RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE POSITION
Reporting to the newly appointed registrar, the associate registrar will work with the registrar and office staff to create and maintain a customer service and solutions-oriented office that serves undergraduate and graduate students (and their families), faculty, and staff. Working collaboratively with these constituencies, the associate registrar communicates academic policies, recommends action, resolves problems, and ensures the integrity of student data and related reports. The associate registrar aids in course scheduling and registration, executing grading processes, providing data and creating reports, processing records for students who take temporary or permanent time away from the college, and managing all graduation processes. In addition, the associate registrar participates in and provides leadership for developing and maintaining the student information system, works with faculty and staff to create and communicate exam schedules, and maintains the registrar office website. Acting in the registrar’s absence, the associate registrar provides leadership to the staff team.
QUALIFICATIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE
Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree and three years of experience in a registrar’s office or relevant administrative office overseeing records and processing or office operations. Qualified candidates will have experience with an integrated student database, familiarity with academic planning software (such as DegreeWorks), and proficiency with the Microsoft Office suite of products. A master’s degree in higher education administration, data analytics, business management, or a related field; two years of administrative experience as an associate or assistant registrar; and three years of experience working in higher education is preferred.
In addition to the qualifications stated above, key stakeholders identified the following capabilities and attributes of a successful candidate:
- Team-oriented and flexible professional with a commitment to customer service and problem-solving while maintaining compliance with policies
- Understands FERPA and other federal, state, local, and institutional policies required to maintain compliance and the integrity of student records
- Ability to meet deadlines, organize, and prioritize work in a busy office
- Strong written and verbal communications skills
- Visual acuity and the ability to determine the accuracy and thoroughness of work
- Knowledge of data reporting relevant to student records
- Experience working with multiple, diverse constituencies
HISTORY OF THE POSITION
This position is vacant due to resignation. The office has had a great deal of turnover since the retirement of a long-term registrar in 2020. The most recent associate registrar served from June 2022 to March 2023. The office is currently covered by an interim registrar who is mainly working remotely, two remote contract workers, a faculty member covering special projects and catalog updates, and an in-person operations assistant. There is college-wide recognition of the need for a well-functioning and fully-staffed in-person registrar’s office.
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
In transitioning to Goucher College, the associate registrar will encounter the following opportunities, priorities, and challenges, as shared by key campus stakeholders:
- A strong and welcoming campus community that focuses on student success
- A campus commitment to audit and improve registrar processes and policies to ensure student-centered policies that promote equity, inclusion, and belonging while maintaining compliance and degree integrity
- The opportunity to work with the new registrar to create a proactive, customer-service-oriented, and responsive registrar’s office
- A need to build out registrar support systems for existing and new graduate and undergraduate programs
- A busy, high-profile public-facing office that demands workflow management and effective problem-solving and communications skills
- An expectation for reports that measure student progress and success
MEASURES OF SUCCESS
The items listed below will define the new associate registrar’s success throughout the first year of employment. The new associate registrar will have:
- Demonstrated they are a key member of a cohesive registrar office team that works collaboratively with academic affairs and enrollment management.
- Improved response time and accuracy to stakeholder requests.
- Facilitated migration from email-based queries to online forms that track workflow
- Participated in and provided leadership to the process for the development and ongoing maintenance of the student information system.
- Ensured the accuracy and integrity of student records, course scheduling, catalog production, degree certification, and other essential registrar responsibilities
OVERVIEW OF THE OFFICE OF THE REGISTRAR
The office of the registrar is dedicated to supporting the academic mission and policies of Goucher College. The office provides a welcoming and positive environment that respects diversity, promotes communication, and fosters partnerships with the community. Its mission is to assist in the educational process by helping to provide resources to students, staff, faculty, alums, and others to facilitate the learning and academic process. As chief custodians of academic records, the registrar’s office strives to ensure the records’ accuracy, integrity, and security and enforce college, state, and federal regulations.
Divisional Leadership
Emily Perl, Associate Vice President for Student Success
Emily Perl has extensive experience in higher education administration across the divisions of student affairs, academic affairs, and enrollment management. At various points in her career, her work has focused on the areas of student success and retention, academic advising, first-year experience, student engagement, leadership development, and civic engagement programs. Currently serving as associate vice president for student success, Perl is completing her 27th year of employment at Goucher College, having held several previous positions there. Perl is known at Goucher as a bridge builder and collaborator who works across traditional higher education divisions to build campus-wide initiatives and strong student learning and development opportunities. She has executed several college-wide projects, including co-chairing a successful institutional accreditation process; partnering across the institution to develop the college’s community principles; establishing a themed semester initiative; and launching student success software. She has served as an investigator and hearing officer in student behavioral discipline processes, including Title IX cases, and is a committed advocate for equity and inclusion.
