Located in Washington, D.C.

Position Description:

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) seeks to fill the position of vice president of academic affairs and equity initiatives. The vice president of academic affairs and equity initiatives will report to the senior vice president and chief of staff and lead policy and project development in educational equity, academic programs, and student success. The ideal candidate will have leadership experience in academic affairs; experience at a SHEEO agency or system office; and/or experience in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

SHEEO serves the chief executives of statewide governing, policy, and coordinating boards of postsecondary education and their staffs. Founded in 1954, SHEEO promotes an environment that values higher education and its role in ensuring the equitable education of all Americans, regardless of race/ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic background, or any other aspect of identity. Together with its members, SHEEO aims to achieve this vision by equipping state higher education executive officers and their staffs with the tools to effectively advance the value of higher education, promoting public policies and academic practices that enable all Americans to achieve success in the 21st century, and serving as an advocate for state higher education leadership. For more information, visit www.sheeo.org.

Key Responsibilities:

SHEEO is seeking diverse applicants who are qualified to: 

• Develop and oversee initiatives related to academic affairs, including academic readiness, student success, academic program approval and review, academic and institutional quality, transfer, pathways, and credentials of value.
• Develop and oversee initiatives related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Identify and promote best policies and practices related to closing equity gaps and supporting communities of color and other communities traditionally underserved in higher education.
• Coordinate networks of SHEEO agency diversity, equity, and inclusion leaders and chief academic officers.
• Facilitate the work of SHEEO’s Equity Advisory Committee.
• Collaborate with other SHEEO staff to explore and develop the equity implications of academic affairs, data, research, and finance projects.
• Collaborate with partner organizations on academic affairs and equity initiatives.
• Provide technical assistance and professional development to state-level academic affairs and equity staff.
• Work with other members of the SHEEO leadership team to promote equitable policies and practices within the SHEEO organization and provide professional development for SHEEO organization staff.
• Contribute to agenda development for SHEEO’s national meetings.
• Serve on a variety of leadership groups and teams within SHEEO.
• Conduct or direct research and policy analysis on student success and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in higher education.
• Manage a portfolio of grant-funded projects, develop relationships with funders, and seek diversified funding sources.
• Represent SHEEO at state, regional, and national meetings and conferences.  
• Provide supervision or direction to other SHEEO staff.
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Experience and Qualifications:

• A master’s degree in a relevant field.
• At least seven years of progressively responsible leadership experience in one or more of the following or equivalent:
  • A position at a state-level higher education system or higher education coordinating board.
  • A position in a national or regional organization focused on higher education policy.
  • A senior administrative position at a higher education institution.
  • A faculty appointment at an accredited postsecondary institution.
• Knowledge of or experience with SHEEO agencies and state-level academic affairs issues and leadership.
• A demonstrated commitment to anti-racism and closing equity gaps in higher education.
• Knowledge of state higher education policy and issues.
• Significant education and experience in the area of diversity, equity, and inclusion leadership.
• Ability to design, execute, and evaluate projects related to promoting access to postsecondary education, improving student success, and increasing equitable attainment at the state level.
• Demonstrated ability to obtain outside funding.
• Skill in project management.
• Skill in mentoring and developing staff.

Preferred Qualifications:

• An earned doctoral degree.
• Experience working with higher education associations or foundations.
• Experience developing or providing professional development or technical assistance resources.
• Experience teaching at the postsecondary level.
• Experience working with board members or policymakers.
• Fluency in workforce education and training trends.
• Record of publication or research in state higher education policy, public policy, social science, or issues related to systemic racism in education.

Working Conditions: This position is located in Washington, D.C. Periodic travel to SHEEO’s office in Boulder, CO, and other national travel will be required.

Salary: Salary will be commensurate with successful candidate’s experience and demonstrated skill level. SHEEO provides excellent staff benefits.

Application Process:

Please apply by email to sheeo@sheeo.org and include the following:

• Letter describing how you meet the requirements of the position, addressed to Dr. Christina Whitfield, SHEEO, 1233 20^th Street NW, Suite 360, Washington, D.C. 20009.
• Resume or curriculum vitae.
• Names and contact information of three professional references. (References will not be contacted until you have given permission for us to do so.)

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled; however, priority will be given to those applications received by April 9, 2021. SHEEO is committed to providing equal employment opportunities and believes that recruiting and developing a diverse and inclusive staff is vital to the organization’s success.

