Associate Dean For Undergraduate Studies

Reports to: Provost & Dean of Faculty

Anticipated Start Date: mid-February/early March, 2024 (for one position); and April 1st, 2024 (for one position)

Term of Employment: Full-time

Base of Designation: Vermont (Hybrid or Remote) or overseas if in a country that hosts an SIT program

To Apply: To ensure consideration, please apply by December 18, 2023 and upload a cover letter, resume, and contact information for three (3) professional references. The posting will remain open until position is filled.
Job Summary

School for International Training (SIT) invites applications for two positions at the rank of Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies. The two Associate Deans manage the academic operations of SIT undergraduate programs and oversee the execution of SIT's strategic plan for academic programs (each holding a portfolio of SIT programs to manage directly). They will be responsible for all aspects of academic management and administration, supervision of undergraduate faculty, curricular oversight and development of SIT's portfolio of undergraduate programs, and ensuring that SIT's 1800 undergraduate (predominantly US) students receive an excellent, student-centered, and experiential education in whichever of the 40 different program sites across seven continents where SIT operates. Each Associate Dean is responsible for a portfolio of programs focused on selected critical global issues, ranging from humanities-based topics through the social sciences to environmental science and health. SIT aspires to deliver the highest academic quality programming for its undergraduate students. Considerable international travel will be required in this position.

We invite you to learn about SIT mission and values here: https://www.worldlearninginc.org/about-us/mission-and-values/

About SIT Programs

SIT undergraduate and graduate programs in all disciplines utilize a decolonial approach to curriculum, decentering Western modes of knowledge production, creation, and dissemination while elevating the ideas and work of local and regional scholars, activists, NGO practitioners, artists, and community members. SIT places an equal commitment on the creation of inclusive teaching and learning environments which welcome students from all identities and neurodiverse ways of learning. SIT learning centers across the world are committed to building and implementing sustainability practices to leverage carbon footprints and contribute to the well-being of the communities where they are immersed.

The program themes vary from development and social change to environmental studies, post-conflict transformation, health, and human rights. All SIT programs emphasize field study while examining critical global issues in keeping with the broader organizational missions of peace and social justice. SIT's educational model focuses on cultural immersion as its primary heuristic component and uses theories of decolonial experiential education to inform its curricula and augment student learning.

Responsibilities

• Ensure a student-centered, experiential learning process: Visit programs to review student learning experiences; assess student feedback; provide appropriate feedback to faculty on classroom performance; support faculty to hire appropriate adjuncts and advise on relevant training; ensure sufficient knowledge of and training in appropriate classroom techniques, including how to build reflection into teaching; make sure that students' voices are available, being heard and reflected on; where necessary, work with Student Health Safety and Well-Being on issues of student conduct etc; and provide timely appeals processes for grading etc.

* Curriculum Review and Change: Conduct curriculum review and development for Undergraduate programs in accordance with the Office of the Provost and Dean of Faculty's strategic plan for academic programs; maintain academic integrity and quality experiential programming at the highest level and ensure academic programs are informed by the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion at the level of academic planning and management.

• Faculty Supervision: Supervise faculty in the delivery of the academic content of the programs; this includes close mentoring and training and overseeing faculty search processes, including participation in final candidate interviews and hiring recommendations to the Provost and Dean of Faculty.
• Performance Evaluation and Program Review: Conduct annual faculty performance evaluation and program review of undergraduate programs; support faculty in designing action plans for their programs to enhance academic quality and student experience.
• Learning Outcomes and Assessment: Ensure that syllabi and curricula achieve programs' student learning goals; ensure adherence to academic policies such as new curriculum development and change policy, IRB policy, and the policy on working with vulnerable populations; review and conduct follow-up on student evaluations; contribute to longer-term outcomes assessment; oversee undergraduate student grade appeals.
• Faculty Training and Resources: Take leadership in the organization of faculty training workshops (both virtual and in-person) in collaboration with the Office of the Provost and Dean of Faculty and relevant SIT departments; host monthly Faculty Forum meetings with undergraduate faculty; check-in with individual faculty on a regular basis during the semester; conduct and supervise training for new faculty; conduct regional trainings for local staff as needed and in consultation with the Dean of Faculty; support faculty in their own research needs and interests; set up a mentorship program to support the onboarding of new faculty members.
• Academic Affiliations: Work closely with the Office of the Provost and Dean of Faculty and Office of Global Operations in developing formal in-country affiliations with appropriate academic institutions; work closely with External Relations and Strategic Partnerships in support of U.S. school partnerships. As needed, travel to U.S. colleges to develop academic relationships and support enrollment efforts.
• Knowledge of Critical Global Issues: Maintain updated knowledge of critical global issues and stay current with the latest research and developments in academic disciplines as a background for decision-making on program academic viability and curriculum change; supervise and support the Critical Global Issues Chairs in the administration and management of the academic programs in their portfolio; liaise with the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs to further SIT's research funding and support faculty research initiatives.
• Risk Assessment: contribute to departmental and program-specific risk assessment and crisis management teams as needed on an ad hoc basis.
• Academic Engagement: Contribute to academic and thought leadership within SIT through participation in the SIT Faculty Lecture Series, research efforts, and presentations at conferences as identified and agreed upon in support of SIT strategic plan.
• Institutional Service: Represent SIT at appropriate professional conferences; participate in management of the Office of the Provost and Dean of Faculty, including service on standing and ad hoc committees of the office and SIT; perform other duties as assigned by the Provost and Dean of Faculty.

