The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), seeks a visionary and entrepreneurial leader to serve as the inaugural Director of the Center for Innovation in College Admission. The Director will have an unprecedented opportunity to shape research, policy, and practice around college admissions in the United States and beyond.
Reporting to NACAC’s Chief Education and Policy Officer, the Director will be a creative thought-leader, strategist, and skilled collaborator with a passion for transforming the college admission process to make postsecondary education accessible, inclusive, equitable, and affordable. Equipped with foundational documents, including NACAC’s joint report with the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), Toward a More Equitable Future for College Access, the Director will lead the Association’s efforts to redesign the college admission process for more equitable outcomes. A study, supported by the Lumina Foundation, created a framework for reimagining college admission that relies on four primary areas of examination:
- Re-examine the processes associated with recruitment and application to college.
- Closely examine and question the requirements for admission and institutional choices about how and why to practice selective admission.
- Invest in the future of the college admission counseling profession by strengthening support, reimagining design, and shaping the standards and best practices for the field.
- Redesign systems by which colleges connect with students and students connect with colleges.
In addition to these four admission-focused recommendations, the Center will also focus on two important, overarching recommendations:
- Centering student voices in the effort to reimagine college admission.
- Facilitate high level, strategic, institutional conversations to maintain a constant focus on the challenges and opportunities related to recruitment, admission, and enrollment at postsecondary institutions.
The Director will guide the development of the Center within NACAC, with support from foundations and other constituents, that coordinates the Association’s varied and continuing efforts to encourage good practices and develop new approaches to the point of entry into higher education. The Director will be well supported to build structures and programs to enable innovation in college admissions that can be well researched, reasoned, piloted, and supported through the profession and leaders in post-secondary education that will be vital to realize the Center’s work at scale.
The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) is the largest association in the world for professionals who serve students during the transition from secondary to postsecondary education, with a membership of more than 28,000. Founded in 1937, the association works to expand access to higher education through policy, advocacy, networking and convening, and education and training, ensuring that its members are well-equipped to guide students in making informed decisions about their educational futures.
The ideal candidate will possess strong, demonstrated effective leadership experience and presence in the field of college admission counseling, philanthropy (with a focus on higher education), research (with a focus on college access or admission), or another similar field. They should be an effective communicator with an entrepreneurial spirit, capable of providing high-level perspectives to abroad range of stakeholders. A bachelor’s degree is required; a graduate degree is strongly preferred. All staff members at NACAC strive to uphold the organization’s staff values, including collaboration, inclusivity, integrity, innovation, compassion, and respect. The successful candidate must reside within or be willing to relocate to daily commuting distance of NACAC’s office in Arlington, Virginia.
WittKieffer is assisting the National Association for College Admission Counseling in this search. Applications, nominations, and inquiries are invited. For fullest consideration, candidates should provide, as two separate documents, a résumé/CV and a letter of interest that addresses the responsibilities and requirements described in the Leadership Profile. Applications should be submitted via the WittKieffer Candidate Portal. Inquiries, referrals and/or nominations may be sent to WittKieffer consultants Christy Pratt, Robert Springall and Roxana Woudstra at: [email protected]
