This is a job description.  It does not necessarily indicate that this position is open for employment.
View current job openings using the Employment Opportunities link.

Index/Position No.:                             29500/232170                                     Level 15

Position Title:                                      Director for Academic Technology   

Department:                                        Academic Technology and the Office of eLearning and Online Education.

Expectations for All Employees

East Tennessee State University pursues its mission based upon core values.  An employee's job performance must support and exhibit the university's core values:

PEOPLE come first, are treated with dignity and respect, and are encouraged to achieve their full potential;

RELATIONSHIPS are built on honesty, integrity and trust;

DIVERSITY of people and thought is respected;

EXCELLENCE is achieved through teamwork, leadership, creativity, and a strong work ethic;

EFFICIENCY is achieved through wise use of human and financial resources; and

COMMITMENT to intellectual achievement is embraced.

Function of Position

Responsible to the Associate Vice President for Academic Technology and Executive Director of eLearning and Online Education for providing advice regarding strategic direction for the use of technology in education, including the use of technology in instruction, distributed learning, communications, and strategic planning; representing the Associate Vice President and performing duties of that position in the Associate Vice Presidents absence; providing leadership, development, and management of programs for facilitating faculty development initiatives; managing and supporting the planning, development, and deployment of initiatives that promote the use of technology to deliver instruction at the distance; operationalizing the overall direction and management of strategic planning, fiscal management, and human resources management of Academic Technology; providing support for the creation, development, and implementation of faculty and staff development initiatives; providing leadership for the implementation and operations of the university’s course management system; organizing vendor support, vendor training, and related technical activities; researching advances in education and instructional technologies and facilitating implementation of cutting edge technologies; recommending various products and goals in the strategic planning processes; manages operations of Academic Technology; collaborating with the Associate Vice President to assure effective and efficient implementation of the university’s technology resources; contributing to the success of all instructional technology initiatives by demonstrating professionalism and enthusiasm; and performing other related duties as assigned.

Essential Functions

-          Advises the Associate Vice President for Academic Technology regarding faculty and staff development initiatives and implementation of emergent technologies.

-          Advises and supports the Associate Vice President for Academic Technology regarding strategic planning for the development of campus policies and procedures related to the use of technology in education.

-          Serves as part of the management team for the Associate Vice President of Academic Technology.

-          Represents and performs duties of the Associate Vice President for Academic Technology in his/her absence.

-          Plans, develops, and implements initiatives and systems to support faculty and staff in the use of technology for instruction.

-          Supports the teaching and learning process by delivering a variety of programs to meet the needs of a complex and highly technological society and an increasingly non-traditional student body.

-          Provides leadership, direction, and instructional design support for the implementation of web-based courses and programs.

-          Provides leadership, direction and strategic planning for the university’s web services.

-          Provides direction and support to the Associate Vice President for Academic Technology for the development and implementation of the university’s overall technology development strategic plan.

-          Promotes the participation and retention of a diverse regional population in educational and related activities.

-          Responds to the university’s needs for education, training and other service activities through faculty and staff development activities.

-          Promotes the professional development and support of university faculty, particularly in the areas of teaching and learning.

-          Facilitates the development, implementation and management of web-based electronic protocols and systems including the Content Management System for the web.

-          Indentifies methods to enhance online resources to support effective communication with internal and external audiences.

-          Capitalizes on the web as a marketing and communication tool to enhance the university’s reputation and credibility.

-          Serves as back-up system administrator for the university’s course management system.

-          Serves as part of the Technology Access Fee Advisory Committee.

-          Provides support with respect to campus technology initiatives that support teaching and learning.

-          Provides leadership in the university pursuit and development of a positive web presence including its features, function and appearance to enhance usefulness for prospective students, their parents or employers and the general public.

-          Supervises the development of policies, procedures, protocols, and strategic planning that represent effective management of the university’s web and technology initiatives.

-          Develops on-campus marketing for training opportunities.

-          Collaborates with the Associate Vice President for Academic Technology to develop instructional technology faculty development strategic plans.

-          Evaluates locations on campus where academic technology is in use to assist in bringing more consistency to the overall technology plan.

