Director of Disability Student Support Services (Accommodations & Support Services)
Who We Are
With three campuses along Colorado’s Front Range, FRCC is the state’s largest community college. We enroll close to 28,000 students annually from our diverse service area, which offers a variety of cultural and recreational activities.
Each year approximately 5,000 FRCC students transfer to four-year universities and FRCC offers more than 36 career training programs that prepare students for immediate employment and rewarding careers. Last year, more than 5,000 high school students took concurrent enrollment classes with us, earning college credit without having to pay college tuition. And we were recently ranked as one of the “Top Online Colleges” in the country by Newsweek.
One of FRCC’s main goals is to offer educational excellence for everyone. The college’s strong commitment to student success means we start by creating an inclusive and equitable environment—one where both students and employees feel they belong and are supported. FRCC’s focus on diversity, equity and inclusion is woven into the fabric of our college conversations and decision-making processes. We are actively seeking to hire a workforce that reflects the diversity of our student body.
The college is also an emerging Hispanic Serving Institution. For us, becoming an HSI is an intentional commitment to being a college where our Latinx (and other historically marginalized) students thrive.
FRCC employees and leaders work hard to create a culture of collaboration, innovation and pride. We’re looking to hire people who share these values—along with our commitment to student success, equity and excellence.
Who You Are
As the Director of Disability Support Services (DSS) for Accommodations and Support Services, you will assist with leadership and direction for FRCC’s Disability Support Services department. Reporting directly to the Senior Director of Disability Support Services, you will manage DSS coordinators and all services related to providing accommodations and disability-related supports to students with a commitment to delivering high quality services to students and the community.
You are responsible for making data informed decisions about the implementation and effectiveness of services to best support student success and enrollment. You will lead staff on each campus and will occasionally travel to each campus. You will be student-centered and will ensure that practices are equity centered.
Ideally, you have a passion for continuous improvement of programs, services and operations that enhance the student and community experience. You are knowledgeable of and stay up to date on best practices in DSS and work closely with FRCC partners to meet the needs of Students.
This position is based out of the Westminster Campus and requires a strong on-campus presence. The position will have the opportunity to work remotely occasionally and will occasionally need to travel to all three FRCC campuses.
Please note: You need to be a Colorado resident on your first day of employment. Also, Front Range Community College is an E-Verify employer.
SALARY: $67,435 - $70,807 annually
The salary range reflects the minimum and maximum starting salary for the position. When determining the starting salary for a new employee, FRCC takes into consideration a combination of the selected candidate's education, training and experience as it relates to the requirements of the position, as well as the position's scope and complexity, internal pay equity and external market value.
BENEFITS: Please click here to find more information about APT & Faculty Benefits
SELECTION PROCESS: Position will remain open until filled with a priority deadline of February 17, 2025. This posting may be used to fill multiple or similar positions.
Preliminary screening will be made on the basis of the completed application package submitted by the candidate. In your application, please include a resume and cover letter that specifically addresses how your background and experience align with the requirements, qualifications and responsibilities of the Director, DSS Accommodations and Support Services.
Primary Duties
Primary Duties:Planning & Program Management:
- Provides leadership through the planning, development and management of established DSS practices and procedures related to providing student accommodations and disability-related supports that offer equitable access to all students, including first generation, students with accessibility needs, and underrepresented students that are grounded in best practices.
- Conducts intake for FRCC students with disabilities, collects and reviews documentation of disability, reviews/approves accommodation requests and makes appropriate referrals for additional student support services.
- Troubleshoots challenges and assists with mediating student and faculty disagreements about accommodations, and reviews departmental grievances or accommodation appeals as consistent with college and system procedures.
- Consults with administrators and staff to implement design strategies and reasonable accommodations that mitigate barriers identified by individual disabled people.
- Maintains calendar, scheduling, databases and case notes.
- Engages in ongoing assessment and evaluation of policies and procedures through an equity lens and makes appropriate adjustments to remove barriers and enhance the student experience.
Leadership & Supervision:
- Provides leadership to a collaborative one-college culture for student success. Serves on college, divisional and departmental committees and works collaboratively with colleagues to foster teamwork, team building and a culture of trust.
- Provides leadership and supervision to direct reports, modeling behavior and demeanor that supports expected standards and the program mission.
- Recruits, retains, trains, supervises, evaluates, and supports a diverse staff in accordance with policies, procedures and applicable state and federal laws.
- Provides mentorship, support and guidance to all direct reports and their teams to foster data-driven, care-centered, and equity-minded decision making.
- Works closely with Organizational Development and Human Resources to identify and expand appropriate training and professional development opportunities for staff and to create an effective onboarding process for all direct reports that supports engagement and retention.
