Vice Provost, NAU Online

Vice Provost, NAU Online

Location: NAU Online
Regular/Temporary: Regular
Job ID: 607473
Full/Part Time: Full-Time

Workplace Culture

NAU aims to be the nation's preeminent engine of opportunity, vehicle of economic mobility, and driver of social impact by delivering equitable postsecondary value in Arizona and beyond.



About NAU

Northern Arizona University serves almost 30,000 students. We are a vibrant community, with 21,000 students in Flagstaff—the home of our largest campus—and the remainder online or at our 20+ statewide locations. Our institution has carefully integrated on-campus education with distance learning, forming seamless avenues for students to earn degrees.

Committed to an inclusive university environment, NAU has all the benefits of a large institution with a personal touch. We carefully balance teaching, scholarship, and service for faculty members. Supporting our core value of student-centrism, NAU's faculty members promote learning and help students reach academic milestones.

Flagstaff is an outdoorsy mountain town with four seasons and a thriving cultural scene. Located at 7,000 feet, Flagstaff houses 70,000 people and sits at the base of the sacred San Francisco Peaks.

For more about inclusive excellence at NAU, visit the Center for Inclusive Excellence and Access.

About the Department/College

NAU has an established history of intellectual leadership in developing online programs that serve non-traditional students, and we are the only public Arizona university to offer competency-based education programs. NAU Online currently serves nearly 5,000 students through a growing portfolio of 140 online and competency-based programs and a commitment to individualized attention, student success and attainment, and serving learners that live and work in the state of Arizona and beyond. We are committed to driving economic mobility and social impact by offering workforce-aligned online programs that meet the diverse needs of our learners and employers.

About the Position

Northern Arizona University (NAU) is seeking an innovative, collaborative, and dynamic leader to serve as the Vice Provost for NAU Online (VPNO). Supported through significant institutional investments and leadership commitment, the VPNO will join NAU Online during a time of renewal, reimagining, and growth. The VPNO will be positioned to make significant and long-lasting contributions to serving online students and positioning NAU as a regional and national leader in delivering opportunities for students to access a leading online education that deploys the latest educational technologies and pedagogies.

Reporting to the Senior Vice Provost, the VPNO serves as a member of the Office of the Provost and the academic affairs leadership team and supervises the NAU Online enterprise, including budgetary oversight, online program portfolio management, instructional design for online programs, student success coaching, and marketing and communications. Collaboration across all areas of the institution will be essential to success, particularly with academic unit leadership and shared governance structures, Enrollment Management, University Marketing, and our workforce development team.

The VPNO will leverage innovative and entrepreneurial leadership to lead the development and implementation of institutional strategy for the NAU Online enterprise and be positioned to shape the future of NAU's online operations and the state of Arizona's educational landscape.

Responsibilities include:

• Shaping a distinctive, scalable, and fiscally sustainable portfolio of academic programs that is aligned with regional labor market needs.
• Supporting online academic programs through high-quality instructional design services.
• Promoting high-quality academic experiences by ensuring that online courses adopt innovative pedagogical best-practices.
• Integrating online learning with robust student support services that promote persistence and attainment.
• Expanding NAU Online staffing, growing new functional areas necessary to the organization's success.
• Leading the refinement of NAU Online policies, systems, and business processes.

The VPNO position is a 12-month, full-time administrative position. This is an in-person position located on the main campus of Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, AZ with hybrid and remote work occasionally possible. The preferred start date for the position is December 1, 2023, with an earlier or later start possible based on the successful candidate's availability.

Minimum Qualifications

• Earned master's or doctorate degree.
• Five years of experience in online learning or academic unit leadership positions.

Preferred Qualifications

• Earned doctorate degree in online education, higher education leadership, or related field.
• Experience as a full-time faculty member at a comprehensive institution that combines in-person and online learning.
• Demonstrated success in academic leadership, including strategic planning, consultative leadership, staff supervision, team building, and operational oversight in roles of comparable complexity to NAU Online.
• Demonstrated success in online program and portfolio management, guiding effective communications and marketing, and strategies for student recruitment.
• Experience with strategies and oversight for online student success support services and retention initiatives.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

• Expert knowledge of online learning trends, best-practices, and relevant regulations and policies.
• Expert understanding of instructional design and pedagogical best-practices, including techniques for creating inclusive and accessible learning environments.
• Excellent organizational and communication skills.

Compensation & Benefits

Commensurate with candidate's qualifications and related experience.

