Associate Registrar

Job Summary

Rhode Island School of Design’s (RISD) Registrar’s Office seeks an Associate Registrar to manage the day-to-day operations, providing technical expertise in work and in the oversight, maintenance, and operation of the office. This position ensures all operational deadlines are met with high-level customer service and assesses and makes recommendations for improvement for the office’s systems and functions.

The successful candidate combines an understanding of daily operations and in-depth knowledge of the structure and contents of the student information system to provide effective project management to leverage the capabilities of the system and new initiatives. The Associate Registrar stays aware of current trends and identifies and integrates emerging technologies and best practices into business operations to enhance or improve efficiency and bridge technical and operational gaps.

As the Registrar’s Office is an essential partner to the community, the Associate Registrar engages with diplomacy and tact in collaboration with Deans, Departments, and the Provost’s office to provide overall academic support and service. The position also develops policies, practices, and process improvements that support the mission of the college and the Strategic Plan. The Associate Registrar evaluates and implements new features in the student information system and related systems and delivers training to faculty, staff, and students. The ideal candidate will model cultural competence in hiring, training, developing, supervising, and evaluating the staff.

RISD recognizes diversity and inclusion as fundamental to its learning community and integral to an art and design education. Our community is diverse, representing a wide range of geographic, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds, representing all forms of diversity. We seek a culturally competent candidate who will thrive in a campus environment that advances principles of social equity and inclusion and equal access to resources and opportunities.

The Registrar’s Office supports RISD’s mission by serving the entire community efficiently and ethically. The team is energized by its valuable and long-standing relationships across campus and they strive to ensure the accuracy and integrity of student records, assuring compliance with academic policy, maintaining efficient student systems, and providing excellent administrative service to students, faculty, administration, staff, and alumni.

Essential Functions/Duties:
Operations & Supervision:

• Lead the office in the day-to day operations and manage the activities of the staff including but not limited to registration, catalog and curriculum management, academic requirements, course set up, scheduling, grading, student record updates, enrollment reporting, and graduation.
  
  
• Exercise creative and critical thinking in evaluating complex situations and developing solutions; problem solve and make recommendations on issues that affect the direction of the operational needs.
  
  
• Hire, supervise, develop, and train the staff in the office, including front desk customer service. Ensure registrar office staffing and coverage and the timely processing of operations to support the office in a professional, efficient, and compliant manner.
  
  
• Oversee customer-centered services and serve as point of escalation for questions that are less routine in nature.
  
  
• Ensure the office is compliant with institutional, accrediting, and state/federal guidelines.
  
  
• Determine procedural best practices, identify areas for process improvement, and implement operational changes as appropriate. Ensure staff develop and maintain procedure documentation for all responsibilities and tasks in the office.
  
  
• Oversee the processing of essential documents according to data retention and disposal standards, either in paper or electronic form.
  
  

Systems:

• With an understanding of the daily operations and an in-depth knowledge of student information systems, provide functional leadership and technical expertise in order to implement, leverage and optimize RISD’s student information systems, upgrades/features, and other ancillary software systems .
  
  
• Oversee all technical registrar applications used by the office including but not limited to: Colleague, Workday, 25Live, Maxient, Etrieve, and reporting tools.
  
  
• Create, recommend, and implement, as approved, business processes and system enhancements to appropriately secure, store, access and report student information
  
  

Policy & Procedure:

• Responsible for knowing, interpreting, applying, and communicating academic policy and procedures to help ensure the smooth, effective, and efficient operations of the Registrar’s Office.
  
  
• Stay abreast of the latest technological advances and best practices in the registrar-related world.
  
  
• Identify and participate in user networks and collaboratives. Build and foster positive relationships with internal and external stakeholders across the RISD community, demonstrating respect and inclusivity.
  
  

Training & Communication:

• Serve as liaison to departments and administrative offices to interact and strengthen communication between various campus groups to resolve problems, implement new procedures, and ensure consistency.
  
  
• Evaluate procedures and services to enable a response to changing priorities. Lead the change management discussions in the Registrar’s office as new systems and ways of processing are introduced.
  
  
• Prepare and deliver end-user training and support to users of applications specific to the functions of the registrar’s office.
  
  

Testing & Reporting:

• With an in-depth knowledge of applicable business operations, identify, test, and implement improvements and modifications to the student information system.
  
  
• Develop, oversee, and maintain testing plans (in partnership with ITS) for system upgrades and enhancements. Help design testing protocols and methodologies. Ensure all business processes are tested and that changes made are accurate and effective.
  
  
• Review and test system settings, and create, schedule, and monitor patch processes for registrar operations. Regularly run audit reports to check for data integrity and errors.
  
  
• Design, write, and produce reports, queries, presentations, informational extracts, and meaningful data summaries to help make and inform operational decisions and audit processes.
  
  

Required Knowledge/Skills/Experience:

• Bachelor’s Degree and a minimum of 4 years of experience in a dynamic Registrar’s office, with at least 2 years of management/supervisory experience.
  
  
• Significant expertise with Student Information System databases (experience in Colleague or Workday preferred)
  
  
• Technical ability to write and run advanced queries, develop and modify business processes and reporting tools, and tables and data structures.
  
  
• Ability to evaluate and test system and process functionality, and to work methodically to resolve problems
  
  
• Advanced skills in Microsoft Office suite (including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe, and Google Docs)
  
  
• Strong analytic, project management, and problem-solving skills
  
  
• Demonstrated skill in change management
  
  
• Strong interpersonal verbal and written communication skills
  
  
• Ability to think creatively, act with strategic agility, deal with ambiguity and manage innovation
  
  
• Strong detail orientation and organizational skills
  
  
• Ability to work independently and multi-task
  
  
• Ability to exercise discretion with confidential information, support legal compliance with a strong understanding of FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), academic process, and data security best practices
  
  
• Commitment to prioritizing inclusivity, diversity and equity in executing key responsibilities.
  
  

Union

No

Work Schedule

35 hours/week; 12 months/year

Employment Status

Full-Time; Regular. Exempt.

Grade

09/AD

Documents Needed to Apply

Resume (required)

Cover Letter (required)

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please upload all required documents.

The successful candidate will be required to meet our pre-employment background screening requirements.

RISD recognizes diversity and inclusivity as fundamental to its learning community and integral to an art and design education. We welcome candidates whose experience has prepared them to contribute to our commitment to diversity and excellence. RISD is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetics, or any other protected characteristic as established by law.

For internal use only - Job Family:

Registrar - Operations