Director, Office of Disability and Access

Job Description

Reporting to: Senior Director, Institute for Student Success / Chief Retention Officer

Position Summary 

The Director of Disability and Access provides strategic leadership for the College’s Disability and Access Office and advances the institution’s commitment to creating an accessible, inclusive, and supportive learning environment for students with disabilities.

The Director is responsible for the overall leadership, administration, staffing, and strategic direction of the office, including the development and evaluation of programs and services that promote access, engagement, persistence, and student success. The Director supervises and develops office staff, establishes operational priorities and processes, collaborates with campus partners to address systemic barriers to access, and serves as a senior institutional resource on disability, accessibility, and neurodiversity.

A significant responsibility of the position is the development and implementation of EDGE, an academic support and career readiness program, designed to support the successful transition of incoming neurodivergent students to college. The Director will build this program in collaboration with campus partners and establish a sustainable model that strengthens students’ academic preparedness, self-advocacy, executive functioning, connection to campus resources, and sense of belonging.

Essential Responsibilities

Leadership + Oversight of Disability and Access

• Provide vision, leadership, and strategic direction for the Disability and Access Office.
• Oversee the overall administration and daily operations of the office, establishing priorities, procedures, service expectations, and workflows that promote consistent and equitable support for students.
• Supervise, evaluate, mentor, and support professional, administrative, and student staff within the office.
• Establish annual goals and priorities for the office that align with institutional student success, retention, belonging, and accessibility goals.
• Manage the office budget and identify opportunities to expand resources and programming through institutional funding, grants, partnerships, and other sources.
• Develop and maintain systems for tracking office activity, student engagement, accommodation trends, and program outcomes.
• Ensure continuity and quality of services during periods of staff transition, high-volume demand, and other operational challenges.
• Lead regular review and improvement of office policies, procedures, technology, and service delivery models.

E.D.G.E: Academic Support + Career Readiness Program

• Lead the design, development, implementation, and ongoing assessment of the E.D.G.E program for incoming students.
• Develop a program model that supports the transition from high school to college and addresses common areas of transition, including executive functioning, time management, self-advocacy, academic planning, navigating campus resources, communication, and social connection.
• Establish program learning outcomes, curriculum, eligibility criteria, participation processes, staffing models, and assessment measures.
• Collaborate with Admissions, Student Success and Advising, Academic Support, Counseling and Wellness, Residential Life, Career Development, faculty, and other campus partners to create an integrated transition experience.
• Develop opportunities for participating students to build relationships with peers, faculty, staff, and upperclass student mentors.
• Incorporate experiential activities that familiarize students with academic expectations, campus systems, technology, support resources, and community-building opportunities.
• Develop and oversee a sustainable staffing and funding model for the program.
• Evaluate program outcomes, student experiences, and persistence data to identify opportunities for continuous improvement and expansion.
• Explore opportunities to extend the program's impact beyond the summer through first-year programming, peer mentoring, workshops, and ongoing community-building opportunities.

Campus Collaboration + Institutional Leadership 

• Serve as a campus leader and subject-matter expert on disability access, inclusion, and neurodiversity.
• Provide consultation and training to faculty and staff regarding accommodations, universal design, accessibility, neurodiversity, and inclusive practices.
• Partner with campus offices to identify and address systemic barriers that may impede student access, engagement, or success.
• Participate in relevant student success, retention, accessibility, and campus care committees and initiatives.
• Build strong relationships with students and student organizations and incorporate student perspectives into program and policy development.
• Promote a campus culture that recognizes disability and neurodiversity as important dimensions of student identity and campus diversity.
• Collaborate with Information Technology, Facilities, Communications, and other operational areas to advance physical, digital, and instructional accessibility.

Program Development, Assessment, + Strategic Planning

• Develop and implement initiatives that promote the retention, persistence, engagement, and success of students with disabilities.
• Use institutional and office-level data to identify trends, evaluate student needs, and inform strategic priorities.
• Establish measurable outcomes for Disability and Access programs and services and communicate results to institutional leadership.
• Conduct regular reviews of office practices and programs to identify opportunities for greater efficiency, accessibility, and student impact.
• Research emerging practices and national trends in disability services, neurodiversity, and inclusive higher education.
• Identify opportunities to expand or redesign services in response to changing student needs.
• Prepare reports, presentations, proposals, and recommendations for College leadership as needed.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in higher education, student affairs, disability studies, counseling, social work, education, or a related field.
• Progressive professional experience in disability services, accessibility, student affairs, or a related higher education environment.
• Demonstrated experience supervising and developing professional staff.
• Knowledge of disability access requirements and best practices in higher education.
• Demonstrated ability to develop programs and collaborate effectively across departments.
• Strong organizational, communication, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills.
• Commitment to student-centered practice, accessibility, inclusion, and student success.

Preferred:

• Experience leading a college or university disability/accessibility office or comparable student support unit.
• Experience developing transition, bridge, summer, or first-year programs.
• Experience with assessment, retention initiatives, and student success data.
• Experience developing staff training and campus-wide professional development.
• Familiarity with universal design for learning and universal design principles.
• Experience working with student information systems, case management systems, or disability/accessibility management platforms

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Ursinus College is a selective, independent, co-educational, residential liberal arts college of approximately 1500 students located about 25 miles northwest of center city Philadelphia. With a diverse community of students, it is an expectation of all faculty to contribute to the inclusion, engagement, and success of all students. Ursinus is an EEO employer.  Ursinus College does not discriminate on grounds of race, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, age, creed, ancestry, veteran status, marital status, disability, or other classification protected by applicable law in the administration of any of its educational programs or activities or with respect to employment.