Remote / Washington, D.C.

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.

We are considering both fully-remote candidates and candidates based in the Washington, D.C. area who would work a hybrid model for this position. Reporting to the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Equity Initiatives, the senior policy analyst conducts research, analysis, and project management on state higher education public policy, including equity initiatives that support improved student access and success. They will manage projects, assist in seeking funding to support these needs, and join all SHEEO staff in yearly conference planning activities and general membership outreach.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Conduct research and policy analysis on state higher education public policy, including projects on early college, admissions, adult education, transfer, persistence and completion, educator preparation, and workforce development.
• Draft and manage the production of reports, papers, presentations, memos, annual reports, and other written content to disseminate research and analysis to key stakeholders.
• Manage projects that develop and convey information to the postsecondary community.
• Provide project, grants management, administrative, and logistical support to keep projects on track and ensure deadlines are met.
• Develop and maintain knowledge regarding current activities and future trends in public higher education.
• Build and maintain collaborative relationships with partner organizations to advance shared interests in, and support advocacy opportunities for, equitable student access and success.
• Represent SHEEO at, and assist in planning and conducting, state, regional, and national meetings.
• Support equitable student access and success on research topics and policy analysis through staff collaborations in fields including data systems, finance, governmental affairs, and/or accountability.
• Respond promptly to information requests from SHEEO members and provide other member services such as current policy research and publications, policy best practices, and learning community inquiries and opportunities.
• Research new opportunities of funding for projects and build relationships with potential funders around these opportunities.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications and Experiences

We are looking for a combination of the following qualifications, skills, and experiences:

• A master’s degree in higher education, public policy, or related field, plus at least three years of experience in a role with similar responsibilities. 
• Experience and analytical expertise in one or more of the following areas related to postsecondary education: state-, system-, or institutional-level experience and analytical expertise in academic affairs, equity initiatives, institutional research, or student success. 
• Experience, or a strong interest in, helping to secure outside funding for special projects.
• Knowledge of, or experience with SHEEO agencies, partner organizations, and/or foundations. 
• Strong analytic, critical, and strategic thinking, problem-solving, follow-through, and decision-making skills.
• A passion for advancing educational and economic opportunity, diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and social mobility.
• Fluency in statistics, data visualization, or other specialized skill related to policy research and analysis.

Travel

This position will require periodic national travel.

Salary

Salary will be commensurate with successful candidate’s level of education and experience, with a potential range of $80,000-90,000. SHEEO provides a comprehensive benefits package. 

Application Process

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, with a priority deadline of March 26, 2022. 

Please apply here and include the following: 

• Cover letter
• Resume or Curriculum Vitae

About SHEEO

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. 

SHEEO is particularly interested in providing equal employment opportunities and employing a diverse staff. Read more about SHEEO on our website: https://sheeo.org

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.

Washington, D.C.—The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) welcomed Alicia Engels as its new director of events earlier this week. Engels will be a part of SHEEO’s Washington, D.C., office and will provide direction and oversight to help organize and implement SHEEO events, including the Annual Meeting, Higher Education Policy Conference, and Communities of Practice.

Before joining SHEEO, Engels served as the assistant director of Events, Conferences and Support Services at the University of Richmond (UR) in Richmond, Virginia. She developed and managed high profile university events such as commencement, family weekend, and student orientation. She also served as principal contact for all campus space reservations, resource scheduling, and event logistics. Engels was notably responsible for implementing the first large-scale event at UR within COVID protocol. Prior to her time at the university, she served as a recreation coordinator for Henrico County Recreation & Parks.

Engels holds a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from James Madison University. 

ABOUT THE STATE HIGHER EDUCATION EXECUTIVE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) is the national association of the chief executives of statewide governing, policy, and coordinating boards of postsecondary education. Founded in 1954, SHEEO serves its members as an advocate for state policy leadership, a liaison between states and the federal government, and a vehicle for learning from and collaborating with peers. SHEEO also serves as a manager of multistate teams and as a source of information and analysis on educational and public policy issues. Together with its members, SHEEO advances public policies and academic practices that enable Americans to attain education beyond high school and achieve success in the 21st-century economy.

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) is pleased to host the 2023 Higher Education Policy Conference in Denver, CO, August 7-10. 

The annual Policy Conference is the preeminent gathering of leaders from state higher education policy agencies, national higher education policy organizations, institutions, and state and federal governments. SHEEO seeks timely, thought-provoking proposals for sessions aligned with our organizational vision to promote an environment that values higher education and its role in ensuring equitable education for all, regardless of racial/ethnic, gender, or socioeconomic factors. DEADLINE EXTENDED to March 10, 2023.

Learn more about the session proposals and how to submit yours at https://bit.ly/2023SHEEOPolicyRFP.

For information about the upcoming conference, visit https://sheeo.org/event/2023-sheeo-policy-conference/.

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) welcomes Jessica Duren as its new strategic communications director.

Duren will be a part of SHEEO’s Washington, D.C., office and will develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive and multi-faceted communications strategy for SHEEO and its membership. She will provide oversight and direction for SHEEO’s internal and external communications, including website, social media, print publications, and email marketing.

