Assistant Dean, Admissions

Pay Range: Commensurate based on education and experience

Benefits Eligible: Yes

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (may include some weekends)

Travel: May be required

Reports to: Dean of the College of Law

Appointment: Full-time, 12-month, exempt administrative position

Supervises: Admissions staff, student workers, and other admissions personnel as assigned

Position Summary:

The Assistant Dean of Admissions is the College of Law's senior admissions and enrollment leader. The Assistant Dean designs and executes a comprehensive, data informed admissions strategy that attracts, admits, yields, and enrolls outstanding students who will thrive at OU Law and contribute to the legal profession, the State of Oklahoma, and the broader public good.

The Assistant Dean leads the JD admissions office, manages the full admissions cycle, advises the Dean and senior leadership on enrollment strategy, supervises admissions staff, partners with financial aid and communications colleagues, and serves as a principal public ambassador for OU Law. The position requires sound judgment, ethical leadership, comfort with data and technology, and the ability to build strong relationships with prospective students, pre-law advisors, alumni, faculty, staff, the bench and bar, and national admissions organizations.

The ideal candidate will combine strategic enrollment experience with a student-centered approach and the operational discipline necessary to meet enrollment, academic quality, budget, and student success goals.

Essential Responsibilities:

Strategic Enrollment Leadership

• Develop and implement an annual and multi-year admissions and enrollment strategy for the JD program.
• Advise the Dean and senior leadership on admissions trends, applicant behavior, market conditions, scholarship strategy, tuition discount pressures, peer school competition, and enrollment risks.
• Set and monitor annual targets for applications, admits, deposits, yield, class size, academic credentials, geographic reach, student quality, and mission aligned access.
• Translate institutional goals into operational admissions plans, including recruitment territories, communications calendars, admitted student engagement, scholarship deployment, and yield initiatives.
• Use data to evaluate recruitment investments, admissions communications, events, scholarship offers, travel, pipeline programs, and applicant engagement.
• Prepare regular dashboards and reports for the Dean, senior leadership, faculty committees, and other stakeholders.

Recruitment, Outreach, Pipeline, and Yield

• Lead a high touch, relationship-based recruitment strategy that strengthens OU Law's visibility in Oklahoma, the region, and national markets.
• Represent OU Law at recruitment fairs, LSAC forums, pre-law events, admitted student programs, alumni events, conferences, and other external engagements.
• Build and maintain relationships with undergraduate institutions, pre-law advisors, honors colleges, pipeline programs, student organizations, community partners, alumni, and members of the bench and bar.
• Develop targeted recruitment strategies for high-achieving applicants, Oklahoma residents, first generation and nontraditional applicants, military and veteran applicants, transfer students, and other mission aligned applicant groups, consistent with applicable law and University policy.
• Oversee admitted student yield strategy, including admitted student days, individual counseling, faculty and alumni engagement, student ambassador programs, campus visits, virtual programming, and personalized communications.
• Collaborate with faculty, alumni, current students, Career Development, Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, Alumni and External Relations, and Development to tell a compelling story about OU Law's value, outcomes, academic strengths, professional pathways, and community.

Admissions Review and Decision Making

• Oversee the timely, fair, holistic, well-documented review and evaluation of applications, consistent with law school standards, University policy, and applicable legal requirements.
• Evaluate applicant files, including academic record, LSAT or GRE performance, personal statement, resume, letters of recommendation, character and fitness disclosures, addenda, and other relevant materials.
• Make or recommend admissions decisions under authority delegated by the Dean and in consultation with the faculty admissions committee as directed by the Dean.
• Serve as the administrative liaison to faculty admissions committees and ensure faculty participants receive timely, organized, and complete materials.
• Maintain confidentiality and professional judgment in all admissions matters.
• Develop policies and training materials for file review, applicant communication, waitlist management, transfer admission, visiting admission, deferrals, reconsideration requests, and character and fitness issues.

Scholarship and Financial Aid Strategy

• Partner with the Dean and senior leadership to design and implement scholarship…