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Leading Academic Units

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Deans, Department Heads and Directors: Empowering Academic Deans to lead with confidence

Leading Academic Units provides academic leaders in these roles the opportunity to learn strategies for leading and supporting student success efforts within and beyond their academic units. Regardless of the initiative that each community member has been tasked with leading, during their year in this community, they will learn effective leadership techniques for ensuring that student success remains a priority for their academic units and that strategies they use are appropriate for their student population, institutional structure, and organizational culture.

Dates: October 8, 2025- August 12, 2026

Apply by September 30, 2025

Who Should Participate

Current or newly-appointed leaders of academic units such as:

  • Academic Deans (including Assistant and Associate Deans)
  • Department or Division Chairs (including Assistant and Associate Chairs)
  • Directors of Schools or Programs

Teams of academic leaders from the same institution are encouraged to enroll together. Such groups may include fellow deans from the same institution or a combination of deans and chairs from the same institution.

How You’ll Benefit

During the yearlong community, you will gain the following competencies as you act to reduce student outcome disparities and successfully transform institutional practice:

  • Helping you align student success efforts to academic unit goals and institutional mission

  • Using institutional data to assess student outcomes and intervention efforts in order to identify potential barriers to success

  • Evaluating domains and strategies for improving student success against the context and resources of their institution

  • Identifying your levers of influence as a leader and building a cross-functional coalition for your initiative

  • Applying leadership strategies to implement mandated student success initiatives

  • Planning for the continuous improvement of student success efforts using data-driven decisions and cross-functional input

Apply by September 30, 2025

Short-term investment towards lasting professional growth

Receive guidance, peer collaboration, and access to resources all designed to address the changing needs of institutional leadership. 

Key Features

Monthly virtual meetings with opportunities to network with and learn from peers in similar roles at other institutions.

Expert facilitators addressing timely strategies for leadership, student success, and change management.

Guidance and support as members implement or launch a student success initiative at their own institutions.

Community includes registration to the Symposium on Transforming the Postsecondary Experience in Chicago, IL, on November 1-2, 2025, and the Leading Student Success in Academic Units Pre-Conference on October 31, 2025.

Fees:

$4,445 per participant (Includes fees to 2025 Symposium and Pre-conference Workshop).

Teams of academic leaders from the same institution are encouraged to enroll together. Such groups may include fellow deans from the same institution or a combination of deans and chairs from the same institution.

Register as a team of 4 or more from the same institution and receive a 10% discount for all participants.

Community includes registration to the Symposium on Transforming the Postsecondary Experience in Chicago, IL, on November 1-2, 2025, and the Leading Student Success in Academic Units Pre-Conference on October 31, 2025.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Community begins October 8, 2025- August 12, 2026

Applications are open for Fall 2025 cohort. You can apply at this link.

Applicants are accepted on a rolling basis; subject to approval. Early registration is recommended. Applications for Fall 2025 Cohort are due by September 30, 2025.

The monthly synchronous meetings will be:

  • October 8
  • November 12
  • December 10
  • January 14, 2026
  • February 11, 2026
  • March 11, 2026
  • April 8, 2026
  • May 13, 2026
  • June 10, 2026
  • July 8, 2026
  • August 12, 2026

Synchronous Meetings: All times are Eastern.

Learn more in an information meeting

May 14 at 3 pm ET

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