Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs

Position Summary: The Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs is an academic leadership position responsible for the development, implementation, and continuous assessment of the DMD curriculum at California Northstate University, College of Dental Medicine. The role sets curriculum strategy, evaluates program effectiveness through data and outcomes analysis, supports faculty in instructional practice, and works across academic leadership to sustain a strong, compliant, and student-centered learning environment.

The Assistant Dean serves as a member of the Dean's leadership team.

• Oversee development, review, and implementation of the curriculum across all years of the DMD program, ensuring alignment with program competencies, institutional mission, and CODA Standards
• Ensure students receive advance written information for each course ,goals, content, evaluation methods, and grading criteria
• Lead an ongoing curriculum review and evaluation process that incorporates faculty, student, and administrative input, and eliminates unwarranted repetition or outdated material
• Ensure biomedical, behavioral, and clinical science instruction is integrated with sufficient depth, sequencing, and emphasis to support defined competencies
• Support faculty in instructional design, assessment strategies, and pedagogy; partner with the Assistant Dean of Faculty Affairs on curriculum-focused professional development
• Work with course directors to keep the curriculum integrated with clinical activity, updating learning outcomes and the curriculum map as material changes
• Oversee selection and review of educational resources, including textbooks, e-books, and instructional technology
• Integrate innovative teaching strategies, technology, and interdisciplinary approaches

• Develop and manage assessment systems to measure student learning and program effectiveness, including calibration across all instructional sites to ensure comparable instruction and assessment
• Ensure timely, appropriate evaluation and institutional due process when students do not meet published academic criteria
• Confirm the curriculum defines outcomes-focused graduation competencies
• Collaborate with the Assistant Dean of Clinical Affairs on clinical assessment systems
• Analyze academic data to measure student achievement and inform curriculum adjustments
• Collaborate with the Assistant Dean of Faculty Affairs to maintain a system for capturing faculty and student feedback on learning materials and proposed curriculum changes
• Monitor student performance data to identify trends, implement data-driven interventions, and collaborate with student services to support at‑risk students

• Serve on the leadership team, contributing to institutional strategic planning and community partnerships
• Ensure curriculum and instructional policy meet regulatory standards,
• Support a humanistic, regularly evaluated learning culture
• Lead accreditation preparation — self‑study documentation, evidence collection, and site‑visit readiness — and respond promptly to findings or recommendations
• Collaborate with the VP of Institutional Effectiveness and Accreditation on curriculum effectiveness assessment; produce the annual curriculum effectiveness report and the Standard 2 student performance report
• Conduct program review per the academic review schedule
• Work with the Dean and accreditation team in all aspects of accreditation functions and activities, including collecting, organizing, analyzing, and presenting data to demonstrate compliance with applicable accreditation and regulatory standards including but not limited to those established by WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE), and Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA)
• Collate data as applicable, to demonstrate compliance with accreditation standards related to the curriculum and academic affairs

• Partner with committee chairs, faculty, and student services to maintain a cohesive academic…