Director, Academic Services

Apply for Job Job ID 85325
Location UCSB Campus
Full/Part Time Full Time
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Job Posting Details

Position Number: 40033551

Payroll Title: STDT ADVISOR SUPV 2 (004541)

Job Code: 004541

Job Open Date: 3/31/26

Application Review Begins: 4/15/26

Department Code (Name): GRAD (DEAN OF THE GRADUATE DIVISION)

Percentage of Time: 100

Union Code (Name): 99 - Non-Represented (PPSM)

Employee Class (Appointment Type): Staff: Career

FLSA Status: Exempt

Classified Indicator Description (Personnel Program): PSS

Salary Grade: Grade 21

Pay Rate/Range: The budgeted salary range that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position is $71,600 to $85,000/year. Salary offers are determined based on final candidate qualifications and experience; the budget for the position; and the application of fair, equitable, and consistent pay practices at the University. The full salary range for this position is $71,600 to $127,400/year.

Work Location: 3117 Cheadle Hall

Working Days and Hours : Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm

Benefits Eligibility: Full Benefits

Type of Remote or Hybrid Work Arrangement, if applicable: Hybrid (Both UC & Non-UC locations)

Special Instructions:

For full consideration, please include a resume and a cover letter as part of your application.

Department Marketing Statement:

The Graduate Division promotes excellence in graduate education and ensures our graduate students are successful and prepared for careers across the professional spectrum. Stellar graduate students attract world-class faculty, serve as mentors and teachers for undergraduates, conduct cutting-edge research, and go on to leadership positions in California, the United States, and the world.

Benefits of Belonging

Working at UC means being part of this vibrant institution that shines a light on what is possible. People make UC great, and UC recognizes your contributions by making this a great place to work. Excellent retirement and health are just one of the rewards. Learn more about the benefits of working at UC

Brief Summary of Job Duties:

Under the general direction of the Assistant Dean of the Graduate Division, is responsible for the overall operation of a functional unit that oversees student academic services for the Graduate Division, serving over 3,000 graduate students in approximately 50 graduate programs with over 85 degrees, credentials, and interdisciplinary emphases. Has expert knowledge of current university degree requirements and policy, procedures, and precedents related to graduate matters. Serves as compliance officer on graduate education policy, acting as a key advisor to Graduate Division senior management and general campus on student and academic program policies and procedures. Effectively communicates policies and procedures for graduate education with University faculty and staff. Plans, implements, and evaluates comprehensive campuswide academic advising services. Engages in long-term planning pertaining to the implementation of UC systemwide and campus-specific academic policies affecting graduate education.

Acts as senior academic advisor in the Graduate Division, overseeing administrative and personnel management of unit academic advising and counseling staff. Oversees the operation of the graduate student information system, GradPoint Academics, and works with the Information Services team to enhance the system. Oversees management of services for graduate students experiencing various and complex academic or personal difficulties. Provides leadership for development of an academic assistance and outreach response system; for interfacing with various campus offices, service units, and academic departments reporting academically stressed or distressed graduate students; and for the coordinated, coherent, and effective deployment of campus resources in support of graduate students of concern. Represents the unit to the larger community, on and off campus. Serves as member of the Graduate Division management team.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in related area and / or equivalent experience / training.
• 4-6 years of experience in a higher education administrative, student services, or academic role.
• 1-3 years of experience in interpreting academic policy and procedures compiling and analyzing student academic information and records.
• Strong professional ethics and discretion.
• Ability to manage and execute multiple simultaneous projects, set goals and priorities, establish efficient procedures, track progress, meet deadlines and meet performance targets.
• Strong written communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills for effective interaction with graduate students, faculty, staff, and other campus offices.

Preferred Qualifications:

• 1-3 years of experience in graduate program administration.
• 1-3 years experience with student information systems/databases.
• 1-3 years supervisory experience.

Special Conditions of Employment:

• Satisfactory criminal history background check
• UCSB is a Tobacco-Free environment

Misconduct Disclosure Requirement:

As a condition of employment, the final candidate who accepts an offer of employment will be required to disclose if they have been subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct; or have filed an appeal of a finding of substantiated misconduct with a previous employer.

