Careers

Description:

The pilot program of the Commonwealth Collegiate Academic of the University of Massachusetts is designed to increase early college opportunities for high school juniors and seniors in partner schools, with a special emphasis on the matriculation of ethnically diverse, first-generation, economically disadvantaged, and under-served students. The CCA early college partnership will provide enrolled students with increased academic rigor, challenge, and an intensive introduction to university-level work to support a smoother transition into higher education. Students will have the opportunity to earn university credits while at the same time satisfying high school graduation requirements, spend time on a University of Massachusetts campus to engage in college awareness activities and learn more about career options and college majors. 

Key Duties:

This position supports the Commonwealth Collegiate Academy program and supports the campus early college coordinators and partner high schools. The CCA director provides key oversight and coordination of the CCA program’s operation and plans for future expansion through the collaboration with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and community partners. Duties include:

Program Planning and Oversight

• Recruits potential high school partners and supports the development of partnership agreements with CCA high schools.
• Identifies career pathways and related course offerings.
• Ensures that student recruitment, registration, and progress monitoring are efficient and effective.
• Writes and submits grants as required to fund the program through the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and philanthropic groups.
• Coordinates the process needed to become a designated program by the Early College Joint Committee
• Collaborates with finance and administrative personnel in the President’s office to complete financial planning projections.
• Completes required DESE (Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) reports.
• Supports CCA summer program planning.
• Ensure effective CCA program evaluation and reporting.
• Conducts outreach to current and potential community partners, including college- bound organizations and college access
• programs.
• Supports effective CCA expansion planning with UMass Dartmouth and UMass Lowell.

Collaboration and Communication

• Collaborates with UMass Amherst and UMass Boston around future CCA participation.
• Responds to CCA queries with promptness and professionalism.
• Supports student/family/district outreach.
• Ensures credit transfer through coordination of CCA courses into Mass Transfer dictionary.
• Plans and facilitates workshops for UMass faculty and partner high schools to support best practices and ensure curriculum and service coordination.
• Ensures student campus visits are effective.
• Facilitates weekly progress meetings with campus coordinators and regularly attends meetings with member high schools.
• Ensures collection and reporting of data to the UMass campus leadership, high school/district leaders and UMass President’s office related to student demographics and success.
• Maintains confidentiality requirements and privacy laws related to students and families.
• Other duties as assigned by supervisor.

Requirement:

• Minimum of a master's degree; doctorate preferred.
• Minimum of three years' experience in an educational leadership position in a K-12 district or higher education institution.
• Strong organizational, writing, and oral communication skills.
• Ability to use technology for communications, scheduling, meeting, data collection, presentations, and data collection/analysis.
• Ability to build strong and trusting relationships with colleagues and partner high school personnel.
• Experience with and sensitivity toward working with people of diverse ethnic, racial, cultural, religious, gender, disability, sexual orientation, and socio-economic backgrounds.
• Prior demonstrated success with writing and obtaining grant approvals/funding.
• Ability to take initiative, identify solutions, act pro-actively, and follow-through on assigned tasks.
• Commitment to student success and strong customer-service orientation.

Additional Information:

This is a temporary position.