Policy Director Jobs in Alabama (NOW HIRING)

Job Description: Department/Organization 200023 - The Office of Undergraduate Edu Rank Assistant/Associate Professor Position Summary Campus only search - The Director of Curriculum and Policy provides leadership and day-to-day administration for undergraduate curriculum, academic policy implementation, and related academic initiatives within the Office of Undergraduate Education (OUE). Reporting to the Assistant Provost for Undergraduate Education and General Education, the Director serves as a central resource for the consistent interpretation and implementation of undergraduate curricular requirements and academic policies across the University. The Director provides leadership for the University’s General Education curriculum, Pathways, and experiential learning; coordinates undergraduate curriculum administration and governance processes; and manages recurring work related to academic policy, curricular and General Education exception requests, catalog development, curricular systems, and institutional precedent. The position works closely with academic colleges and schools, the Office of the University Registrar, faculty governance bodies, academic advisors, and other campus partners to support accurate, consistent, and student-centered implementation of undergraduate academic requirements. The Director exercises substantial independent judgment in resolving routine matters within established policies, documented precedent, and delegated authority and develops well-supported recommendations for complex, novel, or precedent-setting matters requiring additional review Detailed Position Information General Education, Pathways, and Experiential Learning — 35% Provides leadership for the implementation, administration, and continuous improvement of the University’s General Education curriculum, Pathways, and experiential learning framework. Coordinates the ongoing implementation and administration of the University’s General Education curriculum in collaboration with faculty governance, academic colleges and schools, the Office of the University Registrar, and other campus partners. Serves as a central resource for the interpretation and application of General Education requirements, course designations, standards, and implementation procedures. Supports faculty and academic units in understanding General Education curricular expectations and institutional processes and develops guidance and resources to promote consistent implementation. Coordinates the development, implementation, administration, and continuous improvement of Pathways and other structured curricular approaches designed to help students navigate and make meaningful connections within the undergraduate curriculum. Coordinates the implementation and continuous improvement of the University’s experiential learning framework and associated curricular standards, processes, and designations. Works with faculty, academic units, and campus partners to support the development, approval, identification, and communication of high-quality experiential learning opportunities. Identifies implementation barriers, recurring questions, and opportunities to improve institutional processes, guidance, and student access. Collaborates with the Director of Undergraduate Assessment and other appropriate partners on assessment and continuous improvement related to General Education, Pathways, and experiential learning. Supports the academic and curricular alignment of related undergraduate educational initiatives when those initiatives intersect with General Education, Pathways, experiential learning, or the broader undergraduate curriculum. Undergraduate Curriculum Administration and Governance — 25% Provides leadership and day-to-day coordination for undergraduate curriculum administration and supports effective undergraduate curriculum governance processes. Reviews undergraduate course and program proposals submitted through the University’s curriculum management system for completeness, consistency, policy compliance, and readiness for institutional review. Identifies and helps resolve issues involving curricular requirements, course attributes and designations, prerequisites, program requirements, implementation timelines, duplication, General Education requirements, and related academic considerations. Works proactively with academic colleges and schools, faculty, curriculum committees, and the Office of the University Registrar to resolve issues before proposals advance through institutional approval processes. Provides staff and subject-matter support for the Undergraduate Council (UGC) and the Core Curriculum Oversight Committee (CCOC), including proposal review and preparation, identification of policy and implementation issues, coordination with campus partners, and follow-through on approved actions. Develops and maintains clear guidance, timelines, standards, and procedures for undergraduate curriculum development and approval. Monitors recurring and emerging curricular issues and recommends improvements to policies, procedures, and workflows. Collaborates with the Office of Institutional Effectiveness to ensure undergraduate curricular proposals and actions are appropriately aligned with institutional accreditation, substantive change, assessment, and reporting requirements. Coordinates with appropriate campus partners to support accurate and timely implementation of approved curricular actions. Academic Policy, Exceptions, Catalog, and Implementation — 30% Provides leadership for the consistent interpretation and implementation of undergraduate academic policies and curricular requirements and coordinates the systems and processes through which those requirements are implemented. Serves as the primary OUE point of coordination for routine undergraduate curricular and General Education exception requests and manages their intake, triage, analysis, routing, resolution, escalation, documentation, and follow-through. Researches relevant facts, academic requirements, institutional policies, curricular history, and applicable precedent and consults, as appropriate, with the Office of the University Registrar, academic colleges and schools, OUE leadership, and other University officials or subject-matter experts. Resolves routine matters within established University policy, documented precedent, and delegated authority and prepares well-supported analyses and recommendations for matters requiring additional review. Develops and maintains systematic documentation of exception decisions, policy interpretations, and institutional precedents to promote consistency, continuity, and efficient decision-making. Works closely with the Office of the University Registrar and academic units to identify and resolve inconsistencies among approved curriculum, catalog language, academic policies, curricular systems, degree requirements, and institutional practice. Supports the review and development of undergraduate catalog content related to academic requirements, curricular policies, General Education, and OUE programs and initiatives. Provides functional leadership and subject-matter expertise related to undergraduate curriculum workflows in CIM/CourseLeaf and related academic systems and coordinates follow-through on actions approved through UGC, CCOC, and other appropriate governance processes. Identifies patterns in exception requests and recurring implementation issues that