"Misconduct" means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, or discrimination, as defined by the employer. For reference, below are UC's policies addressing some forms of misconduct:

UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
UC Anti-Discrimination Policy
Abusive Conduct in the Workplace

Job Functions and Percentages of Time:

Management of Academic Services - 30%

Provides leadership in collaboration with the Graduate Division Deans to set the vision and goals in advising and monitoring academic progress of graduate students. Engages in long-term divisional planning pertaining to the implementation of UC systemwide and campus specific academic policies affecting graduate education. Independently evaluates and advises the Deans on the potential impact of proposed and new policies, also proposing new or revised policy as appropriate. Develops and implements long-term strategies for policy implementation and evaluation.

Manages long-term planning for the Academic Services Unit and oversees development of effective workflow processes to facilitate day-to-day operations; responsible for designing, implementing, and evaluating procedural and staffing changes as necessary to improve efficiency and effectiveness of operations.

Serves as a key Graduate Division liaison with other campus offices (e.g., Registrar, Office of International Students and Scholars, Academic Senate etc.) on academic policy and/or set up of student data entry/interface issues.

Identifies and implements best practices in graduate student education; stays abreast of national trends and emerging issues in academic services; develops and sustains strong collaborative relationships with the Division of Student Affairs and the Office of Instructional Development as necessary to ensure that graduate student needs impacting students' academic success are being appropriately addressed.

Oversees the filing process for graduate student theses and dissertations, including compliance with University formatting requirements, appropriate submission of on-line documents to ProQuest and the UCSB Davidson Library.

Has expert knowledge of current university degree requirements, and policy, procedures and precedents related to graduate matters. Contributes to design, implementation, and evaluation of revisions in university or college policy or procedure. Has responsibilities for the application and communication of University-wide, campus-wide, and departmental graduate academic policies and procedures governing graduate students (includes application of academic standards and probation regulations, graduate student petitions, the doctoral advancement program, degree completion requirements and the awarding of graduate degrees).

Assists managing the Graduate Division's Commencement. Directly oversees key facets of the Graduate Division Commencement including the management of the Graduate Division Commencement registration database, staff Commencement volunteers, and day-of Event Direction and coordination activities.

Academic Advising and Supervision - 20%

Acts as senior academic advisor in the Graduate Division, directly hiring, training, supervising, and evaluating the Associate Director, Assistant Director, and two Academic Advisors. Provides a working environment which fosters enthusiasm for meeting the objectives of the Graduate Division-Academic Services, by proper training in job duties, open communication, resolution of conflict, and clarity of information regarding expectations for staff performance. Encourages personal and professional growth of staff in the unit by identifying professional development needs and ensuring that these needs are met.

Works with faculty and staff in academic departments to resolve student problems. Interprets University requirements to assist departments with student advising. Develops and implements comprehensive training program for Staff Graduate Advisors in academic departments to ensure they are appropriately trained in graduate academic policy and procedures.

Independently analyzes and renders decisions on routine student petitions and requests, and when necessary makes recommendations to the Deans on requests for exceptions to policy.

Directly advises graduate students about academic standards and deficiencies, degree and interdisciplinary requirements, progress to degree and degree completion, enrollment procedures and regulations, student petitions and requests for exceptions to policy in order to help them meet their academic and personal goals. Assists graduate students in clarifying procedures for the completion of master's theses and doctoral dissertations, including verification that these documents comply with University formatting requirements. Increases student awareness of educational and supportive resources available to them across campus. Helps students articulate and work toward academic and personal development, including planning and presenting workshops to promote such development. Works with students and their departments to seek continuous and maximum enrollment each quarter.

Adapts and applies student development and cross-cultural advising/counseling models to aid students with adjusting to the university; interacting with peers, staff, and faculty; managing academic issues; and identifying sources of academic support. Consults with students with urgent issues or problems, including students in personal and/or emotional distress, exercising judgment in referring to appropriate campus resources.

Reviews records of students who have fallen into academic difficulty, consults with academic departments on suggestions for corrective action. Helps students set corrective academic goals that are specific, measurable, and realistic. Monitors students on corrective academic plans. At the end of each quarter, evaluates student performance and consults with departments on specific recommendations to the Dean such as academic probation and disqualification.

