Reporting to the University Provost, the Dean/Program Director, Counseling will oversee the development, deployment, and oversight of counseling and counselor education programs across WCU campuses and online modalities. The Dean/Program Director, Counseling oversees the development, management, and administration of the program, including planning, development, delivery, evaluation, budgeting, selection of faculty and staff, attainment and maintenance of accreditation, and commitment to strategies for professional development. Ensures program compliance according to licensing, accreditation, and other oversight organizations. Responsible for the development and appropriate management of all experiential learning sites, relationships, policies, and procedures. Participates in fiscal administration, curriculum development and coordination, determination of teaching assignments, supervision and evaluation of faculty, design and operation of program facilities, and selection/coordination of program specific external facilities and instruction. Provides professional leadership and support for teaching faculty; serves as a mentor and facilitator for faculty assigned; and enables an environment which fosters creativity, responsiveness, collaboration, team-oriented and self-responsibility. Once programs have launched, the reporting structure may shift.
Essential Functions and Responsibilities
- Plans, organizes, and implements professional undergraduate and graduate programs in counseling and related fields in accordance with the accreditation standards and requirements of the (CACREP) and any other related institutional accreditation organizations.
- Researches and develops an approved curriculum to meet degree requirements. Ensures the development and maintenance of catalog narrative, course descriptions, syllabi, identification of required textbooks and collection for the library. Ensures consistency of syllabi, textbooks, learning outcomes, etc. across the program, learning platforms and university documentation.
- Holds periodic faculty meetings to provide for subject matter correlation and curriculum evaluation, and to coordinate activities of full-time and adjunct faculty.
- Participates as part of the academic leadership team, partnering with colleagues at University Administration and Campuses to ensure positive student outcomes.
- Recruits and selects qualified faculty. Interviews, selects, trains, counsels, and evaluates faculty to ensure effective support of the program. Serves as a mentor and facilitator to faculty. Reviews the efforts of faculty and provides direction where needed, ensuring timely completion in accordance with objectives.
- Establishes start-up and ongoing program budgets. Monitors financial performance against approved budgets.
- Prepares and submits budget status and variance reports to University and Campus leadership.
- Develops program policies and procedures as well as admission, academic progression, and graduation standards, ensuring all are reviewed and approved by Co-President of Academics.
- Ensures program complies with the state specific Bureau of Consumer Affairs, state regulatory agencies, CACREP, United States Department of Education, and WSCUC accreditation standards and guidelines and may represent the University and its Counseling program to those and any other external regulatory or licensure entities.
- Participates and consults in the ongoing systematic development, implementation, and evaluation of Counseling program to achieve licensure pass rates according to organizational goals and accreditation benchmarks.
- Assists in corresponding with the state specific accreditation and/or licensing agencies in conjunction with the Director of Accreditation and Licensing and/or Vice President of Compliance and completes all required reports in order to maintain approval, obtain new approvals, and/or continue positive licensure status in conjunction with the Director of Accreditation and Licensing and/or Vice President of Compliance.
- Oversees development and implementation of a program strategic plan as necessary to fulfill goals and plans of the Counseling program and any accreditation requirements.
- Assesses and makes recommendations for programmatic improvements following the defined processes and protocols. Leads the annual Learning Outcome Review process, ensuring sufficient learning outcome and other required data are gathered on a timely basis, input into appropriate templates, and reviewed in a highly collaborative fashion with faculty. Makes recommendations for action plans based upon concise presentation of evidence, findings, and conclusions.
- Leads in the process of new course development and assures quality outcomes and consistent implementation.
- Recruits and advises potential program candidates. Partners with Admissions and Marketing departments on program changes and provides information on program and program design. Through regular reviews, ensures that the program web page is updated with any changes and is accurate.
- Works effectively with students and staff of varied cultures, socioeconomic backgrounds, and ages, and interact successfully as a member of an educational team.
- Ensures the development of a program advisory board is comprised of professionals who work in the field and who can contribute to the ongoing evaluation of program currency and relevance.
- Represents the program with both internal and external constituents.
- Provides leadership in Clinical Education Coordination efforts to ensure sufficient numbers and quality of sites recognized by the accrediting organization and that the University emerges with a sterling reputation. Ensures consistency of practice, protocols, and processes with respect to University Clinical practices. Ensures that clinical sites used by the program are located in states that are contained on the University's state approval list.