-          Develops, modifies, or implements training programs to include web based course development concepts for online course delivery through structured formal training delivered in a classroom, through on-line resources, and in one-on-one consultation sessions.

-          Researches and improves delivery methods and operations with the assistance of faculty, vendors and development team members.

-          Maintains an understanding of emerging trends in the use of instructional technologies, networks, distance education initiatives, and diverse computer platforms used in higher education.

-          Researches advances in web-based course development technologies, products, and service offerings.

-          Interacts with a variety of vendors in evaluation of instructional technology products, programs and services.

-          Evaluates and makes recommendations to the Vice President for Finance and Administration, the Chief Operating Officer, and the Chief Information Officer regarding the hardware, software, and network components of the instructional program to ensure the appropriate resources are available for program implementation.

-          Serves as part of the Office of eLearning management team.

-          Interviews, hires, and trains employees; plans, assigns and directs work; sets individual annual goals, appraises performance, addresses complaints and resolves problems.

-          Approves course offerings each semester for the Regent’s Online Degree Program (RODP) and routes the TBR requested RODP course offerings by the academic departments and transmits any requested changes to TBR.

-          Manages faculty assignment for RODP, ensures faculty assignments are correct, that faculty have received RODP training, and any changes of teaching faculty are transmitted to TBR.

-          Manages the cancellation of ETSU/RODP courses and the additional sections needed based on enrollments.

-          Works with RODP Central and departments to find adjunct faculty to teach ETSU/RODP courses.

-          Certifies to RODP that ETSU/RODP faculty complete RODP required training.

-          Provides support for ETSU/RODP faculty to attend RODP sponsored summer Institutes and required training.

-          Assists in planning for the RODP budgets (the normal expense budget and the course development budget).

-          Approves RODP teaching contracts each semester: Faculty teaching contracts are routed through the Office and are checked for accuracy, then approved and forwarded to Dean of the School of Continuing Studies.

-          Generates extra pay forms for faculty teaching RODP courses each semester.

-          Manages the summer teaching contracts for all ETSU/RODP Faculty and checks all ETSU/RODP faculty contracts for accuracy and completeness.

-          Produces an ETSU/RODP productivity report each year by college/department.

-          Represents ETSU on the RODP Curriculum Committee.

-          Notifies RODP Technical support of the Course cloning requests from faculty.

-          Maintains the ETSU RODP faculty credentialing sites each semester (enters the faculty credentialing data, such as degrees, faculty status, identifies courses they are teaching, and uploads transcripts received from HR to the credentialing data.)

Secondary Functions

-          Assists the Associate Vice President for Academic Technology with planning, developing, and implementing new faculty orientation in conjunction with the Vice Provost for Special Programs.

-          Plans and collaborates with the Associate Vice President for Academic Technology to implement faculty special instructional development and innovative projects.

-          Serves as a liaison to facilitate communication between information technology and faculty.

-          Performs other related duties as assigned.

Knowledge and Abilities

-          Knowledge of best practices for the use of technology in higher education institutions.

-          Knowledge of university structure.

-          Knowledge of university policies, procedures and processes.

-          Knowledge of all academic areas including teaching, research and creative activities.

-          Knowledge of good human relations skills that relate to supervising professional personnel.

-          Knowledge of trends and best practices in higher education.

-          Knowledge of web-based communication and marketing.

-          Knowledge of Tennessee Board of Regents policies and procedures.

-          Ability to make judicious decisions.

-          Ability to work cooperatively with academic administrators in policy development.

-          Ability to interact with various constituencies both internal and external to the university.

-          Ability to provide initiative and originality for problem-solving and leadership.

-          Ability to communicate effectively.

-          Ability to interface with various publics.

-          Ability to do strategic planning.

-          Ability to develop and implement policies effectively.

-          Ability to prepare and present reports effectively.

-          Ability to organize in order to prioritize and perform multiple, concurrent projects.

Supervision Given and Received

Performs under general supervision. Determines own methods of performing assigned work. Supervises administrative and classified employees.

Minimum Qualifications

Master’s degree required, Ph.D. preferred; five years experience in faculty and staff development coordination.