Assistant Director Academic Access and Disability Resources

The primary purpose of Davidson College is to assist students in developing humane instincts and disciplined and creative minds for lives of leadership and service. Davidson College is a highly selective, independent liberal arts college located in Davidson, North Carolina that serves approximately 2,100 undergraduate students, has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars, and is consistently ranked among the top private liberal arts colleges in the country.

As a department within the Division of Student Life, the Office of Academic Access and Disability Resources (AADR) serves three primary functions: 1) to provide academic support to students so they may improve their academic performance; 2) to support otherwise qualified students with disabilities, temporary disabilities, and/or undiagnosed disabilities and work with campus partners to provide equitable access to academic courses, course content, services, programs, and facilities; and 3) to recognize and support disability as an identity and an essential component of Davidson’s diversity. 

The Assistant Director will provide disability services to students, serve as an academic coach, hold an ancillary responsibility, and support the overall work of AADR. Specific responsibilities are listed below. In addition to serving as a front-facing, highly interactive role to students, the assistant director will work collaboratively with a variety of Student Life, academic, and campus partners, including faculty, the Residence Life Office, the Center for Student Health & Well-being, the Center for Student Diversity & Inclusion, and the Center for Teaching and Learning. 

This is a salaried, full-time (40 hours), 12-month position that reports to the Director of AADR. Work hours typically occur between 8:30-5:30pm, Monday - Friday, with occasional evening and weekend hours for campus activities, events, and programs. Some travel to national, state and local conferences and/or to give presentations or workshops will be required.

PRIMARY POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES

Responsibility #1 – Disability Services with Accessibility Planning and Implementation 

• Serve as a disability professional to otherwise qualified students in reviewing and interpreting confidential documentation. Engage the student in the interactive process for the determination of reasonable accommodations in the areas of campus access, academics, housing, emotional support animals, and dining. 
• Process requests, communicate approvals through the appropriate channels, and ensure implementation by serving as a consultant to faculty and staff involved in implementing the accommodations. 
• Provide guidance to students who suspect an undiagnosed disability in the process of seeking a diagnosis and documentation to support a request for accommodations and make appropriate referrals. 
• Engage course instructors and the access coordinator who oversees the Alternate Format lab to develop accessibility plans for students who are blind or have hearing loss. This may include determining the methods for producing accessible course materials and video content.
• The Alternate Format Lab, lead by access coordinator, produces accessible course materials and captioned video content for students with print and sensory disabilities. The assistant director will receive and complete assignments for captioning videos and processing course material documents into alternate formats.
• Facilitate implementation of accessibility plans by collaborating with campus partners, which may include the hiring and training of course assistants and supporting a student’s use of a personal care attendant.

Responsibility #2 – Academic Coaching

• Serve as an academic coach in the form of individual academic coaching sessions and small group workshops to help students further develop and enhance their academic skills, e.g. time management, test-taking strategies, organizational skills, note-taking, studying, reading, writing papers, and preparing for tests and exams. 

Responsibility #3 – Ancillary Responsibility 

The assistant director will take the lead on a specific area of the office, which will be determined based on the current needs of students and the AADR office as well as the unique skills and experiences of the hired assistant director. The ancillary responsibility is subject to change and may include:

• Oversee the academic coaching function of AADR, which includes the development of and actively pursuing innovative coaching strategies, directing and providing logistical support to the Peer Academic Coaching (PAC) Program, and supervising and training the student and professional staff assigned to academic coaching responsibilities. 
• Be the lead staff member to initiate, plan and implement programs, activities, and