If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:
 

Grade: Professional 314

Pay Range: $133,800.00 - $207,300.00

Job Description

The Associate Dean is a senior academic and business leader responsible for the strategic direction, performance, and growth of a portfolio of academic programs. This role owns program-level outcomes across the full value chain, including student performance, academic quality, portfolio growth, workforce alignment, and financial performance.

This role serves as the primary decision-makers for undergraduate and graduate programs and are directly accountable for program tuition revenue.

This role integrates academic authority with business leadership. Sets strategic direction and drive execution across cross-functional teams to ensure programs are academically rigorous, market-aligned, financially sustainable, and positioned for long-term growth. Represents WGU externally with industry partners, associations, states, accreditors, and media.

 

• Strategic Portfolio Ownership 

  • Serve as the primary owner of 2–6 academic programs across undergraduate and graduate levels. 

  • Establish long-term strategic direction for program growth, specialization expansion, and portfolio positioning. 

  • Make final decisions on program-level strategy, investments, and execution priorities. 

  • Ensure alignment between academic rigor, market demand, and financial sustainability. 

• Financial & Revenue Accountability 

  • Own program-level tuition revenue. 

  • Establish enrollment, growth, and contribution targets aligned with university objectives. 

  • Oversee budget performance and contribution margins. 

  • Balance academic integrity with sustainable financial outcomes. 

  • Drive continuous improvement initiatives informed by performance data. 

• Student Performance & Outcomes 

  • Own student performance outcomes including retention, progression, completion, and workforce ROI. 

  • Ensure academic and operational strategies are aligned to improve measurable student success. 

• Academic Direction & Quality 

  • Provide academic leadership across assigned programs. 

  • Ensure curriculum integrity, workforce alignment, and accreditation compliance. 

  • Guide new program development, revisions, and specialization expansion. 

  • Maintain high standards of instructional quality and academic credibility. 

• Execution Leadership 

  • Drive coordinated execution across the full program value chain, including academic leadership, program management, marketing, enrollment, student success, and operations. 

  • Leads a small group of indirect contributors to deliver high-quality student experiences and program performance. 

• External Influence & Institutional Impact 

  • Represent WGU externally to industry, professional associations, states, accreditors, and media. 

  • Cultivate employer and industry partnerships to enhance program relevance and credibility. 

  • Serve as a visible thought leader within the discipline. 

• Organizational Leadership 

  • Navigate complexity and ambiguity while maintaining strategic clarity. 

  • Contribute to college and university-level planning and decision-making. 

  • Perform other duties as assigned.  

  • Strong business acumen. 

• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities 

  • Deep domain, industry, and academic expertise within assigned discipline. 

  • Proven leadership experience managing complex portfolios or business units. 

  • Strong financial acumen and experience overseeing significant revenue streams. 

  • Demonstrated ability to drive cross-functional execution across a value chain. 

  • Lead in a highly matrixed organization, influencing without sole authority. 

  • Experience improving student performance and academic outcomes at scale. 

  • Strong stakeholder management and executive-level communication skills. 

  • Ability to influence institutional strategy and external partnerships. 

  • Sound judgment and data-informed decision-making capabilities. 

Job Qualifications 

Minimum Qualifications 

• Master’s Degree in a related field 

• Experience in higher education 

• Experience working with programmatic accreditation and licensing boards.

• 5 years of relevant experience 

• Equivalent relevant experience performing the essential functions of this job may substitute for education degree requirements. Generally, equivalent relevant experience is defined as 1 year of experience for 1 year of education and is the discretion of the hiring manager. 

 

Preferred Qualifications 

• Doctoral degree

• Experience in developing online education programs and/or developing and scaling rapidly changing organizations/programs 

• Experience in developing curriculum and/or high-stakes assessments 

• Demonstrated success in change-management, and bringing order and structure to complex situations 

Position & Application Details

Full-Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours): This is a full-time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.

How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.

Additional Information

Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It’s not all-inclusive.

Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at [email protected].

Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.