Director, Student Records and Services, Office of the University Registrar - Division of Finance

University Overview

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America’s Best Large Employers in 2023.

Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

Posted Job Title

Director, Student Records and Services, Office of the University Registrar - Division of Finance

Job Profile Title

Information Technology Director

Job Description Summary

The Office of the University Registrar (OUR) implements and monitors many academic and administrative policies in coordination with campus stakeholders to facilitate faculty teaching and student learning. The OUR champions the constant renewal of student information systems, adapts operations to changing academic needs, federal, state, and institution policies, and evaluates administrative processes for service improvements. The OUR acts as the data owner of academic and student information and plays an important role in the governance of these systems and information.
The Academic Services team is integral to the Office of the University Registrar (OUR). Lead by the Director of Student Records and Support Services, the team manages student records including processing of academic and student data changes; the team also provides tier 1 support for campus partners regarding data, student records, system and technology needs including training. The team frequently collaborates with staff in school registrar offices, compliance offices, Bursar, Financial Aid, Admissions, Student Services Center, Information Systems and Computing, provost, school deans, academic departments, students, faculty, and vendors.
The Director of Student Records and Support Services must have extensive experience with the Banner Student application and how it supports academic records and the mission of the university. The Director of Student Records and Support Services must understand the dependencies and ensure integration between all modules within Banner, such as Admissions, Student Financials, Financial Aid, and the student data warehouse. An understanding of the relationship between Banner and other systems within OUR and those used across campus is critical. The Director of Student Records and Support Services reports to the University Registrar.
The role includes supervision and development of staff within the team and strong collaboration with other teams across campus. This person will provide leadership and direction in the alignment, integration, and development of technological improvements, across several systems including Banner®, National Student Clearinghouse, NSLDS, Salesforce and BPLogix.
This individual will participate in the development, recommendation, and implementation of policies and procedures that affect the administration of student and academic data and will advise the University Registrar regarding such policies.
The position oversees the administration of processes related to posting of degrees, external credits such as study abroad, AP and transfer credits, all historic and current transcripts, leaves of absence, registration, withdrawals, and student records updates with special attention to data integrity/accuracy, compliance, policies and procedures, and excellent customer service.
The Director of Student Records and Support Services is expected to uphold industry standards and best practices across all functions related to the role and demonstrate high levels of proficiency in managing in a very complex systems environment. Significant ongoing project work requires the Director of Student Records and Support Services to possess previous experience in project management, change management, strong registrar related functional expertise with demonstrated leadership experience, and time management skills. This position is expected to function with a high degree of professionalism, discretion, and autonomy.
• Serve as a cross-functional, business, and technical stakeholder for Banner as well as other university systems supported by the Office of the University Registrar
• Provide leadership in the support of existing applications that support undergraduate, graduate, and professional school academic programs.
• Champion the use of university-wide systems for common functions to improve data quality, eliminate shadow systems, and reduce maintenance efforts and/or costs.
• Solve problems and enable opportunities for the introduction of appropriate technology.
• Lead and conduct in-depth analysis on how best to improve business processes. Define how to use Banner and other systems to fulfill those requirements.
• Lead and participate in implementations of new systems, and planning and support testing for patches, enhancements, and upgrades of existing systems.
• Supervise and oversee the work of the Academic Services team.
• Integrate new systems with existing systems and administrative and academic practices to achieve desired results and meet expectations.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams on data initiatives, system configuration, and the implementation of new technology solutions.
• Develop a culture of superior customer service when dealing with customer tickets, phone calls, and email communications.
• Provide training and documentation in support of student record processing.
The Individual must:
• Support the vision to improve system technologies used by the Registrar's Office and all schools/colleges, academic departments, and administrative units.
• Assist with planning and coordination of projects, training, and documentation for end-users within the schools/colleges and other offices.
• Advise on functional support, technical support, and quality control to the Registrar’s Offices; escalate issues as necessary.
• Act as a steward for student records and manage data for accuracy and compliance.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams on the improvement and usage of technology and implementation of new technology solutions.
In the Division of Finance, we recognize diversity and inclusion is paramount to a positive and thriving work environment; it is a business imperative.
We are committed to actively fostering diversity, inclusion and cultural competency throughout our operational efforts in the Division of Finance. This role will be critical in supporting those efforts and demonstrating behaviors and competencies that reflect Penn's values.
We take pride in the myriad ways that diversity enriches our curriculum, and the cultural and social life of our campus. Penn's commitment to achieving eminence through diversity is ultimately a commitment to creating a more vibrant university so that our graduates will be both stimulated and empowered to shape a better world.

Job Description

Utilize project management, ongoing process improvement and training to advance the University.

• Provide strategic and tactical leadership and oversight for department operations and short-term and long-term projects in the areas of student records, academic services, veterans benefits, and enrollment certification/reporting.

• Gather needs related to technological improvements and articulate them to the Tier 2 contracts providing advanced functional understanding of our systems and extensive knowledge of university policies and procedures.

• Represent the OUR on projects regarding configuration and testing related to student records data.

• Develop and manage the implementation of best practices, documentation and training related to the management of student data.

• Coordinate system support for students and staff reg student enrollment and academic services,

• Establish standards for and ensure proper documentation and training material exists for student systems as related to Academic Services team and staff across the University who rely on us for support and knowledge.

Provide direct management of the Academic Services Team.

• Provide managerial support for the Academic Services team.

• Oversee accurate, timely and high-quality completion of processes related to posting of degrees, external credits such as study abroad, AP and transfer credits, all historic and current transcript requests, leaves of absence, withdrawals, diploma processing, and student records updates.

