Academic Compliance Manager
Full Time
FT Exempt Staff
Reading, PA, US
JOB SUMMARY
Under the supervision of the Director of Institutional Assessment, Accreditation, and Compliance (DIAAC), the Academic Compliance Manager manages the day-to-day operation of established academic and health compliance processes related to experiential learning, including internships, clinical experiences, and fieldwork.
The position serves as a primary point of contact for students, faculty, staff, and external partners regarding compliance requirements and facilitates processes to help students satisfy requirements established by affiliation agreements, institutional policies, and external agencies in a timely and student-centered manner.
The Academic Compliance Manager administers affiliation agreement workflows and compliance tracking systems, maintains accurate and audit-ready documentation, and monitors requirements and deadlines across programs and locations. The position identifies compliance gaps, exceptions, and potential risks and escalates matters requiring interpretation, exception, or institutional decision-making to the DIAAC Director.
Operating within established institutional policies, procedures, and requirements, the Academic Compliance Manager contributes to institutional risk management through effective compliance operations, documentation, communication, and process administration.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
1. Affiliation Agreements & Contract Administration
- Manage the day-to-day workflow for the initiation, processing, renewal, and tracking of affiliation agreements in collaboration with faculty, academic departments, and the DIAAC Director.
- Prepare and route affiliation agreements for appropriate institutional review, approval, and signature and track agreements through completion.
- Maintain the university’s master inventory of active affiliation agreements, including renewal dates, expiration dates, agreement status, and other required information.
- Maintain accurate, complete, secure, and audit-ready agreement records and related documentation to support efficient organization and retrieval.
- Apply standardized templates, procedures, and workflows to affiliation agreement processing.
- Refer proposed revisions or non-standard agreement terms to the Director and other appropriate institutional offices for review.
- Prepare and submit certificates of liability insurance and other required institutional documentation to external partners.
- Monitor agreement timelines and proactively notify academic departments and other stakeholders of upcoming renewals, expirations, and outstanding requirements.
2. Student Academic & Health Compliance
- Manage day-to-day processes for monitoring student academic and health compliance requirements associated with internships, clinical experiences, and fieldwork.
- Serve as a primary point of contact for students regarding compliance requirements, processes, documentation, and deadlines for experiential learning placements.
- Track student compliance requirements, including clearances, training, health requirements, and other documentation required by the university or external partners.
- Notify students of outstanding requirements, upcoming deadlines, and actions necessary to achieve or maintain compliance.
- Work with academic departments and placement coordinators to verify student compliance status and eligibility for internships, clinical experiences, and fieldwork.
- Facilitate student onboarding into compliance systems and required training modules.
- Administer health compliance tracking and reporting for incoming, transfer, and international students to support timely enrollment, onboarding, and progression.
- Review compliance status across students and programs, identify gaps or outstanding requirements, and communicate required actions to appropriate stakeholders.
- Escalate compliance gaps, exceptions, or circumstances requiring interpretation or institutional decision-making to the Director.
3. Compliance Systems & Data Management
- Administer the day-to-day operation of the university’s academic and health compliance tracking systems, including Complio or similar platforms.
- Maintain accurate, complete, secure, and current compliance data and records in accordance with institutional requirements.
- Monitor system workflows, deadlines, and routine reporting activities to promote timely completion of compliance processes.
- Generate and distribute routine compliance reports to academic programs, placement coordinators, and institutional leadership as appropriate.
- Review data and system processes for incomplete records, discrepancies, or compliance gaps and facilitate corrective action with appropriate stakeholders.
- Troubleshoot routine system issues and work with vendors and internal stakeholders to resolve technical or operational challenges.
- Maintain working knowledge of relevant institutional systems, including student information systems and reporting tools, to support compliance tracking and reporting.
- Apply established regulatory, agency, partner, and institutional requirements in daily operational processes.
- Recommend improvements to compliance workflows, documentation, tracking practices, and systems for consideration by the Director.
4. Communication & Institutional Collaboration
- Serve as a primary operational liaison among students, faculty, academic departments, placement coordinators, administrative offices, and external partners regarding compliance requirements and processes.
- Collaborate with academic departments and placement coordinators to promote consistent application of established compliance requirements across programs and locations.
