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Central New Mexico Community College
Founding
Vice President of Education and Learning
Academic Career & Executive Search is pleased to assist Central New
Mexico Community College in its search for its founding Vice President of Education and
Learning.
For full consideration, please apply by September 5th.
Central
New Mexico Community College (CNM) shines as an exceptionally strong and innovative institution well-positioned to meet the demands of the
evolving higher education landscape. This newly created position reflects the College’s continuing transformation in leveraging and
expanding training-to-credit pathways that help learners and employers meet individual and regional education and workforce development
goals. Moreover, this role will lead the selection and onboarding of new leadership across the schools, shaping the future of the College
and its mission to:
- Align training and credit programming (at the College and Ingenuity).
- Serve local and
national employers by providing a qualified, diverse workforce. - Embrace student success by providing quality programming as well as
helping to coordinate wrap-around support for students and focusing on workforce placement during and after program completion.
The Vice President of Education and Learning (VPEL) will accomplish this transition by also providing all learners, whether they enter
seeking certificates, degrees, or upskilling training, with the services they need to excel, while also providing employers a direct
pipeline to hiring a qualified workforce.
The position serves as the College’s Chief Learning Officer, responsible for
degree and certificate program quality and integrity, college and program accreditation or licensing standards, and assessment of learning
outcomes and competencies. This leader works closely with administrators, faculty and instructors across education and training programs to
provide an exceptional, relevant learner experience.
The VPEL works closely with Vice President of Enrollment Management and
Student Success and Vice President of Workforce and Community Success to lead and implement cross-college efforts to improve student
success, including post-completion success. This focuses on improving student persistence, program completion, and certificate or degree
completion; increasing relevant work-based learning opportunities and job placement for students; and increasing the number of students who
transfer and earn bachelor’s degrees within six years. The collaboration also focuses on ensuring that training and credit
programs are responsive to employer demands for competencies and skills and are provided in ways that satisfy varying student demands across
platforms and schedules and demonstrate value.
As a member of the President’s Executive Team, the VPEL must be committed to
eliminating opportunity and achievement gaps for all students, and particularly students historically underrepresented in postsecondary
education, no matter the program or modality students choose for their education or training. Also, the VPEL remains committed to hiring,
promoting and developing a College workforce that reflects our community’s demographic characteristics.
ESSENTIAL
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Develops the College’s plan to provide quality education and training programs that
incorporate competencies required by regional and national employers and valued by students. - Applies an entrepreneurial mindset,
collaborating with external partners – industry groups, school districts and higher education institutions, training providers –
to create and deliver effective and efficient transfer and workforce development programs. - Builds the CNM community’s work
and efforts to meet employer and working-learner demands by braiding credit for prior learning, competency-based education,
micro-credentials and badges, and evolutions in education technology (including blockchain, virtual reality, artificial intelligence). - Leads an instructional leadership team, including more than 1,000 full-time and part-time faculty and instructors in the planning and
delivery of career and technical, academic transfer, adult, developmental, arts and sciences education and training. - Leads the
College-wide Integrated Program Review (CIPR) process to allocate resources consistent with the College’s mission, market demands,
student demands, costs of delivering and growing workforce training, certificate, and degree programs. - Tracking and reporting on
the impact and results of programs and initiatives, such as transfer and job placement, including tracking costs and evaluating the
effectiveness of programs. - Supervises staff, which includes prioritizing and assigning work; conducting performance
evaluations; ensuring staff is trained; ensuring employees follow policies and procedures; maintaining a healthy and safe working
environment; and making hiring, termination, and disciplinary recommendations. - Directs the activities of the division, which
includes planning, coordinating, administering, and evaluating programs, projects, processes, procedures, systems, standards, and/or service
offerings; ensures compliance with federal, state, and local laws, regulations, codes, and/or standards. - Leads the academic
division of the College and ensures program quality and integrity to meet the standards of specialized, state, and regional accrediting
bodies, including curriculum development and assessment. - Works with Chief Human Relations Officer; Executive Director of
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Office and others to welcome and encourage diversity in the workplace and being committed to building a
team, including faculty, that represents the diversity of our community and variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. - Provides leadership for Deans/Executive Directors/ Program Chairs and faculty and others to develop ways for strengthening efforts to
include faculty and instructors in education and workforce programs. - Coordinates the College’s efforts supporting faculty and
instructor participation, coordinated by the Center for Teaching and Learning and college committees, in providing an exceptional
educational experience for students. - Works collaboratively as a member of the Executive Team in providing strategic leadership,
guidance, and oversight for the College. - Serves as a resource to the College’s Employee and Labor Relations Team,
particularly with respect to those represented by the Central New Mexico Community College Employees Union, which represents three
bargaining units: full-time faculty, part-time faculty, and instructional technicians. - Collaborates with employers, K-12 and
university leaders, community partners and stakeholders to enhance the college’s resources. - Engages in statewide, regional,
and national organizations on topics of learning, student success, workforce training, and more. - Performs other related duties as
assigned.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND APTITUDE
- Demonstrated capacity and record for strategic
visioning and plan execution. - Solid knowledge of information research, strategic goal setting, monitoring, and reporting in
addition to assessment strategies. - Demonstrated commitment to integrative management and systems thinking.