This is an Administrative Faculty (ADF) position. NAU offers an excellent benefit package including generous health, dental and vision insurance; participation in the Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS) or the Optional Retirement Program (ORP); 22 days of vacation, sick leave accruals, and 10 holidays per year; and tuition reduction for employees and qualified family members. More information on benefits at NAU is available at the NAU HR benefits page. Administrative Faculty are hired on a contract basis, renewable annually according to the terms of offer. Upon completion of the administrative assignment, employees will return to the faculty role, renewable according to the Conditions of Faculty Service. Academic year (9 month) faculty do not accrue vacation. Employees offered a position will be eligible for state health plans (including NAU's BCBS Plan). Employees will have 31 days from date of hire to enroll in benefits, and their benefits will then be effective the first day of the pay period following their completed enrollment. If a new employee chooses the Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS) retirement option, participation in the ASRS Plan (and the long-term disability coverage that accompanies it) will begin on the first of the pay period following 183 days of employment. New employees who choose to participate in the Optional Retirement Plan (ORP; an alternative to the ASRS plan) will begin to participate on the first day of the pay period following election. The long-term disability plan that accompanies the ORP will begin on the first day of the pay period following election. More information about NAU benefits is available at the NAU HR benefits page.
NAU is a tobacco and smoke-free campus.

Pre-Employment Check

This position has been identified as a safety/security sensitive position. Therefore, per AZ Revised Statute, Northern Arizona University requires satisfactory results for the following: a criminal background investigation, employment history investigation, degree verification (in some cases) and fingerprinting. If you are applying for a job that requires a CDL, you will be required to register with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse and adhere to the clearinghouse requirements. Additionally, as an employer in the state of Arizona, NAU is required to participate in the federal E-Verify program that assists employers with verifying new employees' right to work in the United States. Finally, each year Northern Arizona University releases an Annual Security Report. The report is a result of a federal law known as the Clery Act. The report includes Clery reportable crime statistics for the three most recent completed calendar years and discloses procedures, practices and programs NAU uses to keep students and employees safe including how to report crimes or other emergencies occurring on campus. In addition, the Fire Safety Report is combined with the Annual Security Report for the NAU Flagstaff Mountain Campus as this campus has on-campus student housing. This report discloses fire safety policies and procedures related to on-campus student housing and statistics for fires that occurred in those facilities. If you would like a free paper copy of the report, please contact the NAUPD Records Department at (928) 523-8884 or by visiting the department at 525 E. Pine Knoll Drive in Flagstaff.

Immigration Suppt/Sponsorship

NAU will not provide any U.S. immigration support or sponsorship for this position.

FLSA Status

This position is exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and therefore will not earn overtime or compensatory time for additional time worked.

Submit Your Application

Vacancy will remain open until filled. Applications received before October 2, 2023 will receive full consideration.

To apply for this position, please click on the "Apply" button at the end of the job description (if viewing this position through the NAU HR website). Otherwise, to view the original post and to apply, proceed to nau.jobs, follow the 'Current Openings' link, locate vacancy 607473, and then "Apply" at the bottom of the page.

Application must include (saved as PDF and/or Word documents):

1. a cover letter outlining how the applicant's background and experiences align with the position's qualifications and duties;
2. a curriculum vitae; and
3. names and contact information for three professional references. Professional references will not be contacted without the applicant's permission.

Please do not include any other documents.

Individuals with questions are encouraged to contact Maribeth Watwood, chair of the VPNO search committee at Maribeth.Watwood@nau.edu.

If you need assistance completing your application there are instructions available on the HR website or in person in the Human Resources Department located in Building 91 on the NAU Campus - on the corner of Beaver and DuPont Streets.

If you are an individual with a disability and need a reasonable accommodation to participate in the hiring process, please contact the Disability Resources Office at 928-523-8773, DR@nau.edu, or PO Box 5633, Flagstaff AZ 86011.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Northern Arizona University is a committed Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution. Women, minorities, veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply. NAU is responsive to the needs of dual career couples.

Know Your Rights Poster

NAU is an Employer of National Service. AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, and other National Service alumni are encouraged to apply.



To apply, visit https://hr.peoplesoft.nau.edu/psp/ph92prta/EMPLOYEE/HRMS/c/HRS_HRAM.HRS_APP_SCHJOB.GBL?Page=HRS_APP_JBPST&Action=U&FOCUS=Applicant&SiteId=2&JobOpeningId=607473&PostingSeq=1


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