Director of Online Education

Position Summary

Reporting to the Associate Provost for Online Education, the Director of Online Education provides direction and support to the Office of Teaching, Learning, and Innovation (OTLI) for Columbia University’s online offerings, programs, initiatives, and platforms. The Director oversees the annual Provost’s Teaching and Learning grants, works with the Science of Learning Research (SOLER) Initiative team on the management of the SOLER Seed Grants, owns the reporting and distribution of revenue and finances for online learning initiatives, manages communications efforts, and identifies new opportunities and innovations to advance Columbia’s position in the digital education space.

Responsibilities

Program Management and Project Management:

• Facilitate centrally managed online education programming, initiatives, and resources.
• Provide operational support for Columbia Plus by collaborating with Co-Directors and other unit heads, including recruiting, prioritizing projects and initiatives.
• Work with Wiley Education Services on overseeing the consulting services and professional services to support Columbia Plus’ set up and operations.
• Manage day-to-day relationships with third-party platforms and firms involved in supporting Columbia courses and programs such as 2U, Emeritus, edX, Coursera and others. 
• Partner with online learning units across the University to manage all online learning initiatives and programs. 
• Manage the annual Provost’s Teaching & Learning RFPs in collaboration with the Associate Provost and the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) staff.
• Manage, update, and prepare Provost’s Teaching and Learning RFP dashboards to track the distribution of the grants, progress, and other statistics.
• Manage the Provost’s SOLER Seed Grants (PSSGs) program in partnership with the SOLER Program Director.
• Work with the Executive Director of Columbia Video Network (CVN) on reviewing the performance of bootcamps, MOOCs and other executive education offerings.
• Lead efforts with the Office of General Counsel (OGC) on reviewing new agreements, contracts, renewals, teaching agreements, and related documents.

Overseeing and Directing Key OTLI Initiatives:

• Work closely with the Associate Provost and the Program Director on operations for the SOLER Initiative.
• Collaborate with other teams and colleagues of the Office of the Senior Vice Provost to provide support and lead special projects.
• Assist with organizing meetings and setting the agenda for ATLG, DCC and others.
• Serve on the leadership council of the CTL.
• Collaborate with the Educational Innovation and Technology Group (EITG) team to expand and enhance the use of instructional and emerging technologies and incorporate them in teaching and learning practices across the University.
• Lead and provide support for all new initiatives and opportunities.

Finances and Revenue Management:

• Own the revenue dashboards and reporting processes. 
• Generate quarterly revenue reports of Columbia’s online and hybrid learning portfolio, and manage the financial reconciliation and disbursement processes.
• Measure the performance of non-degree courses and initiatives, including business metrics and revenue impact.
• Oversee and manage the SOLER PSSGs funds transfer process and preparing reports for internal dashboards and communication purposes. 
• Prepare and present all OTLI revenue data and metrics for stakeholders, including School and University leadership.

 Communications:

• Own the management and updating of OTLI’s websites – OTLI, Columbia Online, Columbia Plus, SOLER and all other public facing assets, including news releases, event listings, resources, and more.
• Develop marketing and communications content to promote Columbia’s online offerings and initiatives via social media, websites, newsletters, and other channels.
• Conduct assessment and evaluation to measure the reach and impact of marketing and promotional content, and draw on the data for iterative improvement of the offerings and marketing efforts.
• Collect and extract data from a variety of systems in order to create reports, and generate insights on students and learners enrolled in online offerings.  

Community Engagement and Support:

• Work with the co-chairs of the Academic Technologies Leadership Group (ATLG) and the Digital Community at Columbia (DCC) to organize meetings and finalize agendas, and manage sub-committees and events as required.
• Collaborate with the ATLG to identify and assess educational technology needs by administering and managing surveys, hosting demonstrations by vendors, and reporting results for recommendations on University adoption.
• Provide support for OTLI events such as the Provost’s Conversations on Online Learning (PCoOL), Celebration of Teaching & Learning Symposium and other engagements.
• Represent Columbia in the Ivy Plus Online Education group.  

Performs other duties as assigned.    

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required. Minimum of 4-6 years of related experience required; related experience in Higher Education preferred.
• Excellent computer skills, including advanced proficiency with Excel, knowledge of database management software and familiarity with setting up dashboards for reporting purposes.
• Experience with online forms and survey design programs is highly desirable.
• Knowledge of learning management systems (e.g. Canvas, Brightspace, Canvas, edX), Panopto, Drupal, video editing software, and social media platforms.
• Strong interpersonal skills, excellent written and verbal communication skills, keen attention to detail, and ability to exercise good judgment and discretion in handling confidential and sensitive data are required. 
• Exceptional organizational skills and ability to manage multiple tasks, set priorities, meet deadlines and demonstrate initiative.