Associate Dean for Student Services

Reporting to Vice Dean, the Associate Dean for Student Services is a member of the law school’s leadership team and works closely with the other administrators, the faculty, and students to advance the law school’s mission. Specifically, the Student Services Office includes accessibility services, academic advising, and mentoring resources. The Office also handles a variety of academic and student-support functions. In the future, the Office may also include the Director of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. The Associate Dean position is a hybrid position (in-person and virtual).

Primary Responsibilities

  • Leads the Student Services Office, which includes accessibility services, academic advising, and mentoring resources.
  • Oversees academic and professional discipline issues, enforces the honor code, and coordinates the Academic Standards Committee and Honor Code Committee processes.
  • Maintains a regular schedule of student appointments and advising on a wide range of topics including Law School policies, academic concerns, character-and-fitness requirements, registration requirements, graduation requirements, financial aid, disability accommodations, leaves of absence, and other personal issues.
  • Evaluates student progress toward completion of degree requirements, monitors student academic standing, probation, and dismissal.
  • Co-chairs the Student Support Emergency Services Team (SSET).
  • Serves as a member of the Crisis Response Team, the Behavioral Intervention Team, and the SMaRT (Southwestern Managing Risks Team), including relevant SMaRT subteams.
  • Plays a significant role in responding to emergency and crisis situations that pertain to students and campus life.
  • Collaborates with the Academic Success Office to support students experiencing academic difficulty.
  • Serves on task forces, standing committees, and advisory groups and participates in the ongoing development and evaluation of student policies, services, and systems.
  • Recommends and participates in the development of law school policies and procedures.
  • Stays current with accreditation standards and actively helps to ensure the Law School’s compliance with those standards.
  • Oversees the state character-and-fitness certification process.
  • Provides data for various external reports, such as IPEDS, ABA reports, and National Student Clearinghouse.
  • Collaborates with other offices (including admissions, academic success and bar preparation, accounting, financial aid, and student affairs) in establishing and applying data standards, integrating information within and across systems, and auditing data quality and integrity.
  • Manages the office’s non-personnel budget and provides fiscal direction for the department.
  • Represents the law school as a member of professional organizations and contributes to professional advancement in the field.

Required Skills:

  • High level of judgment, discretion, integrity, and confidentiality.
  • Sensitivity to the needs of underrepresented populations and experience dealing with diverse constituencies.
  • Knowledge and comprehensive understanding of student records management principles, regulations, policies, and procedures.
  • Knowledge of crisis intervention techniques.
  • Strong leadership skills.
  • Collaborative work style and ability to work diplomatically with individuals with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community.
  • Knowledge of applicable legislation, standards, policies, and procedures within specialty areas.
  • Accuracy and meticulous attention to detail.
  • Highly organized; excellent time-management skills.
  • Excellent critical thinking and listening skills.
  • Ability to apply creative problem-solving skills to develop solutions within established policies, guidelines, accreditation standards, and applicable law.
  • Knowledge of advising and counseling techniques.
  • Ability to supervise and train employees, including organizing, prioritizing, and scheduling work assignments.

Qualifications:

  • A bachelor’s degree is required.
  • At least 5 years of experience directly related to the duties and responsibilities specified or in a similar role is strongly preferred.
  • A J.D. or advanced degree in a relevant discipline is strongly preferred.
  • At least three years of senior-level leadership experience is strongly preferred.
  • Previous experience providing guidance and/or counseling to higher education students is strongly preferred.

Salary: $125,000-160,000, depending on experience and credentials

Please send a cover letter and resume to jobs3@swlaw.edu to be considered for this position.

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