Requirements

• Ph.D or other relevant terminal degree required in one of the disciplines of the Critical Global Issues (environmental or health sciences, social sciences [hard or soft] or humanities)
• Extensive undergraduate teaching experience at the college/university level (including experience teaching US undergraduate students)
• A strong, demonstrable commitment to student-centered learning
• A strong understanding of the US undergraduate student sector today
• Excellent organizational and analytical skills and budget management
• Articulate in use of oral and written English
• Demonstrated support for diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills

Preferred:

• At least 3 years of prior management/administrative experience in university or other academic setting
• Demonstrated understanding of field-based and/or experiential education pedagogy
• International experience with academic programming
• Experience of supervising faculty (also supervising remotely)
• Proven ability to lead in research and/or curriculum initiatives

Vaccination is strongly recommended for all employees in our U.S. offices except for those receiving medical or religious exemptions. If boosters are subsequently recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) then employees and faculty will be recommended to receive the booster within thirty (30) days of their eligibility.

Benefits

World Learning provides a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that includes: medical, dental, vision, FSA/HRA, Life/AD&D, Short Term/Long Term Disability, EAP, Parking and Transit, 403 (b) retirement plan (when applicable) for full-time and eligible part-time employees.

For more than 90 years, World Learning Inc. is a thriving global organization made up of The Experiment in International Living, the nation's most experienced provider of international education through exchanges for high school students; School for International Training, offering accredited undergraduate study abroad programs through SIT Study Abroad and internationally focused master's degrees through SIT Graduate Institute; and World Learning, a global development and exchange nonprofit organization.

World Learning has worked to create a more sustainable, peaceful, and just world. World Learning's education, development, and exchange programs help people find their voices, connect with their communities, strengthen the institutions that form the backbone of a democratic society, and build relationships across cultures. With World Learning's support, these emerging leaders tackle critical global issues like poverty, conflict, and inequality.

The Experiment in International Living is the nation's most experienced provider of international education through exchanges for high school students. For more than 90 years, The Experiment has empowered young people to step off the beaten path, experience the world as a classroom, immerse themselves fully in another culture, and build the knowledge and skills needed to confront critical global issues.

School for International Training (SIT) was founded in the early 1960s as a training center for the first Peace Corps volunteers. For nearly 60 years, SIT has prepared students to be effective changemakers and global citizens through experiential education focused on the world's most critical global issues. SIT Study Abroad offers accredited summer and semester undergraduate programs in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, as well as comparative programs on multiple continents. SIT Graduate Institute offers global and hybrid certificates, master's, and doctoral degrees.

We are a globally diverse community of staff, faculty, board members, alumni, students, and participants who believe that inclusive and equitable practices are at the heart of a peaceful and just world. Each of us strives to honor diverse voices and lived experiences, examine our own biases and privileges, actively work to address inequities in our structures, and foster a community of open dialogue. We are committed to acting with accountability, transparency, reciprocity, authenticity, and empathy.

World Learning is an equal employment opportunity/affirmative action/veterans/ADA employer, committed to increasing the diversity of its workforce.