- Proven
outstanding communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills. - Proven record of success promoting innovative practices,
professional development, student success, community relations, student recruitment and retention, and cultivating an environment of
inclusion and equitable outcomes. - Proven experience bridging the divides between traditional credit programs and workforce training
programs and scaling up these efforts. - Proven experience developing training-to-credit pathways, curriculum, and programming;
embedding competencies in credit programs; and commitment to helping students achieve their goals after completing programs. - Experience soliciting and administering grants and funding in support of training and education programming, and evolving course and
program delivery to incorporate competency-based modules, and faculty and instructor development and training. - Strong supervisory
and leadership skills. - Demonstrated commitment to work collaboratively, problem-solve through teamwork, and assessment impacts for
collective action. - High level of diplomacy and confidentiality.
- Proven ability to manage multiple tasks and projects with
discretion, tact, and timeliness. - Technology literacy skills at an intermediate level with the demonstrated ability to utilize and
apply Microsoft Office products, learning management systems, conferencing, and collaborative tools, as well as specialized software
programs and computer applications. - Ability to assess student, faculty and program assessment data and apply data to evidence-based
practices to affect improvements. - Must be able to travel to other sites and to state and national meetings as needed.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE
- Leadership: Demonstrates exemplary ethical leadership and
management skills. - Judgment: Forms opinions objectively, refining as information is learned and presented.
- Initiative:
Demonstrates on-going action-oriented thinking and problem solving. - Innovation: Uses creative, solutions-oriented approach to
address problems. - Enterprising: Customarily employs imagination, initiative, and a willingness to undertake new projects.
- Confidentiality: Understands and employs discretion, tact, and diplomacy.
- Dependability: Promptly and reliably responds to
requests for service and assistance. - Decision Making: Displays willingness to make difficult decisions that align with College
goals and are data informed where possible. - Teamwork: Balances team and individual responsibilities.
- Communication:
Effectively communicates with others. - Time Management: Is able to complete all job requirements and meet all required
deadlines. - Work Ethic: Displays an organized and results-oriented approach, and motivation to perform without extensive direction
or supervision. - Accuracy: Displays high quality work and level of precision.
- An understanding of the changing landscape of
higher education, including the importance of competency-based education practices to drive high-demand training-to-credit pathways. - Commitment to and appreciation of the community college mission.
- Knowledge of continuous quality improvement management
principles and practices. - Ability to work effectively with a wide range of internal and external constituencies.
- Experience with an online learning platform, curriculum design, course delivery, and pedagogy that optimizes success for learners
underrepresented in post-secondary education. - Superior written and oral communication skills.
- Strong decision-making
skills. - A vision for the evolving role of faculty and instructors as partners in college-wide efforts to promote student
success. - Demonstrated skills in academic planning, curriculum development, academic support programs, program management and
accountability, specialized program accreditation, personnel management, and budget oversight.
MINIMUM
QUALIFICATIONS
- No less than five years of progressively responsible and successful academic leadership
experiences. - Demonstrated understanding of strategic planning and systematic decision making.
- Demonstrated leadership
capability and effectiveness with a diverse workforce.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Doctoral degree
in education, leadership, an academic discipline, or other related field. - Experience working in a unionized college or university
setting. - Experience leading innovation, including competency-based education, and organizational change as related to
training and degree programs. - Successful track record working across campus/organization and externally with employer and community
partners. - Knowledge and understanding of higher education accreditation, FERPA laws, and student records.
About Central New Mexico Community College:
Founded in 1964 as Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute, a locally-supported vocational school, the College was accredited by the
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (now the Higher Learning Commission) in 1978. Degree-granting power was approved by the
New Mexico Legislature in 1986, signaling the College’s transformation into a comprehensive community college. In 2006, the
institution changed its name to Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) to better reflect the breadth of offerings and the service area.
