The Program Manager plays a critical role in leading strategic accreditation and curriculum initiatives across all programs, all modalities, and all degree levels within the School of Nursing and Health Sciences (SONHS) portfolio. Reporting to the Dean SONHS, this individual will drive portfolio-level program management efforts, ensuring alignment with institutional accreditation standards, licensure, and curriculum excellence.
Working collaboratively across the SONHS portfolio, the Program Manager partners with Academic Leadership, Institutional Effectiveness, University teams, and key stakeholders—including Program Directors (PDs), Core Faculty, Assistant/Associate Deans, and Faculty Directors—to support curriculum alignment with professional standards and portfolio metrics. Additionally, they serve as a liaison to multiple internal stakeholders to ensure seamless coordination of curriculum and accreditation efforts.
In this high-visibility role with regular executive leadership interaction, the Program Manager creates, manages, and executes detailed program schedules, reports, and analyses to track milestones and inform stakeholders. They demonstrate strategic thinking to mitigate risks, maximize program benefits, and enhance continuous process improvement efforts for greater effectiveness and efficiency.
Thriving in a fast-paced environment, the Program Manager must possess strong communication and relationship-building skills, exercising cross-functional leadership to solve complex challenges. Their ability to drive strategic initiatives ensures that all projects align with organizational goals while advancing excellence across the portfolio.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
Accreditation Oversight & Compliance:
- Monitor new and existing compliance efforts, including accreditation, licensure, and state requirements across the portfolio ensuring ongoing compliance with external and institutional standards.
- Develop and maintain accreditation documentation, including systematic evaluation plans and self-study reports.
- Act as a liaison between Accreditation, Institutional Effectiveness, Office of the Provost’s vertical, and other university teams to support accreditation-related initiatives.
- Design templates and artifacts to enhance data collection and evidence gathering for accreditation processes.
- Ensure SoNHS alignment with HLC best practices in all aspects of curriculum and accreditation standards.
Curriculum Development & Academic Quality:
- Maintain the SONHS Curriculum Roadmap and collaborate with course development team to ensure accuracy of investment needs.
- Partner with deans and program directors on course development strategy including course prioritization, forecasting of course development needs ensuring alignment with university design principles and external accreditation requirements.
- Collaborate with Program directors to support subject matter expert (SME) course development and leadership.
- Partner with Program Directors, Core Faculty, Assistant/Associate Deans, and Faculty Directors to ensure academic programs are professionally relevant, current, and cohesive.
- Utilize analytics and evidence-based practices to drive continuous improvements in learner success, teaching effectiveness, engagement, and curriculum design.
Strategic Leadership & Process Improvement:
- Monitor all SoNHS accreditation and curriculum-related projects, ensuring milestones are met and progress is effectively tracked.
- Provide strategic oversight of the shared governance model, serving as the primary liaison between councils to ensure effective coordination and decision-making across academic and operational functions.
- Collaborate with academic leadership on strategic program management efforts to align accreditation requirements with business and academic strategies.
- Identify and address risks while optimizing program benefits through strategic thinking and problem-solving.
- Deliver detailed program schedules, reports, and analyses to keep stakeholders informed and engaged.
- Champion continuous process improvement initiatives that enhance institutional effectiveness and curriculum delivery.
- Collaborate with multi-functional teams, including academic leadership, institutional effectiveness, course development, faculty excellence, and learner affairs, to ensure alignment across key initiatives.
Job Skills:
- Education — Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum development, andragogy, and assessment.
- Knowledge of online teaching, competency-based education, and direct assessment.
- Discipline knowledge.
- Ability to objectively analyze program/course quality data and implement recommendations relevant to improving learner outcomes.
- Ability to maintain program compliance with all regulatory rules, and national program accreditation standards.
- Familiarity with program development and evaluation.
- Ability to advise and assess learning effectiveness and quality of the education experience.
- Navigation --Resolve multi-faceted types of problems encountered involving courses, faculty, regulatory or administrative issues.
- Adaptability/Flexibility — Open to change.
- Drive results despite ambiguity.
- Innovation — Creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems.
- Stress Tolerance —Ability to accept constructive criticism and deal with high stress situations.
- Leadership - Ability to operate independently (leading, collaborating and executing) in a highly ambiguous, matrixed environment with high interdependencies.
- Be a doer, focused not just on thought partnership but on getting things done and executing both independently and with others.
