Director of Academic Compliance, Accreditation, and Policy

The Director of Academic Compliance, Accreditation, and Policy provides leadership and coordination for institutional and academic compliance functions within Academic Affairs. This position supports accreditation readiness, policy development and maintenance, regulatory alignment, and continuous improvement efforts across the university and its academic programs.

Working collaboratively with academic and administrative leaders, the Director helps ensure that institutional policies, procedures, and documentation are current, clearly communicated, consistently maintained, and aligned with institutional mission, accreditor expectations, and applicable regulatory requirements. The Director serves as a project manager and institutional resource for accreditation activities, policy governance, and academic compliance processes, while promoting effective coordination across departments.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES:

Academic Compliance and Regulatory Support

• Coordinate academic compliance activities within Academic Affairs to support adherence to institutional policies, accreditation standards, and applicable federal, state, and professional requirements.
• Take primary responsibility for managing state-authorization everywhere the institution has students or faculty.
• Monitor changes in relevant regulatory and accreditation expectations and communicate implications to university leadership and responsible offices.
• Assist with the identification of compliance risks, documentation gaps, and process vulnerabilities, and help develop corrective action plans in collaboration with responsible units.
• Maintain organized records and documentation to support institutional reporting, compliance reviews, and audit or site-visit preparation.

Accreditation Support and Readiness

• Work closely with the institution’s Accreditation Liaison Officer(s) [ALO] for all accreditors and accreditation activities.
• Coordinate timelines, calendars, work plans, and evidence collection for institutional and programmatic accreditation activities.
• Support preparation of accreditation reports, narratives, appendices, and related submissions in partnership with academic and administrative stakeholders.
• Help organize site visits, mock visits, follow-up reporting, and ongoing readiness activities.
• Track accreditation recommendations, action items, deadlines, and outcomes, and provide regular status updates to the Vice President, Dean(s), ALO(s), and other designated leaders.
• Serve as a resource to departments regarding accreditation processes, documentation expectations, and continuous improvement practices.

Policy Development, Review, and Maintenance

• Coordinate with all units to ensure timely, regular reviews of all institutional policies.
• Maintain a central policy inventory and version control process for institutional policies, procedures, and related documents.
• Lead the coordination of academic policy development, revision, formatting, routing, approval, publication, and archival processes.
• Establish and maintain a systematic review cycle for academic policies and related procedures.
• Work with policy owners and subject matter experts to ensure policies are clear, current, internally consistent, and aligned with institutional practice and governance expectations.
• Support dissemination and implementation of new or revised policies in collaboration with appropriate offices.

Process Improvement and Documentation

• Evaluate existing academic administrative processes and recommend improvements that strengthen efficiency, clarity, accountability, and compliance.
• Develop standardized templates, workflows, and documentation practices to support consistent operations across Academic Affairs.
• Promote sound records management and documentation practices related to academic compliance, accreditation, and policy administration.
• Support the development of dashboards, trackers, and reporting tools for key compliance and accreditation deliverables.

Collaboration and Institutional Support

• Partner with leaders in Academic Affairs, student affairs, institutional effectiveness, compliance, registrar, faculty affairs, and other offices to advance aligned processes and reporting.
• Support committees, working groups, and task forces related to accreditation, policy review, academic quality, and compliance initiatives.
• Prepare briefing materials, summaries, reports, and presentations for leadership related to areas of responsibility.
• Perform other related duties as assigned in support of Academic Affairs priorities.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

This position may supervise support staff, student workers, or project-based personnel as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of five to seven years of progressively responsible professional experience in higher education, academic affairs, accreditation, compliance, policy administration, institutional effectiveness, or a closely related area.
• Demonstrated experience supporting complex cross-functional projects with multiple deadlines and stakeholders.
• Experience drafting, revising, organizing, or managing formal policies, procedures, reports, or compliance-related documentation.
• Strong written, analytical, organizational, and project management skills.
• Ability to interpret standards, regulations, and institutional requirements and translate them into actionable processes.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and standard document/data management tools.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in higher education, public administration, health professions education, organizational leadership, or a related field.
• Experience supporting institutional or specialized/programmatic accreditation in higher education.
• Experience in health sciences, law, medicine, or other regulated academic environment.
• Familiarity with document control, policy governance, records management, or quality assurance systems.
• Experience coordinating committee processes, site visits, or formal reporting cycles.

Core Competencies

• Strong judgment and discretion
• Project management and follow-through
• Policy analysis and written communication
• Detail orientation and document control
• Collaboration and diplomatic influence
• Risk awareness and problem solving
• Ability to work independently while coordinating effectively across functions
• Exceptional analytical skills with the ability to synthesize data, assess compliance requirements, and identify gaps in accreditation readiness.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to draft and edit professional documents, reports, and communications.
• Adept at fostering collaboration across departments to achieve strategic objectives and organizational alignment.

Work Environment / Physical Requirements:

The essential physical and mental requirements described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the job's essential functions. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

DISCLAIMER:

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. All personnel may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time, as needed.

It is the policy of Kansas Health Science University (KHSU)-Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (KansasCOM) not to discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religion, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, age, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, childbirth and any medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law, ordinance or regulation. KHSU-KansasCOM is committed to complying with all applicable laws regarding equal employment opportunities. KHSU-KansasCOM strives to create and maintain a work environment in which people are treated with dignity, decency, and respect. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply.

Kansas Health Science University offers a generous compensation and benefits package, as well as the opportunity to work for a leader in the field of education. Some of our key benefits include: generous paid time-off, medical and dental coverage, company-paid life and disability insurance, retirement plan with employer contribution, multiple flexible spending accounts (FSA), tuition reimbursement, professional development, and regular employee appreciation events.

Kansas Health Science University is an Equal Opportunity Employer.