CNM currently offers Associate of Arts, Associate of Science and Associate of Applied Science degrees, as well as many certificate programs
and non-credit certifications and licensures. Over the last decade, CNM has consistently enrolled the largest undergraduate student body in
the state.
In U.S. Department of Education statistics, CNM regularly ranks among the top five two-year colleges nationwide for
the number of associate degrees and certificates awarded to both Hispanics and Native Americans. CNM also regularly ranks among the top 10
for total associate degrees and certificates awarded to all students.
CNM served more than 27,600 students taking credit
classes during the 2022-23 academic year – there were 19,095 students enrolled in the 2022 Fall Term. In the 2022-23 fiscal year, CNM
also served more than 4,100 individuals through non-credit workforce training and industry testing for credentials/licensures; and more than
1,400 individuals participated in CNM’s Adult Basic Education non-credit programs, such as English as a Second Language and High
School Equivalency prep courses.
CNM’s student body reflects the diversity of the community it serves. CNM also served
over 1,400 military veteran learners and their family members, of which 419 veterans receive federal education benefits.
The College
also remains committed to serving working-learners. As a founding community college in Unmudl, a skills-to-jobs network of employers and
community colleges, CNM partners with college and employer partners to grow training-to-degree programs and connect employers with skilled
learners. This network helps CNM build on its work embedding competencies in training and education programs, building micro-credentials and
badging, and developing Learner Employment Records.
In 2014, CNM started CNM Ingenuity, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)3 organization
created under the New Mexico Research Park Act. CNMI supports a new approach to education that provides accelerated educational and training
opportunities in key workforce areas, wrap-around support for aspiring entrepreneurs, and cooperative ventures that foster economic
development and job creation in the region. Through CNMI, the College has been providing an innovative, non-traditional higher education
environment that helps spur economic growth in New Mexico. National higher education publication “Education Dive” named CNM the
2018 “Innovator of the Year” for becoming the first community college in the country to issue digital diplomas to graduates
through blockchain technology, an effort driven by CNMI.
In 2020, CNM Ingenuity’s 12-week Deep Dive Coding program was
selected as the 2020 Higher Education Program of the Year for the New Mexico Excellence in STEM Awards, which is managed by the Air Force
Research Lab New Mexico.
Also in 2020, CNM was presented with the Excellence in Workforce Development Award from Albuquerque
Economic Development for the outstanding impacts of the College’s longstanding and highly regarded Nursing program. CNM is heavily
relied upon to support the regional economy’s workforce development needs across many sectors, from the healthcare industry to the
state’s booming film industry to the IT industry to the trades.
CNM also has a well-earned reputation for
providing outstanding service to our students, both in the community and nationally. In 2013, CNM won the national Student Success Award
from the American Association of Community Colleges for significant gains in graduation numbers and the implementation of an innovative
student support model.
The CNM Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization, has raised more than $44.8 million dollars to fund
33,000-plus student scholarships and program support since its inception in 1992. CNM formed the Foundation to leverage private funding
resources and opportunities to support students and the College.
CNM has nine locations for easy student access across
CNM’s District, including five campuses. The campuses are in each quadrant of Albuquerque, and one in nearby Rio Rancho. The campuses
include Main Campus near downtown Albuquerque and the University of New Mexico; the Joseph M. Montoya Campus in the Northeast Heights; the
Westside Campus; the South Valley Campus; and the Rio Rancho Campus. The College also offers programs and services at the Advanced
Technology Center and Workforce Training Center in north Albuquerque, and the STEMulus Center and FUSE Makerspace in downtown Albuquerque.
Each of the locations has had recent upgrades to facilities, technology, and signage.
The largest classroom building, Max
Salazar Hall located on Main Campus, recently reopened after a major renovation. In addition, a new Education Collaborative building opened
on Main Campus in August 2019. This building represents an exciting collaboration among CNM, Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) and the Native
American Community Academy (NACA) charter school. The College & Career High School (CCHS), a highly successful dual-credit high school
that’s operated through a partnership between CNM and APS, is in the new building, as is CNM’s Teacher Education programs and
NACA’s high school students.
