Washington University is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, genetic information, disability, or protected veteran status.

Please do not submit an application to this posting.  To apply for this opportunity, follow the directions below in “Applicant Special Instructions”.

This position is full-time and works approximately 37.5 hours per week.  

This position is in the Office of the Provost.  This position is for the Danforth Campus.

POSITION SUMMARY:

This is an exceptional opportunity for an experienced and collaborative leader to join one of the world’s leading research universities during an exciting moment of change and transformation. Andrew Martin began his tenure as chancellor on June 1, 2019, and the next university registrar will join an institution whose academic excellence, status and reputation have risen remarkably over the past two decades and whose ambitions continue to grow. As a member of the Office of the Provost, the new university registrar will further this legacy by providing strategic direction and oversight of the university's system-wide registration policies. Achieving the university's goal of excellence, service and efficiency, the university registrar will provide a cohesive vision and leadership within a decentralized structure.

The Office of the University Registrar provides all fundamental credentialing services for Danforth Campus students, including academic transcripts, diplomas and the verification of enrollment and degrees. The various programs of study at Washington University are administered by seven schools: Arts & Sciences, the John M. Olin School of Business, the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, McKelvey School of Engineering, Law, Medicine and the George Warren Brown School of Social Work. Washington University's structure is highly decentralized with each school employing its own registrar. The university registrar ensures effective coordination, collaboration and common policies across WashU's registrar functions.

The university registrar oversees confidential academic records, evaluates academic credit and implements academic policies and procedures. As a university leader, the university registrar provides guidance to the provost, deans and faculty on curricular policy. Importantly, the university registrar promotes a culture of service, collaboration, and student centeredness and academic achievement while ensuring the delivery of critical institutional functions in support of academic areas and administrative departments.

PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Provides leadership for a team of 10, promoting team success and a culture of mentorship and support.
2. Leads and manages the work of the university registrar’s area within the office and wider University community, inspiring staff and collaborators to engage in stellar customer service and best practices at the individual, departmental, school and university level.
3. Supports the university-wide system migration to MyDay by collaborating with senior leadership to create and promulgate policies to ensure its transition.
4. Enhances further communication between the Office of the University Registrar and individual academic units.
5. With the Office of the Provost, maintains statistical data for the university on all student enrollment and academic programs.
6. Coordinates academic scheduling and is significantly involved in facilitating the management of classrooms across the Danforth Campus.
7. Manages the integrity of academic plans and oversees the daily operations involved in the maintenance of academic student records and registration for undergraduate and graduate students on and off campus and online.
8. Ensures compliance with federal, state, accreditor and institutional regulations and policies for enrollment-related student and faculty functions, applying industry best practices.
9. In partnership with the provost, deans and faculty, develops and implements academic policies and ensures that policies are consistently executed.
10. Manages, maintains and safeguards the academic records of all students enrolled at the university.
11. Ensures the accuracy, confidentiality, security and integrity of those records and the WashU degree.
12. Collaborates closely with Institutional Research and other offices on institutional effectiveness and enrollment research to enhance the university’s ability to achieve its mission and goals.
13. Configures and maintains systems, policies and procedures for student academic planning and registration, degree audit and tracking satisfactory academic progress.
14. Develops and maintains close collaborations with key offices at WashU and within professional associations.

The new university registrar will be asked to address the following critical leadership issues, among others:

