Associate Director, Student Accessibility Services

About Worcester State University:

WORCESTER STATE UNIVERSITY is a liberal arts and sciences university with a long tradition of academic excellence dating back to 1874, as well as an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer that seeks to reflect the diversity of its community. Our workforce is dedicated to academic quality, student-centered programming, engaged citizenship, open exchanges of ideas, diversity and inclusiveness, and civility and integrity. We are looking for job applicants who share these values and commitment to our students.

Worcester State is centrally located in Massachusetts, about an hour's drive from Boston, Springfield, and Providence, Rhode Island. Our 58-acre campus is nestled in the residential northwest side of Worcester--the second largest city in New England and home to 37,000 college students at more than a dozen colleges and universities. Over 6,000 of those students attend Worcester State--approximately 5,300 are undergraduates and 1,000 are graduate students. Learn more about us at worcester.edu/about .


Job Description:

OFFICIAL TITLE: Associate Director, Student Accessibility Services
SUPERVISION RECEIVED: Assistant Dean of Student Affairs/Director, Student Accessibility Services
SUPERVISION EXERCISED: Administrative Assistant and part-time student personnel. At the director's discretion, this position may also supervise graduate students.

General Statement of Duties: The Associate Director of Student Accessibility Services provides leadership and oversight of the day-to-day operations of the office. Working in collaboration with other members of the office, this position is responsible for coordination of the housing, assistance animals and classroom accommodations processes and distribution of assistive technology. The Associate Director provides support for all compliance functions, conducts intakes, academic coaching, case management, and consultation with faculty and staff. This position will actively participate in planning new initiatives, assessing services and representing Student Accessibility Services within the campus community.

Responsibilities:

(E) = Essential

1. (E) In collaboration with the Assistant Dean/Director, lead and supervise the overall operations of Student Accessibility Services.
2. (E) Participate in hiring of professional staff. Train, supervise and evaluate the administrative assistant and student workers.
3. (E) Participate in hiring of student workers, including student proctors and graduate student(s).
4. (E) Engages in an interactive process with campus partners and utilizes continuous improvement processes to develop and update policies and procedures, including housing accommodations, assistance animals, dietary accommodations and classroom accommodations.
5. (E) Assess workflow processes and procedures on an annual basis.
6. (E) Provides flexible, responsive and high-quality customer service.
7. (E) Conduct student intakes and evaluate documentation to determine eligibility for reasonable accommodations under federal, state and local regulations.
8. (E) Maintains a caseload of academic coaching students with a focus on persistence and retention.
9. (E) Fosters positive and strong working relationships throughout the campus community and represents Student Accessibility Services through the lens of diversity, equity, inclusion and justice.
10. (E) Communicates with campus partners, including faculty, department chairs, and deans regarding academic accommodations and other compliance matters.
11. (E) Chairs and coordinates the Housing Accommodations Committee, including developing and executing annual schedule, collates all materials for members, and actively communicates with all students seeking housing accommodations and assistance animals. Maintains frequent and ongoing contact with Housing Accommodations Committee members.
12. (E) Coordinates all requests for Dietary accommodations, including collaboration with WSU food service vendor.
13. (E) Develop outreach initiatives and collaborative projects and initiatives for internal and external presentations.
14. (E) Develop and deliver training/workshops for faculty, staff, administrators and student workers by providing best practice theory and strategies regarding disabled students in higher education.
15. (E) Review current trends and best practices in the field, including pertinent legal cases and rulings.
16. (E)Assists with departmental, divisional, and campus-wide strategic planning initiatives.
17. (E) Represent Student Accessibility Services on various committees/task forces.
18. (E) Maintains current knowledge of University policies and procedures.
19. (E) Demonstrates civility and professional, customer-service oriented behavior, worthy of emulation by other staff and students.
20. (E) Responsible for contributing to the WSU Strategic Plan.
21. (E) Responsible for contributing to Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action objectives.
22. Performs other duties as assigned.

Requirements:

Required Qualifications:

• Master's degree in related field.
• Three to five years' experience in higher education, specifically providing direct support in disability/accessibility services.
• Two to three years' supervisory experience with professional staff.
• Computer literacy skills and ability to manage a database system.
• Working knowledge of assistive technology.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills to effectively interact and work collaboratively with diverse populations of students, staff, faculty, and administrators.
• Commitment to campus efforts to promote, sustain, and achieve diversity, equity, inclusion and justice, particularly for disabled students.

Additional Information:

This is a full-time, benefited, exempt, professional APA position. The firm annual salary range for this position is $75,000 - $80,000, commensurate with relevant professional experience and education.

It is the policy of Worcester State University that all employees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before they begin employment. Proof of the COVID-19 vaccine is required of all individuals hired by WSU, to be verified after an offer of employment has been made, and as part of the background check process. Prospective employees may submit a request for exemption based on a religious and/or medical basis, to Human Resources, after an offer of employment has been made.

Worcester State University offers a competitive benefits package that includes:

• a choice of 9 different pre-taxed, health insurance plan options
• a choice of pension or 401(a), and supplemental plan retirement options
• life insurance up to 8x the annual salary
• long-term disability coverage
• dental insurance
• 20 vacation days accrued per year
• 15 sick days accrued per year
• 5 personal days per year
• paid holidays
• tuition remission for self, spouse, and dependent children
• and more...

We are an equal opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. M/F/D/V. Members of traditionally underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply.


Application Instructions:

Applicants must apply online and may do so by visiting www.worcester.edu/careers, and submitting a cover letter, resume, and the contact information of three professional references.

For assistance with uploading materials, log a ticket via the HelpDesk link, or contact us directly at 508-929-8053.

URL: www.worcester.edu