Before joining SHEEO, Duren served as assistant commissioner for communications & outreach for the Missouri Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development. As a member of the senior leadership team, Duren was instrumental in helping to develop the department’s strategic plan in 2021. She set the direction for the department’s marketing efforts to share the importance of all education beyond high school and the impact of education and training for today’s workforce. Duren has served Missourians in various communications roles with the department since 2014.

Prior to her time at the department, she was a copy editor and reporter for the Jefferson City News Tribune and the editor of three weekly papers in Northeast Iowa. Duren holds a bachelor’s degree in print journalism from Missouri State University.

ABOUT THE STATE HIGHER EDUCATION EXECUTIVE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) is the national association of the chief executives of statewide governing, policy, and coordinating boards of postsecondary education. Founded in 1954, SHEEO serves its members as an advocate for state policy leadership, a liaison between states and the federal government, and a vehicle for learning from and collaborating with peers. SHEEO also serves as a manager of multistate teams and as a source of information and analysis on educational and public policy issues. Together with its members, SHEEO advances public policies and academic practices that enable Americans to attain education beyond high school and achieve success in the 21st-century economy.

SHEEO and National Student Clearinghouse Research Center Investigated the Impacts of 467 College Closures on Student Outcomes

BOULDER, CO and HERNDON, VA – (Nov. 15, 2022) – More than 100,000 students out of more than 143,000 or 70% experienced their institution closing without adequate notice or a teach-out plan, known as abrupt closure, from July 2004 to June 2020. Poor outcomes in subsequent enrollment and completion were associated with abrupt closures, according to a new report released today by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) and the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

Most higher education institutions that closed were for-profit colleges. Out of the 467 closed institutions investigated:

• 49.9% or 233 were from the private for-profit two-year sector;
• 28.1% or 131 occurred from private for-profit four-year sector;
• 17.8% or 83 came from the private nonprofit four-year sector; and
• 4.3% or 16 were private nonprofit two-year and four were public four-year institutions.

Almost 12,000 campuses closed over the period analyzed, according to the Postsecondary Education Participants System.

The report, A Dream Derailed? Investigating the Impacts of College Closures on Student Outcomes, is the first of a series of a joint research endeavor between the two organizations to quantify the impacts of college closure on students’ subsequent postsecondary enrollment and completion.

“This study shows that any college closure is damaging to student success, leaving too many learners – more than half – without a viable path to fulfilling their educational dreams,“ said Doug Shapiro, Executive Director, National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. “But the extremely poor outcomes for students who experienced abrupt closures are particularly worrisome.”

“This research confirms that college closures have a detrimental impact on the enrollment and completion outcomes of all students and are most pronounced when colleges close abruptly without forewarning or student protections,” said SHEEO President Rob Anderson. “The particularly poor outcomes are especially harmful for minoritized students of color enrolled in the for-profit sector. These results reinforce calls for improving state authorization processes and strengthening the financial monitoring of institutions to prevent, prepare for, and respond to college closures.”

Abrupt closure in the private, for-profit four-year sector had the most adverse impact on reenrollment rates: 42.4% vs. 70.1% for orderly closures. When closure was orderly, reenrollment rates were nearly identical across the private four-year sector. Completion gaps by race/ethnicity were exacerbated among abrupt closures, with larger gaps in attainment than among orderly closures, especially for Hispanic and Black students.

Overall, less than half (47.1%) of students who experienced a closure subsequently reenrolled at a postsecondary institution. Of those who reenrolled, 36.8% earned a postsecondary credential, likely their first-ever undergraduate credential, and an additional 10.4% remained enrolled as of February 2022. The remaining 52.9% left without earning a credential after reenrollment. As a result, students who experienced a closure likely add to the population of students who have some college, but no credential.

Other report specifics include:

• Students who reenrolled within one to four months were the most likely to earn a credential (47.6%). The odds of earning a credential doubled if students reenrolled within one year of closure, while those who stopped out for more than one year were the least likely (18.7%).
• Hispanic and Black students with abrupt closure experiences were far less likely to earn a credential post-closure compared to their counterparts with orderly closure experiences (26.4% vs. 43.0% for Hispanic; 25.3% vs. 39.4% for Black).
• Students who experienced closure were more likely to be women (54.6%), white (25.0%), and 30 years or older at the time of closure (39.0%).
• Reenrollment rates were highest among women (49.0%), white students (62.5%), and traditional college age students (54.0% for 18-20; 46.6% for 21-24).
• Students who experienced closure at private nonprofit and for-profit four-year institutions were most likely to reenroll in the same sector. Alternatively, students who experienced closure at a private for-profit two-year institution likely reenrolled at a community college.

This series of three publications examining the impacts of college closure on student outcomes is supported by Arnold Ventures.

About SHEEO

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) serves the 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.

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 more than 3,600 Title IV eligible degree-granting postsecondary institutions, which represent 97% of the nation’s postsecondary enrollment as of fall 2020. Clearinghouse data track enrollments nationally and are not limited by institutional and state boundaries. To learn more, visit https://nscresearchcenter.org.