• Imagine, develop and execute a new vision for the Office of the Registrar at Washington University.
  • The university registrar has an opportunity to bring a fresh eye and even greater support and structure to this area. WashU seeks a university registrar who will contribute to the continuous evolution of the institution and envision, build, and execute a strategic, systematic and coordinated registrar function that supports the changing needs of the academic units as well as the greater WashU community.
    As noted previously, WashU is in the midst of implementing MyDay. Planning is underway for the student phase, and the implementation phase is expected to commence in the summer of 2020 and extend through 2022. This represents a significant opportunity for the university registrar to implement a records management system that optimizes this new technology to meet WashU's needs more effectively. Overall, the new leader will support a registrar function that is based on best practice, sound data and technology, clear policies and procedures and strong customer service. The university registrar will continuously assess and refine the operation, reflecting the changing needs of a growing institution, and coalesce a vision that brings together the university's diverse academic units.
• Develop and nurture strong relationships within the Washington University community.
  • The university registrar will find a supportive community that values relationships, works as a team and supports individual and collective success. As a visible institutional leader, the registrar’s influence will reach students, faculty, staff and senior leaders. Early engagement in conversations that engender collaboration, trust and confidence will be a top priority for the new leader. For the academic units, the new leader will help achieve their mission of education and service to students. Throughout the campus community and in partnership with Institutional Research, it is expected that the Office of the Registrar will provide dynamic, transparent and valuable data to influence decision-making. With the Office of the Provost, the university registrar will provide leadership in development of strategic priorities for the academic units, deliver a student-centered experience, and meet system-wide and campus objectives. It is also expected that the university registrar will serve as a leader in regard to curricular and policy issues.
• Bring greater coordination and commonality across the registrar function.
  • Similar to many complex research institutions, Washington University's culture is one of decentralization. With new leadership and the implementation of MyDay, the university imagines a future of greater integration and enhanced communication across units. For the university registrar, collaboration with each of the school registrars will be especially significant. The current structure includes regular meetings between the university registrar and school registrars, and overall there is a relationship of mutual respect and assistance. Going forward, the new leader will foster enhanced coordination across the university that will include systematizing processes, cross-unit training and collaboration and enforcement of policies and procedures.
  • The new leader will bring a broad vision of how to work within an institution with strong academic units and the skill to partner across units to move the institution forward as it relates to academic policy. The university registrar will obtain consensus in a decentralized system while centralizing when necessary. In addition, the university registrar will be a convener, communicator and relationship builder. Service to and support for the schools will be critical, while also furthering a culture that is even more student centered and integrated.
• Provide strong leadership and support for the Office of the Registrar.
  • This is a position for a skilled leader and manager. The university registrar will lead a team that is collaborative, experienced and integrated and looks forward to employing both traditional and innovative methods to manage the academic records operation. The registrar will enhance collaboration between the registrar's area and key campus stakeholders, promote a culture of change and enable the staff to operate at the highest level of quality. In addition, the university registrar will support the continued professional development of staff and foster an environment of teamwork — providing direction, clarity and support for department operations and personnel.

• Master’s degree.
• Experience, leadership and vision to plan, organize and direct the university registrar’s office and to provide inspiration to advance the goals of Washington University.
• Strong relationship skills, high levels of resourcefulness, tactical execution skills and a strong customer focus.
• Record of supervising employees and building an effective team.
• Ability to develop, implement and execute strategies through people by providing leadership, feedback and coaching.
• Ability to develop talent for long-term success and model engagement and openness for shared ideas and teamwork.
• Knowledge of the application of complex student information systems and course registration, enrollment and student record keeping policies and practices.
• Ability to be effective in a complex, decentralized environment.
• Creative and visionary thinking with the ability to formulate strategies to deliver results on short- and long-term goals.
• Ability to adapt to a complex environment, juggle multiple tasks and timelines and adapt to shifting priorities.
• Ability to foster a culture of innovation, identify opportunities for improvement, and have the ability to develop, sponsor or support the introduction of new and improved methods, products, procedures or technologies.
• Deep understanding of and familiarity with current trends in the registrar's area.
• Experience leading the effective use of academic records management technologies.
• Exceptional analytical skills, including the ability to interpret data, identify trends and anticipate the impact of proposals on policy and practice.
• Demonstrated interest in continuously enhancing technical skills.
• Ability to apply technical knowledge to support processes and complex functional problem solving.
• Excellent communication and customer service skills, including the skill to work with many and varied partners.
• Highly developed listening and communications skills.
• Ability to present technical and administrative information in informal and formal settings.
• Skills, knowledge and experience to provide student-focused services to a diverse population.
• Demonstrated strong commitment to diversity, inclusion and equity.
• Ability to foster an inclusive workplace where diversity and individual uniqueness are valued and leveraged to achieve organization goals.
• Strong working knowledge of federal and state laws, in particular FERPA, and mandates pertaining to enrollment and student records and to institutional compliance, including knowledge of best practices, current trends and issues in higher education pertaining to academic records.

Terminal degree.

Base pay commensurate with experience.

All external candidates receiving an offer for employment will be required to submit to pre-employment screening for this position. Current employees applying for a new position within the university may be subject to this requirement. The screenings will include a criminal background check and, as applicable for the position, other background checks, drug screen, employment and education or licensure/certification verification, physical examination, certain vaccinations and/or governmental registry checks. All offers are contingent upon successful completion of required screening.

This position is eligible for full-time benefits.  Please click the following link to view a summary of benefits:  https://wustl.box.com/s/8wkhs25yssf0775x9d6nd6vqa7obpth7.

Inquiries, nominations and applications are invited. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.

Candidates should provide a resume and a letter of application that addresses the responsibilities and requirements described in this leadership profile. These materials should be sent via e-mail to Washington University's consultants, Amy Crutchfield and Bree Liddell, at WashURegistrar@wittkieffer.com.