CCHS students typically spend half of their day taking APS classes, and the other half
taking CNM classes that count for both college credit and high school elective credit. Many CCHS students graduate from high school with a
CNM associate degree and enough college credits to enter a university as a junior. For the 2018-19 school year, CCHS posted a 98.5 percent
graduation rate, the highest in APS and one of the highest in the state. The high school’s graduation rate and overall performance has
consistently ranked among the state’s best since it opened in August 2013. CNM’s dual credit courses are available to high
school students across the region. Building on the success of the Education Collaborative, CNM has entered multiple partnerships with
state, local and education organizations. With the state of New Mexico’s Economic Development Department and City of Albuquerque, CNM
will co-locate its highly regarded film technician and digital media programs with the state’s new New Mexico Media Academy to the
City of Albuquerque’s historic Rail Yards site by 2025. Also, CNM has partnered with the Rio Rancho Public Schools system to co-locate
facilities and share career and technical education and training programs that will serve high school students and working learners
simultaneously. These programs and new facilities will begin to be available in 2024.
CNM operates on an annual budget with a fiscal
year beginning on July 1. However, the budget and resource allocation processes are a multi-year activity which assures that funding from
all sources is continuously consistent with long-range policies, programmatic goals and specific campus roles and objectives of the College.
The budget process is based on criteria established by the New Mexico Higher Education Department for the purpose of ensuring consistency in
the development and reporting of budget information among institutions of higher education.
CNM’s major sources of
operating revenue are state appropriations (40%), local mill levy (40%), tuition and fees (15%) and other revenues. The College budget is
developed with input from the College and is guided by financial policies approved by the CNM Governing Board.
CNM is in sound
financial health and fiscally responsible. In the most recent review of CNM’s finances for a bond rating (Fiscal Year 2021),
Moody’s Investors Services, Inc. reaffirmed the college’s credit rating as Aa1, and Standard and Poor’s Corporation
reaffirmed CNM’s AA+ rating. Every year from FY2016 through FY2021, the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States
and Canada awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to CNM for its comprehensive annual financial
reports (CAFR). CNM’s well-managed cash balances and strong budgetary management contribute to and are indicators of a positive
financial direction and strong, stable management.
Living in the Area
Albuquerque, New Mexico’s largest city, sits in the high desert of Central New Mexico. Albuquerque is the gateway to the striking
natural beauty and cultural diversity of the state. With over 300 days of sunshine a year, low humidity, short commute times, and a relaxed
pace, Albuquerque is easy to live in and offers an endless mix of Native and Hispanic culture, lively entertainment, dining, and shopping.
Adding to that are a favorable tax climate, the state’s strong fiscal health and a cost of living nearly 9% below national
average.
Its modern Downtown core contrasts with Old Town Albuquerque, dating to the city’s 1706 founding
as a Spanish colony. Old Town is filled with historic adobe buildings, such as San Felipe de Neri Church, five museums, and shops selling
Native American art and crafts. Nearby, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center traces the area’s tribal history.
From the majestic Sandia Mountains bordering Albuquerque’s eastern edge to the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park along the Rio
Grande river, the area offers exceptional outdoor recreation. From the modern sensibilities of Downtown to historic Old Town, history,
culture, and nightlife await. And from proud traditions ranging from the annual International Balloon Fiesta to the luminaria walk each
holiday season, Albuquerque is a unique place with varied treasures.
To Apply
For full
consideration, please apply by September 5th.
To be viewed by the search firm, you must apply directly at:
https://acesrch.applicantstack.com/x/detail/a21esjyyrxqv
Please apply through the application link and do not
email applications.
Applications will be reviewed as they are received and should include a cover letter and curriculum vitae.
Ideally cover letters should not exceed two pages. All applications are treated confidentially.
Inquiries, referrals, and nominations
are also treated confidentially.
Inquiries and questions: Please send to [email protected]
Nominations and referrals: Please send the
nominees’ name, title, and contact information if available to [email protected]
Equal Opportunity Statement
It is the policy of Central New Mexico Community College (the “College”) to provide equal employment opportunity
without regard to age, ancestry, color, mental or physical disability, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race,
religion, serious medical condition, sex, sexual orientation, spousal affiliation, veteran status, or any other protected class in any of
its policies, practices, or procedures in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws, nor will it condone any act of illegal
discrimination or harassment on the part of its employees. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment and prohibits any
form of workplace harassment based on an employee’s protected class.
The
College confirms that this provision of the handbook by its reference to applicable federal, state, and local laws prohibits and condemns
any retaliation or interference of any kind against any employee engaging in the exercise of free speech or in activities protected by
federal, state, or local laws.
Upon request, the College will provide reasonable
accommodations to individuals with disabilities with regard to conditions of employment as provided by applicable federal, state, and local
laws.
