Assistant Dean of Student Support and Community Standards

Reporting to the Dean of Students, the Assistant Dean of Student Support and Community Standards is the University’s Chief Student Conduct Officer and a leader in providing support to students in distress. The Assistant Dean provides leadership to the Office of Community Standards (OCS), the Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT), and the Basic Needs program. Together, with other key stakeholders across the Division, the Assistant Dean fosters a coordinated, community-of-care approach to promote student well-being, safety, and accountability.

The Assistant Dean leads a team of professional and student staff. The Assistant Dean provides leadership to the Division regarding compliance with federal and state regulations while playing a pivotal role in leading efforts to review and implement policies that directly affect the lives of students. The Assistant Dean leads efforts to promote, enforce, and oversee the Student Code of Conduct and promote a safe, inclusive, and supportive campus community.

Duties/Responsibilities

Leadership and Supervision (30%)

• Provide direct supervision, ongoing development, and performance evaluation to the Assistant Director of Community Standards, Basic Needs Coordinator and Case Manager, and Administrative Coordinator for Community Standards. Indirectly supervise the Student Conduct Coordinator, student employees, and interns.

• Oversee and administer the university-wide conduct system, including all related processes and administrative functions for academic and non-academic misconduct, involving students and recognized student organizations; set parameters for and provide direction to residential conduct processes administered by Residential Life; and ensure processes are fair, transparent, procedurally sound, and educationally purposeful.

• Recruit, train and support faculty, staff, and students to serve in the capacity of Chairpersons, Panel Officer, Appellate Officers Conduct Advisors, and Investigators, and decision makers in service of the University’s conduct system.

• Ensure designated units and personnel vested with authority to review and adjudicate allegations of prohibited conduct have the appropriate knowledge, skills, training, and resources necessary to fulfill student conduct related responsibilities.

• In collaboration with the Dean of Students and Executive Director of Strategy and Operations, monitor and maintain awareness of area budgets to ensure expenditures align with institutional and divisional strategic priorities.

• Support the Dean on division-wide planning, policy development, and organizational stewardship; exercise delegated decision-making authority in the Dean's absence for the Dean's portfolio, crisis response, and student-related issues, within clearly defined parameters and in coordination with divisional leadership. Serve as the primary contact for parents, attorneys, outside advocacy groups, and other stakeholders regarding sensitive and complex student conduct related matters.

Resolution Processes (25%)

• Serve as or appoint designated university officials to assume the role of Chair and preside over University Hearings in accordance with the procedures set forth in the Student Code of Conduct; act as gatekeeper and determine the relevance and admissibility of evidence, questions, and witnesses, and maintain the decorum of participants throughout proceedings.

• Act as an Administrative Hearing Officer to review cases, determine responsibility, and impose sanctions or remedies as appropriate; or serve as an Appellate Officer to affirm, modify, or remand original disciplinary determinations.

• Design, implement, and facilitate structured, remedies-based alternative dispute resolution programs to address conflicts and concerns, either in lieu of formal adjudication or in conjunction with traditional disciplinary outcomes.

• Collaborate with Housing and Residential Life, the Civil Rights and Equity Office, the UNH and Durham Police Departments, University Recognizing Agents, academic colleges, component campuses, and the Office of General Counsel; provide high-level guidance to designees across area conduct systems, as appropriate.

• Advise and consult on routine, sensitive and complex matters related to student conduct concerns and processes.

Student Support and Behavioral Intervention (25%)

• Chair the Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT), coordinating multidisciplinary assessment, case management, and interventions for students of significant concern.

• Support the Basic Needs Coordinator and Case Manager in their oversight of the Basic Needs program, ensuring students have access to essential resources and wraparound support se