- Lead by listening, be highly collaborative, and productively contribute opinions to critical decision-making processes.
- Act independently to achieve results in support of business goals and strategies with a program area.
- Be proficient in Microsoft Office Suite programs
Work Experience:
- Minimum of 3 years of teaching experience in higher education required.
- Experience with nursing or health sciences accreditation and regulatory compliance, including self-study reports, evidence collection, site visits, accreditation reviews (e.g., CCNE, ACEN, CEPH), and state, institutional, and national requirements required.
- Experience in accredited nursing program leading to professional licensure such as ADN, BSN, or Nurse Practitioner required.
- Experience collaborating with academic leaders, faculty, program directors, instructional designers, and subject matter experts to support curriculum development, academic quality, and program effectiveness required.
- Experience developing, implementing, evaluating, and revising undergraduate and/or graduate nursing or health sciences competency-based education (CBE) curricula required.
- Experience analyzing assessment data, learner outcomes, retention metrics, faculty performance, and program effectiveness measures to drive continuous improvement and informed decision-making preferred.
- Demonstrated success in assuming stretch assignments beyond primary job responsibilities including leading accreditation efforts, curriculum revisions, quality improvement projects, or cross-functional academic initiatives preferred.
- Experience managing multiple projects, timelines, milestones, and deliverables in a complex academic environment preferred.
- Demonstrated success working within shared governance structures and collaborating across cross-functional teams, including faculty committees, academic councils, academic affairs, and administrative departments preferred.
- Experience developing policies, procedures, templates, and documentation to support accreditation, compliance, and academic quality initiatives preferred.
Education:
- Doctoral degree (PhD, EdD, DNP, or related terminal degree) from an accredited institution required.
- Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) from an accredited institution required.
- All degrees must be conferred by an institution accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Other:
- Must be able to travel occasionally should a business need arise. For most roles travel would not be common. Travel may involve plane, car or metro. In accordance with ADA policies, reasonable accommodations regarding travel limitations can be provided. Travel will be more common for roles such as Account Executives (25 - 50%), senior leaders (10 – 20%) or Capella Core Faculty (5 – 10%).
- Ability to work onsite in Corporate or Campus location (in a typical office environment) may be required based on role. If so, this would include being mobile within the office, including movement from floor-to-floor using elevators or stairs.
- If offsite or hybrid role, must have access to work in setting which enables meeting all requirements of the role (including privacy, reliable internet access, phone, ability to video conference, etc.) at a remote location.
- Faculty and Federal Work Study roles require access to work in setting which enables meeting all requirements of the role (including computer, privacy, reliable internet access, phone, ability to video conference, etc.) at a remote location.
- This role may require lifting, however reasonable accommodations will be provided in accordance with our ADA policies.
- Must be able to meet critical thinking and problem solving aspects aligned to job duties, as well as effectively communicating with co-workers.
- Must be able to work more than 40 hours per week when business needs warrant. Accommodations related to schedule may be considered.
- Able to access information using a computer.
- Other essential functions and marginal job functions are subject to modification.
$95,000.00 - $100,000.00 is the expected starting pay for this position. This offer is based on current budgetary guidelines and the additional factors outlined below.
SEI offers a comprehensive package of benefits to employees scheduled 30 hours or more per week. In addition to medical, dental, vision, life and disability plans, SEI employees may take advantage of well-being incentives, parental leave, paid time off, certain paid holidays, tax saving accounts (FSA, HSA), 401(k) retirement benefit, Employee Stock Purchase Plan, tuition assistance as well as entertainment and retail discounts. Non-exempt employees are eligible for overtime pay, if applicable.
Careers - Our Benefits, Strategic Education, Inc
SEI is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive and collaborative culture where individuals can grow their careers and contribute fully. We strive to attract talent with broad experiences, skills and perspectives. We welcome applications from all. While it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top end of the pay range at SEI, we offer a competitive salary. The actual base pay offered to the successful candidate may vary depending on multiple factors including, but not limited to, job-related knowledge/skills, experience, business needs, geographical location, and internal pay equity. Our Talent Acquisition Team is ready to discuss your interest in joining SEI. The expected salary range for this position is below.
$75,800.00 - $113,700.00 - Salary
If you require reasonable accommodations to complete our application process, please contact our Human Resources Department at [email protected].