Counseling & Liaison Services - High Risk Students - 20%

Oversees management of services for graduate students experiencing various and complex academic or personal difficulties. Provides leadership for development of an academic assistance and outreach response system; for interfacing with various campus offices, service units, and academic departments reporting academically stressed or distressed graduate students; and for the coordinated, coherent, and effective deployment of campus resources in support of graduate students of concern.

Directly hires, trains, supervises, and evaluates the Associate Director for Academic Counseling who develops, organizes, implements, and evaluates a range of case management services for graduate students experiencing academic and personal difficulties, with an emphasis on identifying resources to address students' academic needs, also taking into consideration medical, psychological, social, and financial stressors.

Works with Associate Director to identify high-risk students, determine appropriate support services, and network with appropriate campus stakeholders as necessary. Provides consultation to faculty, staff, and other community members regarding students in academic distress. Oversees planning and implementation of workshops to increase awareness of referral and support procedures, and development of resources to educate campus, including website and printed materials.

Acts as the Graduate Division representative in working with the Division of Student Affairs on the most difficult and complex of cases where students are exhibiting high levels of distress, medical issues, and conduct issues to navigate any academic, financial, and employment issues, keeping Deans abreast of problematic cases and recommending actions when necessary.

Student Academic Information System Management - 15%

In collaboration with Information Technology Services (ITS) designs, develops, and implements data retrieval applications and data dissemination formats, including web-based applications. Monitors and evaluates graduate student data to identify existing or potential problems in data integrity. Recommends solutions.

Leads coordination of the short and long range strategic planning for the graduate student advising and monitoring information system and data needs of Graduate Division and campus departments in serving graduate students and in meeting academic advising objectives.

Oversees the development and operation of the graduate student advising and monitoring system. Plans for systems to support advising and monitoring of graduate students. Plans for systems to enable data analysis for accountability reporting and for evaluating program outcomes.

Collaborates with ITS, Division managers, and campus managers on development of comprehensive relational graduate student database and applications to ensure effective interaction with academic offices throughout campus.

Responsible for content and updates of the Academic Services section of the Graduate Division's website via the content management system.

Policy Interpretation and Analysis - 10%

In coordination with the Deans, interprets, implements, and advises on UCSB Graduate Council as well as UC systemwide graduate academic polices; in this capacity frequently advises Department Chairs, Faculty Graduate Advisors, and Staff Graduate Advisors on policy interpretation. Advises Graduate Deans and approximately 50 graduate programs on complex cases involving academic standards. Responds on behalf of the Graduate Division to departmental or student inquiries concerning problematic cases involving graduate academic policy. Evaluates requests for approval of graduate committee service, evaluates and researches complex policy issues, recommends action to the Deans.

Responsible for the implementation of the Graduate Council policy on timely degree completion. Prepares divisional reports on UCSB and UC graduate academic policy and trends in graduate education for Graduate Deans, Graduate Council, campus departments, and external agencies. Reviews curriculum change proposals for policy compliance as part of the review process on behalf of the Graduate Council.

Other Duties - 5%

Serves as member of the Graduate Division management team. Represents the Graduate Division on campus wide committees as appropriate.

Prepares materials and undertakes appropriate campus consultation regarding academic initiatives sponsored by the Graduate Division or Graduate Council.

Under direction of the Deans, conducts historical, literature, or data review on specific topics and writes reports as necessary. This may be related to writing proposals for funding, preparation of correspondence and documentation substantiating new initiatives, and/or special events.

Other duties as assigned.

UC Vaccination Programs Policy:

As a condition of employment, you will be required to comply with the University of California Policy on Vaccinations Programs.
As a condition of Physical Presence at a Location or in a University Program, all Covered Individuals* must participate in any applicable Vaccination Program by providing proof that they are Up-to-Date with any required Vaccines or submitting a request for Exception in a Mandate Program or properly declining vaccination in an Opt-Out Program no later than the Compliance Date (Capitalized terms in this paragraph are defined in the policy.). Federal, state, or local public health directives may impose additional requirements.

For more information, please visit University of California Policy on Vaccinations -

*Covered Individuals: A Covered Individual includes anyone designated as Personnel or Students under this Policy who physically access a University Facility or Program in connection with their employment, appointment, or education/training. A person accessing a Healthcare Location as a patient, or an art, athletics, entertainment, or other publicly accessible venue at a Location as a member of the public, is not a Covered Individual.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.

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