accreditation, Compliance and Regulatory units to assure adherence to all standards and regulatory requirements
• Leads local participation in the programmatic accreditation process; assures full compliance with federal, state and accrediting body standards and regulations
• Oversees programmatic outcome analysis; develops improvement plans; implements curricular and teaching effectiveness to support program, student, and faculty success; leads PT program review
• Assures that all student academic and behavioral performances are evaluated and treated with consistency and follow University, College, and Program policies and procedures
• Assures the curriculum is contemporary, well-delivered, and in compliance with accreditation standards across all campuses; promotes course coordination in PT courses and works closely with director(s) in other disciplines to promote coordination of HSC courses; reviews Course Coordinator reports; assists with curriculum revisions
• Encourages, supports, and develops intercampus and interprofessional educational and research endeavors
• Works with Admissions to review admissions standards and procedures for PT programs

Core Management Responsibilities

• Promotes University's core values
• Supports and demonstrates a student-centered philosophy
• Attends and participate in Academic Leadership, Program Director Council, and Student-Director Meetings where appropriate;
• Maintains superior customer service to internal and external customers
• Fosters a success-oriented, accountable environment within the University
• Upholds University's professional, ethics and integrity standards
• Maintains communication channels for all PT employees and students
• Maintains an active scholarly agenda and provides service to the University and profession; teaches as time allows

Other Duties and Responsibilities

May perform other duties and responsibilities that management may deem necessary from time to time.

Position in Organization

Reports to: Chief Academic Officer

Positions Supervised: Academic Program Directors, Academic Program Assistants

Technical, Managerial, and People Skills Required

To perform this job successfully an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Incumbents will be evaluated, in part, based on performance of each essential function. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

• Personal and professional values in concert with the University's mission and vision
• Exceptional leadership, communication and management skills; demonstrates forward, creative thinking
• Ability to work collaboratively as part of a team, and to interact effectively with colleagues, administrators and faculty members and students, as well as external constituencies

• Exceptional leadership, communication and management skills; demonstrates forward, creative thinking
• Operate effectively in a changing environment and effectively guide change management process

• Demonstrated experience working collaboratively as part of a team, and to interact effectively with colleagues, administrators and faculty members and students, as well as external constituencies;
• Ability to project vision, leadership, and objective reasoning to students, faculty, and staff
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

Education and/or Experience

• 7-10 years of progressive academic administrative experience in a higher education; earned academic/terminal degree doctorate (e.g., Ph.D., Ed.D., DHSc., etc.)
• Professional experience in a health professional field preferred
• Experience developing educational program; growth oriented
• Demonstrated senior-level administrative ability and University/College level faculty employment and teaching experience
• Possess knowledge of discipline specific accreditation

Business Competencies

To perform the job successfully, an individual should demonstrate the following competencies:

• Committed to Mission and Values - Has a clear understanding of institution's mission and values. Has a passion for facilitating learning and for enabling students to navigate their own learning journey.
• Contribute Knowledge to the Discipline - Compelled by the opportunity to contribute through research, scholarship professional practice or creativity.
• Accountable - Takes personal responsibility for own goals and outcomes to ensure student success. Establishes clear expectations, follows through on commitments to students and holds them accountable for assignments and performance
• Collaborative - Works cooperatively with others across the institution and beyond, including the community and through partnerships. Represents own interests while being inclusive and fair to others.
• Communicates Effectively - Adapts oral and written communication approach and style to the audience and based on the message. Also listens attentively to others.
• Drives Engagement - Makes students feel welcome, understood and valued. Creates a learning environment that is compelling, challenging and productive.
• Academic Discipline Expertise -