- Functions as a member of the University's Academic Council. Provides feedback regarding improvement and/or revision of the Counseling programs and curriculum based on regulatory changes.
- Supervises the faculty, and staff on all aspects of the program.
- Ensures processes are in place to track, monitor and record student completion and/or outcomes of tests/exams for certification and/or licensure status in field of program and provides required reports as needed. Ensures that student outcome data is maintained is accurate on the program's web page.
- Monitors and analyzes student attrition and retention data and works with other campus leaders to develop initiatives that can be implemented to improve retention.
- Establishes short- and long-range goals, objectives in accordance with University operating plans. Plans will be evaluated as part of the Co-President of Academic's submission for University Academic Affairs.
- Works closely with University Administration and Campus leadership, attends meetings, and provides reports and/or information as needed.
- Provides leadership for the overall administration of the Counseling Program to promote quality education for the student.
- Participates and consults in the ongoing systematic development, implementation, and evaluation of Counseling program to achieve licensure pass rates according to organizational goals.
- Coordinates and directs student advising and evaluating. Coordinates and directs curriculum planning, implementation and evaluation. Ensures the development of catalog narrative, syllabi, identification of required textbooks and opening day collection for the library. Ensures consistency of syllabi, textbooks, learning outcomes, etc. across the program.
- Develops, organizes and performs ongoing evaluations of the Counseling Program on the following:
- course evaluation
- faculty evaluation
- graduate evaluation outcomes
- performance on the NCE Exam
- summative evaluation of the program
- Organizes and maintains a system for faculty and staff development.
- Coordinates recruitment, selection and development of administrative staff. Recruits adjunct didactic and clinical faculty and promote the program. Ensure hiring is inclusive, with the goal of hiring a diverse team of qualified professionals.
- Provides written reports to the Co-President of Academics, accrediting agencies, and as requested by the administration.
- Makes clinical site visits to monitor students and assesses clinical sites. In partnership with the VP of Clinical Education, maintains contact with clinical affiliates and preceptors to ensure program objectives.
- Participates in professional development and organizations on a planned and pre-approved basis in order to maintain an understanding of current ideas, research and practices. Ensures that faculty development is a high priority, including faculty pursuits of board and specialty certifications as appropriate for a Counseling Program.
- Maintains professional appearance for position and is courteous and approachable by students.
- Maintains and posts scheduled office hours and ensures faculty have coverage during core hours to be available for students. This may include evening/weekend hours, depending on the program.
- Adheres to University policies and procedures and provides leadership to others through guidance and example.
- Maintains regular and timely attendance, reports to work as scheduled and assures time worked and/or time-off is recorded properly.
- Conducts job responsibilities in accordance with the standards set out in the University's Code of Ethical Conduct, Compliance Agreement, Sexual Harassment Policy or any of its policies and procedures, applicable federal and states laws, and applicable professional standards.
- Maintains confidentiality of all student, associate, and/or university information as required.
- Exercises care, proper use and maintenance of department equipment and supplies and identifies unsafe conditions and makes appropriate adjustments.
- Maintains order, cleanliness and safety at work.
- May perform other duties as assigned.
Preferred Education, Certifications and LicensuresPreferred Experience and SkillsRequired Education, Certifications, and Licensures
- PhD in related field is required.
- Must hold a current Counseling License (LPC) in CA, TX or FL or be eligible to obtain a license in one of these states. Must already have an LPC license and be in good standing.
- Degrees must be awarded by an institution that is accredited by a USDE-recognized national or regional accrediting body.
- Evidence of scholarship (e.g., scholarship of application, practice or engagement, scholarship of teaching and learning).
- Must hold a current Counseling License (LPC) in CA, TX or FL or be eligible to obtain a license in one of these states. Must already have an LPC license and be in good standing.
Required Experience and Skills
- Minimum seven years related experience, including administrative experience in program planning and implementation, personnel management, evaluation, and budgeting.
- Minimum of five years in the field of counseling, including documented clinical practice.
- At least three (3) years of experience in a full-time academic appointment with teaching responsibilities at the post-secondary level.
- Leadership knowledge in the program field to cultivate a learner-centered environment and to foster excellence.
- Knowledge in technological support and delivery of program area and services.
- Knowledge and evidence of strong supervisory and management skills as applicable to specialized program area.
- Knowledge of state, federal and local laws/regulations relating to programs, governmental compliance and other regulatory standards such as Title IX, WSCUC, CACREP) and other accreditation standards.
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