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In collaboration with NCHEMS, SHEEO released a report describing and classifying the approach each state takes to funding base operations at public colleges and universities. With sector-level data, state examples, and estimations of the proportion of state funding allocated through each approach, this report seeks to fill in gaps in our collective understanding of how states funding higher education. It is our hope that the data shared in this report will lead to additional research, consideration, and evaluation of base plus, institutional requests, input-driven formula funding, and special purpose funding across the states.

Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission Executive Director Ben Cannon was named the chair of the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) Executive Committee.

Before serving as chair-elect, Cannon served the SHEEO Executive Committee as treasurer during 2020-21.

“We are excited to have Ben Cannon serve as our Chair this year,” said Dr. Robert Anderson, president of SHEEO. “I have had the opportunity to get to know Ben through his service on the Executive Committee, and look forward to working with him as we advance a higher education agenda that provides opportunity for all students and advances the core tenets of the states and institutions that serve them.”

The Executive Committee is responsible for shaping SHEEO’s federal priorities and strategies and for leading its communications with Congress, the U.S. Department of Education, and other federal agencies. 

“I’m so pleased for this opportunity to chair the SHEEO Executive Committee and to work with my counterparts around the country, as well as with the exceptional staff at SHEEO,” said Cannon. “It is critical that state higher education leaders collaborate on issues that directly impact our goals for student success, equity, and more. I look forward to helping ensure that SHEEO continues to serve the needs of its member organizations through research, convenings, and national leadership that enhances the role and promise of higher education.”

SHEEO, the national association of the chief executives of statewide governing boards and coordinating boards for postsecondary education, works to assist its members and states in developing and sustaining excellent systems of higher education.

Cannon has served as the executive director of the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission since 2013. In this position, Cannon oversees state funding allocations, policy-setting, and coordination for Oregon’s higher education system, including community colleges and public universities. Cannon is a former teacher, state representative and education policy advisor to the Governor. Elected three times to the Oregon House of Representatives (2006-2011), he chaired House committees with jurisdiction over environment, energy, and water policy. From 2003 to 2011, he taught humanities at a middle school near Portland. He earned his BA from Washington University, St. Louis, and attended Oxford University, England, on a Rhodes Scholarship, earning graduate degrees in comparative and international education and philosophy, politics, and economics. ​

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The full SHEEO Executive Committee is as follows:

Officers:

Chair: Ben Cannon, Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission

Past Chair: Blake Flanders, Kansas Board of Regents

Chair Elect: Sarah Tucker, West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission

Treasurer: Clayton T. Christian, Montana University System

Members:

Brian Bridges, New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education

Shannon Gilkey, Rhode Island Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner

Harrison Keller, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

Dennis Olson, Minnesota Office of Higher Education

Ginger Ostro, Illinois Board of Higher Education

Shana Payne, Delaware Higher Education Office

Stephanie Rodriguez, New Mexico Higher Education Department

Aaron Thompson, Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education

SHEEO represents the executive officers of statewide governing and coordinating/policy boards responsible for overseeing higher education in their state. SHEEO has 61 members representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Northern Mariana Islands. The annual Membership Report uses data from its members to provide an in-depth look at SHEEO agency resources such as staff size, operating budgets, and functions performed. The report further captures demographic data of SHEEOs, SHEEO agency senior leaders, and SHEEO agency staff. The SHEEO Membership Report was expanded for FY21 to include data about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the addition of more agency functions to better encapsulate the duties of the SHEEO agency. Key findings of the latest Membership Report include:

• On average, governing boards have a higher operating budget per FTE staff than coordinating/policy boards, yet for the first time since measuring, both governance types have the same median staff sizes (60 FTE).
• Governing boards tend to perform a wider variety of surveyed functions, especially those regarding staffing/personnel matters and state budgetary and fiscal policy. Coordinating/policy boards tend to take on more state-level planning and strategizing while also administering statewide grant and loan programs.
• Comparatively, overall agency staff has a more diverse demographic makeup by race, Hispanic or Latino origin, and sex than agency senior leadership and the SHEEO positions.
• SHEEO agency responses to the COVID-19 pandemic involved dealing with an abrupt transition to remote work and reduced budgetary and staff capacity. Forty-one percent of member agencies experienced some sort of budget cuts, and 13% of agencies were forced to lay off staff.  
• The COVID-19 pandemic obligated SHEEO agencies to take on new, unforeseen duties. New responsibilities included routinely convening institutional leaders statewide to triage solutions, overseeing the disbursement and use of education-related federal COVID-19 relief funds, and aiding their states in COVID-19 response measures.

SHEEO President Robert Anderson said, “As states continue to respond to impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, tough decisions regarding budgets, staffing, and purpose have been and will continue to be made. The data in this report can help illuminate a path for SHEEO agencies to ensure their staffing is able to accommodate new changes and current responsibilities. These data will help our members draw comparisons to like agencies and develop new policies, procedures, and practices moving forward.”

The Membership Report website features additional resources for analysis, including downloadable agency-level data and dynamic Agency Profiles for an individualized lens.

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About the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association serves the 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.