Perl received her PhD in college student personnel administration, with a graduate certificate in women’s studies at the University of Maryland; her MA from The Ohio State University; and her BA in religious studies and sociology from The College of Wooster in Ohio. Perl is a past president of the Maryland College Personnel Association and has taught courses in leadership development.
Jonathan Lindsay, Vice President of Enrollment Management
Jonathan Lindsay joined Goucher College in July 2019. He has spent much of his career on the campuses of art schools, including the School of the Art Institute in Chicago. He came to Goucher for its commitment to global education and focus on addressing issues of social justice head-on. An integral member of Goucher’s senior leadership team, he oversees all aspects of enrollment management, including admissions, financial aid, and student success.
INSTITUTIONAL OVERVIEW
Since its founding in 1885, Goucher College has been a place of innovation and excellence. As a private liberal arts college, Goucher is dedicated to teaching students to be complex problem-solvers prepared for the jobs of the future. Small class sizes, a rigorous curriculum, and dedicated faculty and staff allow for personalized mentorship for each student. Named one of the most innovative colleges in the country by U.S. News & World Report, Goucher is a leader in global education and was one of the first colleges in the country to offer universal study abroad. Approximately 1,100 undergraduate and 900 graduate students form the close-knit and vibrant Goucher community.
The Student Body
Total enrollment: 1,835
Undergraduate: 1,109
Graduate: 726
Male: 35%
Female: 65%
African American: 26%
Asian: 5%
Hispanic: 5%
Two or more races: <1%
Race unknown: 19%
Non-resident: 3%
White: 51%
Diversity Statement
Goucher College has intentionally prioritized a focus on diversity and inclusion in its recently completed strategic plan, cultivating global changemakers. Goucher understands that it is imperative as an institution to embrace inclusion, social and racial equity, a culture of respect, and accessibility, in whom the community includes, how it acts, in what it teaches, and in how it prepares students for life.
Goucher College offers both undergraduate and graduate programs.
Its distinctive undergraduate experience includes:
- An innovative core curriculum focused on solving complex problems, including social and environmental injustices.
- A choice of 29 academic majors with a capstone experience.
- Universal study abroad at no additional cost as part of a global education.
- Four years of career-relevant experiences, including internship opportunities.
- Individualized guidance by a student success team.
Goucher College offers graduate and professional programs that include master’s degrees and professional certificates in classroom, low-residency, and online formats. Fields of study include art, culture, education, and sustainability.
Institutional Leadership
Kent Devereaux, President
Kent Devereaux is the 12th president of Goucher College. Before assuming Goucher’s presidency in July 2019, Devereaux served as president of the New Hampshire Institute of Art (NHIA), a private, non-profit college of arts and design in Manchester, New Hampshire.
In addition to his experience leading non-profit higher education institutions, Devereaux spent over a decade working in technology and online education sectors, including stints as senior vice president of editorial worldwide at Encyclopaedia Britannica, where he was instrumental in transforming the educational publisher from a print to online business in the late 1990s, and as senior vice president and dean of curriculum at Kaplan University.
BENEFITS OVERVIEW
For information on the benefits offered at Goucher College, see here.
APPLICATION AND NOMINATION
Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. To apply for this position please click on the Apply button, complete the brief application process, and upload your resume and position-specific cover letter. Applications only will be accepted via the SpelmanJohnson portal. Nominations for this position and questions about the status of the search may be emailed to Sharon Meagher at smm@spelmanjohnson.com. Applicants needing reasonable accommodation to participate in the application process should contact Spelman Johnson at 413-529-2895 or email info@spelmanjohnson.com.
The public salary range is a minimum of $55,799 to a maximum of $75,429.
Visit the Goucher College website at https://www.goucher.edu/ and https://www.goucher.edu/human-resources/documents/hr-recruitment-brochure.pdf.
Goucher College is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Candidates must be able to provide proof of eligibility to work in the USA. No Visa sponsorship is offered for this position.
Goucher College is committed to increasing the diversity of our community and seeks applicants dedicated to applying principles of equity and inclusion in all areas of the campus community.