INSTITUTION:
Coastal Carolina University is a public comprehensive liberal arts institution located in Conway, South Carolina, just nine miles from the Atlantic coastal resort city of Myrtle Beach. Coastal Carolina University enrolls over 10,000 students from 45 states and 58 nations. The University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award the baccalaureate and selective master’s degrees of national and/or regional significance in the arts and sciences, business, humanities, education, and health and human services, a specialist degree in educational leadership, and PhD degrees in marine science and education.
For more information, please visit www.coastal.edu.
REPORTS/RELATIONSHIPS:
This position will report directly to the Vice President for Enrollment Management
BASIC FUNCTIONS:
The Director of Undergraduate Admissions leads the Office of Admissions and Merit Awards’ recruitment initiatives and supervises the following units: freshmen counseling and recruitment, transfer/non-traditional counseling and recruitment, and the visitor experience. The director provides leadership to diverse team members and creates a culture of shared responsibility. The director is responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive plan to attract, recruit, and enroll a student body that supports the university’s enrollment goals. The position will continue to build upon the university’s success in recruiting and matriculating an academically qualified and diverse student body by providing strong, creative leadership in enrollment and a student-centered approach to recruitment and admission. The director is responsible for managing the day-to-day office operations, recruitment plans, selection process, and visit experience.
Specific duties will include, but not necessarily be limited to:
- Prior experience developing a strategic recruitment plan is preferred, along with experience developing budgets.
- CRMexperience (preferably Slate) is preferred.
- Previous leadership experience as associate director, senior associate, or director-level at a mid-sized or large institution is preferred.
Admissions and Recruitment Management:
- Develops and implements an annual recruitment and enrollment plan to identify, contact, and enroll an undergraduate student body who will meet the university’s goals in relation to enrollment, geography, diversity, and academic quality.
- Directs the day-to-day operations of the undergraduate recruitment and counseling staff by overseeing the following units: freshman recruitment and counseling, transfer recruitment and counseling, application review, and recruitment and enrollment events.
- Provides leadership and direction that support a high-touch admissions and enrollment process, as well as a high-quality campus event program designed to increase both student interest and enrollment.
Leadership and Staff Development:
- Hires, trains, supervises, and evaluates the performance of all direct reports.
- Oversees the hiring and annual evaluation process for all staff.
- Provides ongoing training and direction to staff to stimulate innovations in admissions trends, recruitment activities, and visit experiences for students and their families.
- Creates leadership, training, and mentoring opportunities for staff that focus on belonging, access, and inclusion.
- Supervises the development of budgets and expenditures for recruitment and enrollment activities and on- and off-campus events.
Outreach:
- Represents the Office of Admissions and Merit Awards and the university at major functions both in and out of state to promote the university to a variety of constituents in a positive and professional manner.
- Maintains personal contact and provides superior customer service to prospective students and high school and college counseling staff through newsletters, personal visits, and special informational events.
- Maintains effective working relationships with campus administrators and departments.
- Works closely with deans and department chairs and non-academic campus departments to achieve departmental-level goals and to provide quality services that are consistent with the goals of the department and university.
Application File Management:
- Designs and oversees the evaluation and competitive selection process of first-year students, transfer, readmits, and non-degree applicants.
- Collaborates on the development of admissions criteria using historical application data and retention data.
- Tracks the progress of application file review and territory management and makes staffing adjustments as required.
Customer Service:
- Models, promotes, and ensures exceptional customer service delivery to all constituents, including but not limited to faculty, staff, students, visitors, and the community at large.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Supervisory and budget management experience in an admissions operation.
- Expertise in facilitating organizational development and change.
- Competency in analyzing recruitment-related data and assessing programming activities as part of a strategic enrollment planning initiative.
- Ability to form effective working relations with and coordinate the efforts of a variety of individuals and groups on campus: students, employees, faculty, staff, and administrators.
- Handles all constituent needs in a professional, timely, and positive manner.
- Superior communication, organizational, and interpersonal skills.
- Must maintain a positive attitude and be able to motivate staff.
- Must have experience supervising professional staff.
- A master’s degree; seven or more years of progressively responsible experience in admissions in a college/university.
COMPENSATION:
Compensation will be commensurate with experience including a competitive base salary and competitive benefits package.
NOMINATIONS / APPLICATIONS:
Nominations should include the nominee’s full name, position, institution/organization, and email address. Applications should consist of the following documents, to be submitted electronically in .pdf format: 1) a detailed letter of interest addressing the leadership agenda and qualifications as outlined in this profile; 2) a full resume/curriculum vitae with relevant administrative responsibilities and accomplishments; 3) a one- to two-page Statement of Contributions to Advance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; and 4) a list of five professional references, including names, phone numbers, and email addresses, noting the candidate’s relationship for each reference. References will not be contacted until later in the search process and only with the candidate’s permission.
Coastal Carolina University is committed to fostering an environment that embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion. The University provides equal opportunity without regard to race, color, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, religion, national or ethnic origin, veteran status, or disability in admissions, employment, and in all of its educational programs and activities. We encourage individuals from underrepresented groups to apply.
Coastal Carolina University is an EO/AA employer.