SHEEO is holding eight-week webinar series called “Public Investment in Higher Education: Research, Strategies, and Policy Implications.” Through April 1, every Thursday, from 3 – 4:30 p.m. ET, SHEEO will host a webinar where researchers will present new original research related to public investment in higher education. Each session will feature several papers and a discussant who will reflect on the papers and their implications for policy and research.

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) seeks candidates for two paid internships for the summer of 2021. These internships are appropriate for students pursuing graduate study in higher education, public policy, public administration, and related fields. The ideal candidates will be motivated, active learners interested in higher education policy and governance, policy analysis, and research methods. We are particularly interested in applicants with interest in higher education finance or college closures.

The focus of the internships will be providing support for SHEEO’s research, data, and policy analysis efforts. SHEEO’s summer 2021 interns may assist with a variety of projects depending on the interns’ skills and interests and SHEEO’s needs. These may include original data collection and analysis, offering assistance to SHEEO agencies, responding to data requests, constructing datasets, drafting white papers, and designing professional development opportunities for SHEEO agency staff. Interns will also have the opportunity to attend the SHEEO Higher Education Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., which we plan to hold in person from November 9 through 12, 2021.

The internships will last for approximately eight weeks, beginning in early June. Interns will have the option of working remotely or in our Boulder, Colorado office. The intern positions will pay $20 per hour. Interns will work 20-37.5 hours per week, with hours by mutual arrangement. Successful past interns have been offered an extended contract to continue working remotely throughout the year.

SHEEO is seeking diverse applicants with the following qualifications:

• Completed coursework in higher education, public policy, public administration, statistics, research methods, economics, sociology, or a related field.
• Experience working with large quantitative datasets.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite.
• Strong facility with Microsoft Excel.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Enthusiasm for and curiosity about state higher education policy and data-informed policymaking, particularly in the areas of state finance or college closures.
• A commitment to advancing equity and student success in higher education.
• Proficiency in a statistical software package (Stata, SPSS, R, Python, etc.) preferred.
• Knowledge of federal higher education datasets preferred.

Goals of the SHEEO State Policy Internship Program:

• Advancing understanding of state higher education policy and governance.
• Advancing equity and diversity in state higher education policy and governance.
• Increasing the skills and knowledge of those who work within the state higher education policy field.
• Increasing the interest of current graduate students in state higher education policy and governance.

Application Process:

Please apply by email to sheeo@sheeo.org and include the following:

• Letter describing your interest in and qualifications for the position, and contact information for two references, addressed to:

Dr. David Tandberg

Senior Vice President of Policy Research & Strategic Initiatives

State Higher Education Executive Officers Association

3035 Center Green Drive, Suite 100

Boulder, CO 80301

• Résumé or curriculum vitae.

Applications will be accepted until the positions are filled, but full consideration will be given to those received by April 9, 2021.

About SHEEO

SHEEO serves its members as an advocate for state policy leadership, as a liaison between states and the federal government, as a vehicle for learning from and collaborating with peers, and as a source of information and analysis on educational and public policy issues. SHEEO seeks to advance public policies and educational practices to achieve more widespread access and successful participation in higher education, more new discoveries through research, and more applications of knowledge that improve the quality of human lives.

SHEEO is committed to providing equal employment opportunities and believes that recruiting and developing a diverse and inclusive staff is vital to the organization’s success. Read more about SHEEO on our website: www.sheeo.org.

Washington, D.C. – Since 2010, the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) has conducted a survey of state postsecondary data systems, called Strong Foundations, to better understand the landscape of state postsecondary data. Today, SHEEO released an updated, redesigned State Postsecondary Data website featuring responses from the Strong Foundations 2020 survey.

This new data comes from the fifth and most recent iteration of the survey, marking over a decade of documentation on the content, structure, and effective use of state postsecondary student unit record systems. The Strong Foundations project, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, represents the most comprehensive record of state postsecondary data systems and how they have changed over time.

These systems exist in an increasingly complex postsecondary data environment, one in which the connections between state, federal, and institutional data collections and policy contexts continue to evolve. Over the past ten years, state postsecondary data systems have been greatly influenced by increased linkages to K-12 and workforce data and a growing availability of disaggregated data, allowing states to examine critical transition points in the education pipeline and identify equity gaps in postsecondary systems. They are vital information resources necessary for states to analyze, understand, and improve their systems of postsecondary education.