- Communicate with external clinical, educational, and agency partners regarding documentation, timelines, and established requirements for internships, clinical experiences, and fieldwork.
- Organize compliance-related activities, including training sessions, informational seminars, student onboarding activities, and clearance events.
- Provide clear and timely guidance to students, faculty, and staff regarding established compliance procedures, documentation requirements, and deadlines.
- Develop and maintain routine communications, instructions, process guides, and other resources that promote consistent understanding and application of compliance requirements.
- Facilitate communication among appropriate stakeholders when documentation concerns, process questions, or compliance issues arise, referring matters requiring institutional interpretation or decision-making to the Director.
5. Compliance Oversight & Risk Support
- Manage day-to-day compliance operations in accordance with established institutional policies, procedures, external requirements, and privacy and data security standards.
- Monitor compliance processes across programs and university locations to identify gaps, recurring issues, or operational risks.
- Compile documentation and provide operational support for internal audits, external reviews, accreditation activities, and other compliance-related requests.
- Report significant compliance concerns or recurring process issues to the Director for review and resolution.
- Apply established policies, procedures, and requirements to routine compliance matters and refer exceptions, ambiguous requirements, or matters requiring policy interpretation to the Director.
- Implement approved process improvements, corrective actions, and procedural changes under the direction of the Director.
- Deliver compliance-related training and informational sessions for students, faculty, and staff.
- Participate in professional development and training to maintain current knowledge of regulatory, agency, partner, and institutional requirements related to internships, clinical experiences, and fieldwork.
- Travel to university locations and other sites as needed to support students, academic programs, and compliance activities.
- Maintain flexibility in work hours, including occasional evenings and weekends, as needed to support student and program requirements across multiple locations and modalities.
ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
- Perform other duties as assigned to support the mission and operational needs of the university.
- Promote the university’s mission, values, and commitment to student-centered practices in all areas of responsibility.
- Collaborate with colleagues across academic and administrative units to support effective and consistent institutional operations.
QUALIFICATIONS / EDUCATION
- Bachelor’s degree preferred; an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience may be considered.
- One to three years of experience in compliance, higher education administration, student services, healthcare administration, project coordination, or a related field.
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple processes, deadlines, projects, and priorities with a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to explain requirements clearly and professionally to students, faculty, staff, and external partners.
- Experience using Microsoft Office Suite, databases, web-based platforms, or information systems to track records, requirements, deadlines, and other operational information.
- Ability to exercise sound judgment, maintain confidentiality, and appropriately handle sensitive student and institutional information.
- Ability to interpret and consistently apply established policies, procedures, guidelines, and requirements and recognize circumstances requiring escalation or additional review.
- Demonstrated ability to work independently within established procedures while collaborating effectively with multiple institutional stakeholders.
- Strong service orientation and commitment to providing responsive, student-centered support.
- Experience in higher education, healthcare, clinical education, or a compliance-related environment preferred.
- Experience with student information systems, compliance tracking platforms, budget management, contract/document management systems, and reporting tools preferred.
PHYSICAL AND WORK REQUIREMENTS
- Ability to perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.
- Ability to travel among university locations and to off-campus sites as needed.
- Ability to work occasional evenings or weekends as required to support student, program, or compliance activities.
Employee Benefits:
Join a team that values your well-being! We offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support you and your family:
- Robust Health Coverage: Choose from three offered medical plans, plus dental and vision.
- Financial Security: Enjoy University-paid life/AD&D insurance and long-term disability, with options for short-term disability and supplemental coverage for you and your family (including accident, critical illness, and hospital indemnity plans). Flexible spending accounts are also available.
- Exceptional Retirement: Start saving immediately with our 403(b) Retirement Plan. You will get 100% immediate vesting, a University gift contribution, and a generous match up to 5% of your deferrals.
- Time Off & Flexibility: Take advantage of 20 paid holidays each year, including 5 floating holidays, and the possibility of flexible or hybrid work options for many roles.
- Invest in Your Future: Enjoy tuition remission benefits for yourself and your dependents.
- On-Campus Wellness: Benefit-eligible employees on our main campus receive free access to our Medical & Counseling Center.
- Employee Meal Plan: This plan provides convenient, flexible dining options on campus at a reduced cost.