Accreditation Specialist at American Indian Higher Education Consortium AIHEC – Rochester, New York

Position Title: Accreditation Specialist

The American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) is the collective spirit and unifying voice of our nation's Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs). AIHEC provides leadership and influences public policy on American Indian and Alaska Native higher education issues through advocacy, research, and programmatic initiatives; promotes and strengthens Indigenous languages, cultures, communities, lands, and tribal nations; and through its unique position, serves member institutions and emerging TCUs.

Summary

The Accreditation Specialist is responsible for coordinating and supporting institutional and programmatic accreditation activities at 34 Tribal Colleges and Universities to ensure compliance with accrediting bodies and regulatory agencies. This role involves managing data, documentation, timelines, and communications related to accreditation processes, working closely with academic and administrative units across the institutions.

This position will report to the Senior Director of Member and Student Services.

Essential Job Functions

· Support TCUs accreditation processes with institutional and specialized accrediting agencies.

· Maintain knowledge of accreditation standards and ensure institutional compliance.

· Support preparation and submission of accreditation reports, self-studies, monitoring reports, and other required documentation.

· Serve as a liaison between AIHEC and accrediting bodies.

· Facilitate and support accreditation site visits, including logistics, documentation, and communications.

· Develop and maintain systems for tracking accreditation status, deadlines, and documentation.

· Collaborate with faculty, academic departments, and administrators to collect and analyze accreditation data.

· Provide training and support to departments on accreditation-related processes and best practices.

· Monitor changes in accreditation requirements and communicate relevant updates to institutional leadership.

· Assist in the development and implementation of continuous improvement processes based on accreditation feedback.

· Prepare findings and insights to stakeholders through written reports, oral presentations, and visualizations.

· Ensure compliance with accreditation requirements, regulations, and reporting deadlines.

· Support convenings, collaborations and professional development opportunities with Member and Student Services staff.

· Provide insight to required reporting process. Includes collaboration with the AIHEC team partners and other organization partners as appropriate.

· Develop and maintain strong relationships between internal teams, external partners, and funding agencies.

Support Student Success Strategic Initiatives and Objectives

· Stay current and up to date on latest trends and best practices involving persistence and retention of American Indian and Alaska Native student college-going culture and higher education institutional practices.

· Conduct literature reviews and synthesize existing research findings to inform research design, methodology, and analysis.

· Collaborate with participating TCUs and the AIHEC institutional research team on data collection goals and reporting criteria.

· Analyze accreditation-related data using statistical and data analysis techniques to identify trends, patterns, and insights.

· Prepare clear and concise reports and presentations to communicate accreditation-related data and findings to stakeholders.

· Collaborate with Member and Student Services staff, finance staff, and other AIHEC constituents to support accreditation-related activities and initiatives.

· Identify opportunities for process improvement, efficiency gains, and data quality enhancements in accreditation management and data analysis processes. Recommend and implement solutions to address identified issues and challenges.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

· Adept in identifying and implementing emerging and evidence-based student success strategies

· Outstanding communication, interpersonal, and leadership skills and the ability to work with diverse constituents.

· Comfortable working both collaboratively and independently

· Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to convey programmatic goals and outcomes clearly and effectively to a variety of audiences and stakeholders

· Detail-oriented with strong organizational and time management skills. Ability to manage multiple tasks and priorities simultaneously.

· Collaborative and team-oriented approach, with the ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams and stakeholders.

· Strong understanding of grant regulations, compliance standards, and reporting requirements.

· Understanding of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) higher education issues and issues regarding research with AI/AN people and Tribal communities highly desired.

Required Qualifications

· Master’s degree higher education, social sciences, nonprofit management, public administration, or a related field.

· 3 or more years of relevant institutional or specialized accreditation experience

· 3 or more years of higher education experience

· Commitment to ethical standards, integrity, and professionalism in grant-related activities and data analysis.

· Proficiency and capabilities with Microsoft Office suite

Location: Remote (or DC office)

Travel: This position requires travel and allows for remote work