“Since it was launched a decade ago, the Strong Foundations project has tracked how state postsecondary data systems have become more comprehensive and complex, and how states have used these important information resources to respond to shifting policy priorities,” said Tanya I. Garcia, Pennsylvania’s deputy secretary and commissioner for postsecondary and higher education, and lead author of SHEEO’s 2010 and 2012 Strong Foundations reports. “As states grapple with the health, social justice, and economic crises, state postsecondary data systems will be vital to understanding what happened to Black, Indigenous, Latino, rural, adult, and low-income learners pursuing postsecondary education in their state. Strong Foundations provides a key resource for state policymakers as they use state postsecondary data systems more effectively at this critical juncture.”

“State postsecondary data systems provide policymakers with information that is essential for them to understand the extent to which higher education systems are serving the needs of all students,” said Christina E. Whitfield, senior vice president and chief of staff at SHEEO, “and provide a foundation for developing policies that promote equitable outcomes.”

The update is the first of several Strong Foundations 2020 projects slated for this year. Through summer 2021, SHEEO will release a series of reports analyzing trends and themes in state postsecondary data system growth, how state data systems can be used to promote equity in education, changes in privacy and security protocols, and how researchers access and use information housed in state postsecondary data systems.

Visit the State Postsecondary Data website at postsecondarydata.sheeo.org to see the latest results and explore how these systems have changed over the last decade.

About the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO)

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association serves the chief executives of statewide governing, policy, and coordinating boards of postsecondary education and their staffs. Founded in 1954, SHEEO promotes an environment that values higher education and its role in ensuring the equitable education of all Americans, regardless of race/ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic factors. Together with its members, SHEEO aims to achieve this vision by equipping state higher education executive officers and their staffs with the tools to effectively advance the value of higher education, promoting public policies and academic practices that enable all Americans to achieve success in the 21st century, and serving as an advocate for state higher education leadership.

Located in in Washington, D.C.

Position Description:

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) seeks a senior policy analyst to contribute to our efforts to develop state postsecondary data and information resources, provide technical assistance and professional development to SHEEO agency researchers and policy analysts, and collaborate with partner organizations. The ideal candidate for this position will be enthusiastic about working with higher education data, understand how data can inform policy and practice, and use this enthusiasm and knowledge to inform our members and the community about current practices and future trends in public higher education.

SHEEO serves the chief executives of statewide governing, policy, and coordinating boards of postsecondary education and their staffs. Founded in 1954, SHEEO promotes an environment that values higher education and its role in ensuring the equitable education of all Americans, regardless of race/ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic factors. Together with its members, SHEEO aims to achieve this vision by equipping state higher education executive officers and their staffs with the tools to effectively advance the value of higher education, promoting public policies and academic practices that enable all Americans to achieve success in the 21st century, and serving as an advocate for state higher education leadership. For more information, visit www.sheeo.org.

Key Responsibilities:

SHEEO is seeking diverse applicants who are qualified to undertake the following responsibilities:

• Contributing to the development, administration, and analysis of SHEEO’s “Strong Foundations” survey of state postsecondary systems.
• Coordinating with partner organizations on national postsecondary data initiatives.
• Providing technical assistance and professional development to state-level data practitioners.
• Developing agendas for SHEEO’s national convenings of data practitioners, researchers, and policy analysts.
• Managing grant deliverables.
• Developing and maintaining knowledge regarding current activities and future trends in public higher education.
• Representing SHEEO at state, regional, and national meetings and conferences.
• Contributing to reports, white papers, and policy briefs.
• Responding to information requests and providing other member services.
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Experience and Qualifications:

• A master’s degree in a relevant field plus at least five years of experience in a role that requires similar skills.
• A doctoral degree may serve as a substitute for two years of experience.
• Experience with state- or system-level postsecondary data systems.

• Knowledge of data resources such as IPEDS, NSC, NPSAS, or U.S. Census Bureau.
• Demonstrated statistical expertise. 
• Ability to creatively analyze and visualize data and present it to non-technical audiences.
• Skill in establishing priorities and coordinating work on multiple projects.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• An identifiable commitment to advancing equity and student success in higher education.
• Enthusiasm and curiosity for state higher education policy and data-informed policymaking.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Knowledge of state higher education policy and issues.
• Experience working with higher education associations or foundations.
• Experience developing or providing professional development or technical assistance resources.
• Experience conducting education, social science, or public policy research.

Salary:

Salary will be commensurate with successful candidate’s level of education and experience. SHEEO provides excellent staff benefits. 

Term:

This is a two-year contract position. Contract may be renewed or extended at the end of the two-year term.

Application Process:

Please apply by email to sheeo@sheeo.org and include the following:

1. Letter describing how you meet the requirements of the position addressed to Dr. Christina Whitfield, SHEEO, 1233 20^th Street NW, Suite 360, Washington, DC 20009.
2. Resume or curriculum vitae.
3. Names and contact information of three professional references. (References will not be contacted until you have given permission for us to do so.)