may indicate a need for policy clarification, curricular change, catalog revision, system modification, or additional guidance. Helps ensure that curricular and policy changes are communicated effectively to academic units, advisors, and other stakeholders responsible for implementation. Collaboration, Communication, and Continuous Improvement — 10% Builds effective partnerships and supports continuous improvement across the undergraduate academic enterprise. Develops strong working relationships with academic colleges and schools, the Office of the University Registrar, academic advising leaders, faculty governance bodies, and other campus partners. Provides clear and timely guidance and consultation to faculty, staff, and administrators regarding undergraduate curriculum, academic policy, and related processes. Develops resources, training, communications, and documentation to improve institutional understanding and consistent implementation of curricular and policy requirements. Minimum Qualifications Doctoral or other terminal degree from an accredited institution and four (4) years of relevant professional experience in higher education involving curriculum, academic affairs, academic policy, faculty governance, registrar functions, advising, student success, or a closely related area; OR a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution and eight (8) years of progressively responsible professional experience in higher education involving one or more of these areas. Demonstrated experience interpreting and applying complex policies, regulations, or academic requirements. Demonstrated ability to analyze complex issues, exercise sound judgment, and develop well-supported recommendations. Demonstrated ability to manage complex processes involving multiple stakeholders and competing priorities. Strong analytical, organizational, written communication, interpersonal, and collaborative skills. Knowledge of undergraduate curriculum, academic policy, and shared governance in higher education. Ability to analyze complex curricular and policy questions and develop well-supported recommendations. Ability to interpret and consistently apply policies, requirements, and institutional precedent. Ability to understand the relationships among curriculum, catalog requirements, academic systems, advising, and the student experience. Ability to manage recurring operational processes while identifying opportunities for systemic improvement. Ability to anticipate issues, exercise initiative, and advance matters toward resolution with appropriate consultation. Ability to build effective partnerships and work across organizational boundaries. Excellent written and verbal communication skills and strong attention to detail. Ability to manage multiple complex priorities in a dynamic environment. Preferred Qualifications Experience with undergraduate curriculum development, curriculum review, or academic governance. Experience with academic policy interpretation, exception review, or the application of institutional precedent. Experience with curriculum management, catalog, degree-audit, or student information systems, including systems such as CourseLeaf/CIM and Degree Works. Experience with General Education, experiential learning, academic advising, or undergraduate student success initiatives. Experience supporting faculty governance committees or institutional curriculum processes. Experience working across academic units in a complex college or university environment. Demonstrated ability to develop sustainable processes, documentation, guidance, and decision frameworks and to advance complex matters toward resolution. Uses data, recurring issues, exception patterns, stakeholder feedback, and institutional experience to identify opportunities for process and policy improvement. Helps build durable institutional capacity by translating knowledge, decisions, and experience into sustainable processes, documentation, guidance, and decision frameworks. Participates in OUE planning and leadership activities and contributes to the coordinated implementation of office priorities. Decision-Making and Scope of Authority The Director exercises substantial independent judgment in the administration of undergraduate curriculum and academic policy and serves as the primary OUE reviewer and coordinator for routine undergraduate curricular and General Education exception requests. The Director is expected to research issues, interpret established policies and documented precedents, consult with appropriate University partners, and resolve routine matters within established procedures and delegated authority. Complex, novel, sensitive, ambiguous, or precedent-setting matters are elevated, as appropriate, to the Assistant Provost for Undergraduate Education and General Education, the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education, the Office of the University Registrar, an appropriate faculty governance body, or another University authority. When escalating a matter, the Director is expected to provide relevant background, analysis, applicable policy and precedent, and a recommended course of action. The Director works collaboratively with University partners and does not supersede the authority of faculty governance bodies, academic colleges and schools, the Registrar, or other University officials with formally assigned decision-making authority. Instructions and Required Materials for Application CV, cover letter, teaching philosophy, teaching evaluations. CV and Cover Letter should be attached along with references About the Division/College/School About the University The University of Alabama is located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, named one of Travel + Leisure’s 25 Best College Towns and Cities in the U.S. As one of the nation’s premier universities, UA offers bachelor’s, master's and doctoral degrees in nearly 200 fields of study. With more than 1,400 acres of tree-lined academic core campus and over 300 state-of-the art facilities, UA has been ranked among the most beautiful and most impressive college campuses in the South, in the state of Alabama and in the nation. In Fall 2023, the Capstone set a new enrollment record with more than 39,000 students, including more than 8,200 in the freshman class. The current enrollment includes students from every county in Alabama, every state in the nation and 92 countries around the world. More than 1,100 National Merit Scholars are currently enrolled, making UA one of the largest enrolling institutions of the scholars in the country. UA was recently recognized as a Top Producing Institution of Fulbright U.S. students for the seventh time in nine years, as well as a Top Producing Institution of Fulbright U.S. Scholars for the first time. UA is one of only 12 universities in the nation to receive both honors. For reasons like this, the University made Forbes list of America’s Top Colleges for 2023 and Time magazine’s list of Top 50 Best Colleges for Future Leaders. It also made Princeton Review’s list of Top Value Colleges. UA is also designated among the top doctoral research universities in the United States in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. One of the fastest growing major research institutions in the nation, UA saw a 21% increase in sponsored awards in the 2023 fiscal year. Since 2015, UA has invested over $1.1 billion in the physical campus, adding more than 2.55 million gros