- Collaborates with FRCC staff and faculty to ensure that persons with disabilities are welcomed as equal members into the diverse and inclusive environment of the college.
- Develops and delivers events, trainings, and presentations to promote inclusion, raise awareness of the disability experience, and educate on topics such as accommodations, accessibility, and equity.
- Collaborates with college leadership, departments, and the DSS Director to remove barriers, improve accessibility, and support strategic planning for student success and retention.
- Builds and sustains professional relationships with faculty, staff, community agencies, and organizations to enhance resources and accessibility initiatives.
Collaboration and Partnership:
- Consults with Testing Centers, Enrollment Management & Student Success, and the Office of Equity & Inclusion to ensure cross-departmental collaboration, and equitable experience, and an environment in which students with accommodations can thrive.
- Provides training to faculty, instructors, and staff on DSS outreach and education services.
- Acts as an accessibility/ADA advocate for the campus and college; observes and reports physical and remote accessibility problems to Dean of Student Development and Director of Facilities.
- Serves on campus, college, and state-wide committees related to assistive technology and/or accessibility as required to represent disability-related perspective.
Assessment:
- Partners with the Sr. Director of DSS and Institutional Research to compile, analyze and present statistical data as directed by student needs and requested by leadership.
- Engages in ongoing assessment and evaluation of DSS outreach and education practices and services and makes appropriate recommendations to respond to issues impacting a quality student experience, efficiency, equity, and inclusion.
Budget Management:
- Partners with the Sr. Director of DSS to assess the fiscal needs of the department; make budget requests in accordance with the division’s priorities.
Required Competencies
- Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Demonstrates behaviors that convey the importance of diverse lived-experiences and using an equity lens to guide decisions. Embraces diversity, promotes equity and creates an environment of inclusion.
- Building a Diverse Team: Seeks to understand the individual strengths on the team and uses those talents to make the most impact for students. Hires individuals from diverse backgrounds that support values and appreciation for individual differences.
- Commitment to Values: Demonstrates leadership and collaborative behaviors and actions that support FRCC values. Promotes an environment where equity creates opportunities for all students to achieve their educational goals.
- Student Success Focus: Makes decisions that support a student-first culture.
- Operational Planning: Ability to turn the strategic plan into an operational roadmap that guides the division. Support teams in tying their goals to the college’s strategic plan and charge them to do the same with the employees they supervise.
- Change Catalyst: Ability to be nimble and willing to pivot if new data becomes available that can influence outcomes; understands that change is constant and requires flexibility.
- Communication: Communicates effectively with individuals with diverse backgrounds; ability to communicate in a way that is Effective. Chooses words carefully in communications.
- Motivation: Ability to inspire oneself and others to reach goals and/or perform to the best of their ability.
- Collaboration: Willingness to work with colleagues across departments, specifically when job processes are integrated to strategically focus on ways to improve efficiency and effectiveness for students.
- Data Analysis: Prioritizes data analysis in the department and communicates the importance of having concrete information on outcomes to base decisions.
- Relationship Building : Outstanding interpersonal skills with the ability to establish positive and respectful working relationships with students, staff, and faculty.
- Coaching and Mentoring: Coaches and/or mentors direct reports. Willingness to offer professional development opportunities for staff on topics that contribute to their success.
- Evaluation for Improvement: Uses ongoing evaluation as a process and program improvement tool. Works with the team to ensure everyone is aware about how the evaluation process works and why it is important.
- Problem Solving: Demonstrates the ability to examine problems and identify the root cause(s). Develops and implements processes to address problems so the process works as intended.
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Compliance Framework: Knowledgeable about the rules, regulations, and policies that the college must comply with, most specifically in relation to the department. Ensures that teams also understand the compliance framework. Routinely assesses the department’s operations to ensure compliance is being maintained. Remains informed of educational opportunities, best practices, community resources, and state and federal laws, regulations, and policies regarding accessibility and disability rights.
Qualifications
Required Education/Training & Work Experience:
- Bachelor’s degree and 3 or more years of related experience.
- Experience providing leadership in disability services at an institute of higher education.
- Experience using Microsoft Office, and other technologies used in higher education.
- Experience in higher education with an emphasis on creating and directing proactive services, programs or operations including their evaluation and assessment.
- Proven ability to supervise, train, and develop staff, including the demonstrated ability to recruit, retain, mentor, and support a diverse staff.
- Experience working with diverse, non-traditional, and traditionally underserved students.
- Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and culture, including direct experience working with students to provide inclusive and welcoming activities and experiences.
Preferred Education/Training & Work Experience:
- Ability to communicate effectively in Spanish.
Welcoming. Respectful. Inclusive. Together, we are FRCC.