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled, but full consideration will be given to those received by February 22, 2021. This position is based in Washington, D.C. SHEEO is committed to providing equal employment opportunities and believes that recruiting and developing a diverse and inclusive staff is vital to the success of the organization.   

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) and the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, with generous funding provided by Arnold Ventures, are undertaking a new multiyear research endeavor to quantify the impacts of college closure on student persistence and completion.

According to a recent analysis by the Chronicle of Higher Education, even before the pandemic, over the previous five years, an average of 20 campuses closed each month, leaving around 500,000 students (mostly working adults, low-income students, and students of color) affected.¹ Yet, little is known about what happens to students after a campus closes.

Over the next two years, leveraging a newly constructed student-level longitudinal dataset that the Clearinghouse holds on behalf of colleges, SHEEO and the Research Center will use descriptive analyses, advanced data visualization techniques, and quasi-experimental research designs to examine what happens to students post-closure. Rigorously and thoroughly quantifying the impacts of college closure on subsequent postsecondary outcomes will inform what has been a contentious policy debate around appropriate regulatory action meant to prevent, prepare for, and respond to college closures in a pandemic where more closures are expected to occur.

This work will result in a number of publicly available deliverables, including three published reports that examine the impacts of college closures on student outcomes in detail and a website devoted to the project that will house interactive data visualizations and aggregated data to download. All the research generated by this work will be widely shared with our various members, partners, and higher education stakeholders.

“Many higher education institutions find themselves at a crossroads in the wake of the financial calamities caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Though we’ve hoped all will make it through unscathed, a handful of campuses have already shut their doors,” said SHEEO President Rob Anderson. “If more closures are, in fact, coming, it’s important for researchers, higher education leaders, and policymakers to understand the ramifications of these closures on students. Knowing precisely what occurs post-closure and what state and federal policies might do to mitigate the effects on students is imperative.”

“While SHEEO has undertaken and facilitated a number of original research projects in recent months, I’m happy to announce that the college closures work is the first official project housed within our Center for State Higher Education Policy Research,” said David Tandberg, SHEEO vice president for policy research and strategic initiatives. “It is our hope that the center will provide our members and the larger higher education community with actionable and evidence-based policy recommendations that can equitably increase student success. As we undertake this work, we could not ask for a better partner than the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Their expertise, commitment to data-informed decision-making, and passion for higher education policies and programs are aligned with our own. I look forward to seeing this collaboration and project bear fruit in the coming months.”

“The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center and SHEEO will examine many questions,” said Doug Shapiro, executive director of the Research Center. “Do students disengage from higher education entirely? Do they stop out only to return later? Do they enroll at a different institution and, if so, what type of institution? Do they earn a credential and, if so, what happens to their time to degree?

“How do the answers to these questions vary by the student demographics available in the NSC data? We’re not only going to have descriptive answers, but also we’re going to have causal estimates of their impact that will help policymakers and researchers.”

About SHEEO

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) serves the chief executives of statewide governing, policy, and coordinating boards of postsecondary education and their staffs. Founded in 1954, SHEEO promotes an environment that values higher education and its role in ensuring the equitable education of all Americans, regardless of race/ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic factors. Together with its members, SHEEO aims to achieve this vision by equipping state higher education executive officers and their staffs with the tools to effectively advance the value of higher education, promoting public policies and academic practices that enable all Americans to achieve success in the 21st century, and serving as an advocate for state higher education leadership. For more information, visit https://sheeo.org.

About the National Student Clearinghouse® Research Center™

The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center is the research arm of the National Student Clearinghouse. The Research Center collaborates with higher education institutions, states, school districts, high schools, and educational organizations as part of a national effort to better inform education leaders and policymakers. Through accurate longitudinal data outcomes reporting, the Research Center enables better educational policy decisions leading to improved student outcomes.

The Research Center analyzes the data from 3,600 postsecondary institutions, which represent 97% of the nation’s postsecondary enrollments in Title IV degree-granting institutions in the U.S., as of 2018. Clearinghouse data track enrollments nationally and are not limited by institutional and state boundaries. To learn more, visit https://nscresearchcenter.org.