• Establish and reinforce expectation of processing items with special attention to data integrity/accuracy, compliance, policies and procedures, and excellent customer service.

Represent the OUR to campus stakeholders and serve on various committees.

• Attend meetings on behalf of the University Registrar

• Regularly collaborate with various University departments (Information Systems and Computing, SRFS departments, admissions, provost, school deans, academic departments, etc.), committees, students, faculty, and vendors to achieve Registrar, SRFS, and University goals.

• Provide Tier 1 support to various units – SSC, Schools, Centers, VPE, ISC, Pennant Ops for process within the domain of student records.

Provide leadership and oversight regarding compliance.

• Document practices deployed within the OUR related to compliance.

• Maintain thorough knowledge of local, state and federal compliance expectations.

• Provide training and directions to support campus knowledge of compliance expectations related to Title IV Enrollment Reporting, Veterans Affairs and FERPA.

Support other OUR initiatives and other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• 4+ years in a college or university level registrar office with a comprehensive understanding of a registrar’s office business processes and best practices;

• 7-10+ years of administrative experience, including supervision of staff, data management, student information systems, and operations;

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills;

• Ability to interact with all levels of personnel and communicate clearly and effectively to diverse faculty, staff, and students regarding complex government and University policies and regulations;

• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities under hard deadlines in a fast-paced environment while maintaining a high level of professionalism and exceptional attention to detail and accuracy;

• Excellent organizational, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills;

• Knowledge of federal regulations and higher education policies and practices related to student academic records;

• Excellent judgment, discretion, and ability to maintain confidences;

• Proven ability to make presentations in small and large groups;

• Ability to evaluate and implement technological improvements to meet best practices;

• Knowledge of data management and reporting. Ability to analyze and solve complex problems in systems;

• Proficiency with computers, Microsoft Office, and student information systems, with the ability and willingness to quickly learn new systems and software;

• Experience performing data analysis and report writing;

• Ability to demonstrate tact and diplomacy in dealing with difficult issues and/or diverse organizations;

• Ability to develop positive and cooperative relationships with students, faculty, staff, parents, professional colleagues, and the public;

Job Location - City, State

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Department / School

Division of Finance

Pay Range

$74,476.00 - $120,000.00 Annual Rate

Salary offers are made based on the candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, as well as internal and market factors and grade profile. 

Affirmative Action Statement 
Penn adheres to a policy that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected class.

Special Requirements 
Background check required after a conditional job offer is made. Consideration of the background check will be tailored to the requirements of the job.

University Benefits

• Health, Life, and Flexible Spending Accounts: Penn offers comprehensive medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits to protect you and your family’s health and welfare. You can also use flexible spending accounts to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars.

• Tuition: Take advantage of Penn's exceptional tuition benefits. You, your spouse, and your dependent children can get tuition assistance here at Penn. Your dependent children are also eligible for tuition assistance at other institutions.

• Retirement: Penn offers generous retirement plans to help you save for your future. Penn’s Basic, Matching, and Supplemental retirement plans allow you to save for retirement on a pre-tax or Roth basis. Choose from a wide variety of investment options through TIAA and Vanguard.

• Time Away from Work: Penn provides you with a substantial amount of time away from work during the course of the year. This allows you to relax, take vacations, attend to personal affairs, recover from illness or injury, spend time with family—whatever your personal needs may be.

• Long-Term Care Insurance: In partnership with Genworth Financial, Penn offers faculty and staff (and your eligible family members) long-term care insurance to help you cover some of the costs of long-term care services received at home, in the community or in a nursing facility. If you apply when you’re newly hired, you won’t have to provide proof of good health or be subject to underwriting requirements. Eligible family members must always provide proof of good health and are subject to underwriting.

• Wellness and Work-life Resources: Penn is committed to supporting our faculty and staff as they balance the competing demands of work and personal life. That’s why we offer a wide variety of programs and resources to help you care for your health, your family, and your work-life balance.

• Professional and Personal Development: Penn provides an array of resources to help you advance yourself personally and professionally.

• University Resources: As a member of the Penn community, you have access to a wide range of University resources as well as cultural and recreational activities. Take advantage of the University’s libraries and athletic facilities, or visit our arboretum and art galleries. There’s always something going on at Penn, whether it’s a new exhibit at the Penn Museum, the latest music or theater presentation at the Annenberg Center, or the Penn Relays at Franklin Field to name just a few examples. As a member of the Penn community, you’re right in the middle of the excitement—and you and your family can enjoy many of these activities for free.

• Discounts and Special Services: From arts and entertainment to transportation and mortgages, you'll find great deals for University faculty and staff. Not only do Penn arts and cultural centers and museums offer free and discounted admission and memberships to faculty and staff. You can also enjoy substantial savings on other goods and services such as new cars from Ford and General Motors, cellular phone service plans, movie tickets, and admission to theme parks.

• Flexible Work Hours: Flexible work options offer creative approaches for completing work while promoting balance between work and personal commitments. These approaches involve use of non-traditional work hours, locations, and/or job structures.

• Penn Home Ownership Services: Penn offers a forgivable loan for eligible employees interested in buying a home or currently residing in West Philadelphia, which can be used for closing costs or home improvements.

• Adoption Assistance: Penn will reimburse eligible employees on qualified expenses in connection with the legal adoption of an eligible child, such as travel or court fees, for up to two adoptions in your household.

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To learn more, please visit: https://www.hr.upenn.edu/PennHR/benefits-pay