Associate Dean for Academic Quality, Accreditation, and Compliance, Jefferson College of Nursing, Thomas Jefferson University, Center City Campus

Job Details

The Associate Dean for Academic Quality, Accreditation, and Compliance provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for academic quality assurance, accreditation, regulatory compliance, and continuous program improvement across all programs within the College of Nursing. This role holds primary accountability for the design, implementation, and performance of the College’s academic quality infrastructure.

The Associate Dean ensures that all academic programs meet and exceed standards established by specialized accreditors, state regulatory bodies, and institutional accrediting agencies, including the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing (and other state boards of nursing), Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA), and Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE).

This role has explicit authority over the Systematic Evaluation Plan (SEP), program outcomes thresholds, and academic quality metrics, ensuring that performance benchmarks are established, monitored, and enforced across all programs. The Associate Dean also has institutional responsibility for ensuring academic equivalence across all instructional locations and modalities, including in-person, hybrid, and online programs.

In addition, the Associate Dean ensures that all distance education programs comply with state authorization and Board of Nursing requirements across jurisdictions, including the approval and oversight of clinical placements for students completing practica outside the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Key Responsibilities:

Accreditation Strategy and Oversight

Lead all initial and continuing accreditation processes across undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs
Serve as primary liaison to accrediting and regulatory bodies (e.g., CCNE, BON, COA, MSCHE)
Oversee preparation of self-studies, substantive change reports, annual reports, and site visit coordination
Ensure compliance with all applicable accreditation standards and regulatory requirements across programs and sites
Establish and maintain a proactive accreditation calendar and readiness infrastructure

Academic Quality, SEP Authority, and Continuous Improvement

Own and operationalize the College’s Systematic Evaluation Plan (SEP), including authority over design, implementation, and enforcement
Establish, approve, and monitor program outcomes thresholds (e.g., licensure, certification, completion, employment, and progression metrics)
Require and oversee action plans for any outcomes that fall below established benchmarks
Ensure systematic, ongoing evaluation of mission, curriculum, resources, and outcomes consistent with national expectations for program quality and improvement
Lead root cause analysis and continuous quality improvement initiatives across programs
Ensure documentation is audit-ready and defensible across all accrediting and regulatory reviews

Curriculum Alignment and Academic Integrity

Lead institutional alignment of curricula with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Essentials (2021) competency-based framework
Oversee curriculum mapping, gap analysis, and progression validation across all programs
Ensure that competency-based education principles are consistently applied across curricula, supporting measurable and transferable student competencies
Partner with program directors to ensure curricular rigor, coherence, and compliance

Cross-Site Academic Equivalence and Program Integrity

Hold primary accountability for ensuring academic equivalence across all instructional locations and delivery modalities
Establish and enforce standards for consistency in curriculum implementation, evaluation methods, grading practices, and student learning experiences
Ensure that outcomes, course expectations, and assessment strategies are equivalent regardless of site or modality
Monitor and evaluate cross-site performance data to identify variation and implement corrective actions
Ensure that expansion to new instructional locations maintains full compliance with accreditation and regulatory expectations

Regulatory Compliance and State Authorization (Including Online Programs)

Ensure compliance with all state board of nursing requirements, including curriculum approvals, reporting, and program changes
Oversee compliance for distance education and online programs across all states in which students are enrolled
Ensure that programs meet requirements for state authorization, out-of-state clinical placements, and licensure eligibility
Establish processes to verify that students enrolled from other states (e.g., California) are eligible to complete clinical experiences in their home state and meet that state’s Board