Director, Student Accessibility, Conduct and Wellbeing

Franklin University, a private, independent, accredited, nonprofit university located in Columbus, Ohio, invites applications for the position of Director, Student Accessibility, Conduct & Wellbeing.

Founded in 1902, Franklin University has built its reputation on removing barriers to higher education for ambitious adults balancing educational goals with work, family, and other commitments. Accredited and nonprofit, Franklin is recognized as an innovator in online education and serves students through applied undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs designed to support career advancement and lifelong learning. More than 50,000 Franklin alumni live and work around the world, making meaningful contributions to their professions and communities.

Position Summary

The Director, Student Accessibility, Conduct & Wellbeing provides strategic and operational leadership for three interconnected functions: Accessibility Services, Student Conduct and Community Standards, and Student Wellbeing. Reporting to the Dean of Students, the Director advances access, accountability, engagement, persistence, and success for Franklin University's adult and online learners through fair, consistent, and student-centered practices.

The Director oversees complex student matters, leads policy development and institutional risk assessment, and exercises independent, well-documented administrative judgment. This position serves as the University's ADA/Section 504 Coordinator and Title IX Coordinator, coordinating appropriate institutional responses and maintaining compliant processes. The Director also leads a proactive, scalable, virtual-first wellbeing strategy focused on nonacademic barriers to student success rather than clinical mental health treatment.

The Director supervises the Coordinator of Accessibility Services and the Director of Student Life and Community Standards, supporting effective day-to-day operations while providing strategic direction, escalation support, appellate review, and institutional accountability.

Key Responsibilities

Accessibility Services and Regulatory Compliance

Provide strategic oversight of Accessibility Services and serve as the University's ADA/Section 504 Coordinator. Champion equitable access, advocate for students with disabilities, and ensure effective, timely, and consistent postsecondary accommodation processes.

Guide complex accommodation determinations, interactive processes, disability-related grievances, policy interpretation, and resolution of systemic accessibility barriers, balancing student needs with institutional responsibilities. Partner with faculty, staff, and University leaders to implement reasonable accommodations, clarify institutional obligations, and strengthen accessible, student-centered practices across learning and service environments.

Student Conduct and Community Standards

Provide strategic leadership, policy direction, and institutional oversight for nonacademic student conduct and grievance processes, while the Director of Student Life and Community Standards manages day-to-day operations.

Serve as the designated appellate decision-maker for nonacademic misconduct and student grievance matters, ensuring impartial review, procedural fairness, consistent standards, and defensible outcomes. Take an active leadership role in particularly complex, sensitive, escalated, or high-risk student matters, including guiding investigations, determining appropriate resolution pathways, and coordinating with University leadership and other stakeholders as warranted. Collaborate with Academic Affairs on academic integrity matters.

Student Wellbeing and Success

Design, implement, and evaluate a proactive, virtual-first Student Wellbeing strategy that addresses nonacademic barriers to engagement, persistence, and completion, particularly for adult and online learners. Use student feedback, service trends, and available data to identify emerging needs, develop scalable interventions, and assess the effectiveness of wellbeing initiatives.

Provide strategic oversight of the Student Emergency Fund and build internal and external partnerships that improve access to basic-needs resources, resource navigation, and timely student assistance.

Leadership, Policy, and Institutional Accountability

Lead, supervise, coach, and develop professional staff. Establish clear expectations, strengthen operational consistency, and support sound decision-making across the portfolio.

Serve as the University's Title IX Coordinator, coordinating institutional compliance, appropriate response processes, and consultation with relevant partners.

Exercise independent judgment in sensitive and high-stakes student matters, assess institutional risk, maintain accurate documentation, interpret policy consistently, and determine when consultation or escalation is appropriate.

Oversee the review and improvement of policies, procedures, case-management practices, service delivery, and technology or automation that enhance effectiveness and accountability. Monitor and coordinate appropriate routing and escalation of reports submitted through the Lighthouse anonymous reporting system and participate on the Franklin Intervention & Awareness Team (FIAT).

Collaborate across Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, and other University functions. Participate in the Dean of Students leadership team and lead special initiatives as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

A master's degree in higher education, student affairs, education, law, public administration, or a closely related field is required, along with at least five years of progressively responsible professional experience in higher education. Experience must include demonstrated leadership of a program or function and supervision, coaching, and development of professional staff.

Candidates must demonstrate deep, applied expertise in at least one of the following areas:

• Postsecondary disability/accessibility services, including ADA/Section 504 and accommodation processes.
• Higher education student conduct, grievances, investigations, appeals, or comparable student resolution processes.

Meaningful direct, applied experience in the other functional area is also required, sufficient to provide informed oversight, interpret relevant policy, and guide complex decisions. General student support experience alone does not meet this requirement.

The successful candidate must demonstrate the ability to independently resolve sensitive student matters, exercise administrative authority, assess risk, apply fair processes, document decisions, and determine when consultation or escalation is needed.

Working knowledge of relevant higher education regulatory responsibilities, including ADA/Section 504 and Title IX, is required, along with the ability to maintain the expertise necessary to fulfill assigned coordinator responsibilities. Strong communication, collaboration, organization, conflict-resolution, and strategic problem-solving skills are essential, as are discretion, neutrality, empathy, and composure.

Preferred Qualifications

• Seven or more years of progressively responsible higher education experience, including leadership across multiple student-facing functions.
• Prior service as an ADA/Section 504 Coordinator, Title IX Coordinator or Deputy Coordinator, senior conduct administrator, or comparable institutional compliance or resolution leader.
• Experience designing or evaluating nonclinical wellbeing, basic-needs, emergency-support, or resource-navigation initiatives tied to student success.
• Experience supporting adult learners, online students, or geographically dispersed populations.
• Experience with case-management systems, data-informed improvement, and virtual service delivery.

Additional Information

This full-time, exempt position is based at Franklin University's downtown Columbus campus and works a hybrid schedule with an on-site presence as needed to meet departmental priorities. Sensitive or time-sensitive student matters may occasionally require evening or weekend availability. Some travel may be expected.

Franklin offers a competitive benefits package, incentive program, and free parking. In addition, Franklin provides free undergraduate tuition for employees and eligible family members, graduate tuition assistance for full-time employees and eligible family members, and a discount on doctoral tuition for employees.

Franklin University is committed to creating a respectful and inclusive educational and workplace environment. Franklin does not discriminate on the basis of age, religion, race, ethnicity, color, national origin, ancestry, immigration status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or familial status, disability, or veteran or military status.