Vice President of Academics - San Diego - California Miramar University

Description

About California Miramar University

CalMU is a nationally accredited, for-profit university delivering career-focused programs in business and technology through online, hybrid, and on-ground formats. We serve working professionals, military-affiliated learners, and international students, with a strong emphasis on workforce alignment, quality, compliance, and measurable outcomes.

Role Summary

The Vice President of Academics is a hands-on academic leader responsible for personally leading program development, curriculum enhancement, faculty performance management, and institutional compliance. This role requires an execution-oriented operator who can design, implement, and continuously improve academic programs while ensuring accreditation readiness and workforce alignment in a growth-stage, for-profit university.

Key Responsibilities

• Personally lead the design, development, and launch of new academic programs, beginning with Information Technology and expanding into healthcare and other strategic areas.
• Direct and execute curriculum redesign and continuous improvement across existing programs, ensuring academic rigor, workforce relevance, and measurable student outcomes.
• Integrate AI, data literacy, and applied technology skills into academic programs, translating emerging tools into practical, career-ready curriculum enhancements.
• Own faculty performance management, including instructional standards, evaluation frameworks, professional development, accountability, and corrective action when needed.
• Establish and enforce academic quality standards for course design, delivery, assessment, and learning outcomes across modalities.
• Lead institutional accreditation and compliance efforts, serving as the primary academic owner for accreditation preparation, audits, regulatory reviews, and documentation.
• Analyze academic performance, engagement, retention, and completion data to identify gaps and implement targeted, data-driven improvements.
• Develop and monitor academic KPIs that support quality, compliance readiness, operational discipline, and institutional growth.
• Partner with academic, operations, and enrollment leaders to ensure programs are aligned with student demand, employer needs, and institutional priorities.
• Build scalable academic systems and processes that support growth while maintaining compliance and instructional excellence.

Required Qualifications

• Master's degree required in Information Technology, Computer Science, Business, Education, or a closely related field.
• Minimum of 8–10 years of senior academic leadership experience in U.S. higher education with direct authority over curriculum, faculty, and academic outcomes.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience personally leading academic program development, including program design, curriculum build, and launch.
• Proven responsibility for curriculum enhancement and continuous improvement across undergraduate and graduate programs.
• Direct experience owning faculty performance management, including instructional standards, evaluations, development planning, and performance accountability.
• Substantive experience leading or directly supporting institutional accreditation and regulatory compliance, including audits, reporting, and documentation.
• Strong background in IT and or business education, with the ability to align curriculum to workforce and employer needs.
• Experience overseeing undergraduate and master's-level programs at an appropriately accredited U.S. institution.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze academic and student performance data and convert insights into executed improvements, not recommendations.

Preferred Experience

• Doctorate in a relevant academic or professional discipline.
• Experience in for-profit, career-focused, or growth-stage institutions with high compliance and accountability expectations.
• Direct involvement in launching new programs in IT, technology, or healthcare.
• Practical experience integrating AI, applied technology, or data-driven competencies into academic curricula.
• Track record of improving student engagement, retention, completion, and or employment outcomes.
• Experience building academic systems and processes that scale with institutional growth.

Core Attributes

• Execution-oriented academic leader who takes personal ownership and follows through.
• Comfortable making decisions, setting standards, and enforcing accountability.
• Data-literate and process-driven.
• Clear, direct, professional communicator.
• Able to operate effectively in a lean, fast-moving environment without heavy administrative layers.

Ideal candidates will have served as an Academic Dean, Program Director, Director of Academics or Academic Programs, with direct, hands-on responsibility for program development, curriculum execution, faculty performance management, and accreditation; candidates with CAO or Provost titles must demonstrate equivalent, personally executed ownership of these functions.

First 6-Month Objectives

• Conduct a comprehensive assessment of academic quality, operational effectiveness, and compliance readiness, and execute prioritized, data-driven improvements.
• Design, build, and initiate launch of new academic programs, beginning with priority disciplines.
• Implement faculty training, performance management, and governance-ready evaluation processes, ensuring instructional accountability and accreditation alignment.

Compensation: $140, $185,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Vision insurance
• Paid Time-off