¹Vasquez, M., & Bauman, D. (2019). How America’s college-closure crisis leaves families devasted. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from https://www.chronicle.com/article/how-americas-college-closure-crisis-leaves-families-devastated/?cid2=gen_login_refresh&cid=gen_sign_in

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President-elect Biden’s American Rescue Plan is a bold, necessary step to address the immediate public health and economic emergencies. It recognizes the pandemic’s financial toll on students and institutions of higher education and its role in exacerbating longstanding inequities in our educational systems. The aid to state, local, and territorial governments is a welcome relief that will help mitigate further state budget cuts to public colleges and universities. We look forward to working with the new administration to champion additional state aid for higher education to help stabilize campus budgets and advance state educational goals during this challenging time.

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“I join elected leaders from both parties and higher education leaders from across the country in denouncing the lawless violence that occurred this week on the Capitol grounds and in Washington, D.C. These actions have no place in a democracy, and this reprehensible attack on our country and the democratic process is inexcusable.

As our country ushers in new leadership, we at SHEEO are eager to work alongside the new administration and leaders in Congress to advocate for the equitable education of all students and to develop an effective state-federal partnership that results in meaningful and transformative higher education policy.”

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The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) serves the chief executives of statewide governing, policy, and coordinating boards of postsecondary education and their staffs. Founded in 1954, SHEEO promotes an environment that values higher education and its role in ensuring the equitable education of all Americans, regardless of race/ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic factors. Together with its members, SHEEO aims to achieve this vision by equipping state higher education executive officers and their staffs with the tools to effectively advance the value of higher education, promoting public policies and academic practices that enable all Americans to achieve success in the 21st century, and serving as an advocate for state higher education leadership. For more information, visit https://sheeo.org.

Located in our Boulder, Colorado office

Position Description:

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) seeks a policy analyst to support our efforts to perform policy evaluation and contribute to the knowledge base that our member agencies and offices rely upon. The ideal candidate for this position will be enthusiastic about state policy in higher education and how policy can be used to improve equity and outcomes for all students, have strong research skills, and understand how data can inform policy and practice.

SHEEO serves the chief executives of statewide governing, policy, and coordinating boards of postsecondary education and their staffs. Founded in 1954, SHEEO promotes an environment that values higher education and its role in ensuring the equitable education of all Americans, regardless of race/ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic factors. Together with its members, SHEEO aims to achieve this vision by equipping state higher education executive officers and their staffs with the tools to effectively advance the value of higher education, promoting public policies and academic practices that enable all Americans to achieve success in the 21st century, and serving as an advocate for state higher education leadership. For more information, visit www.sheeo.org.

Key Responsibilities:

SHEEO is seeking diverse applicants who are qualified to:

• Use data to create actionable, policy-relevant insights for state systems of higher education.
• Leverage statistical software packages to create reproducible analyses and accompanying data visualizations, descriptive tables, and trend comparisons.
• Identify and promote best policies and practices related to closing equity gaps in higher education.
• Communicate empirical findings to non-technical audiences through presentations, reports, white papers, and policy briefs.
• Develop and maintain knowledge regarding current activities and future trends in public higher education.
• Represent SHEEO at state, regional, and national meetings and conferences.
• Respond to information requests and provide other member services.
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Experience and Qualifications:

• A master’s degree in a relevant field or at least two years of experience in a role that requires similar skills.
• Experience managing and working with data from a variety of higher education and related sources (e.g., IPEDS, ACS, BLS, etc.).
• Fluency in advanced statistical software packages (e.g., Stata, R, Python).
• Ability to establish priorities and coordinate work on multiple projects simultaneously.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• An identifiable commitment to advancing equity and student success in higher education.
• Experience collaborating with others on empirical research projects.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Ability to work with large administrative datasets efficiently and accurately.
• Experience conducting rigorous education, social science, public policy, or related research.
• Strong Stata skills.
• Experience working with student-level data.
• Enthusiasm and curiosity for state higher education policy and the data used to inform policy-related conversations.

Salary:

Salary will be commensurate with the successful candidate’s level of education and experience. SHEEO provides excellent staff benefits.

Term:

This is a two-year contract position. Contract may be renewed or extended at the end of the two-year term.

Application Process:

Please apply by email to dszczesny@sheeo.org and include the following:

1. A letter describing how you meet the position’s requirements addressed to Dr. David Tandberg, SHEEO, 3035 Center Green Drive, #100, Boulder, CO 80301.
2. Résumé or curriculum vitae.
3. Names and contact information of three professional references. (References will not be contacted until you have given permission for us to do so.)

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled, but full consideration will be given to those received by January 22, 2021. This position is based in Boulder, Colorado. SHEEO is committed to providing equal employment opportunities and believes that recruiting and developing a diverse and inclusive staff is vital to the organization’s success.