Graduate Nursing Director

Job Description Summary
Saint Leo University seeks an experienced, mission-driven professional to serve as a twelve-month Graduate Nursing Director with significant graduate teaching responsibilities. This is a blended administrative and teaching faculty position, structured as approximately 50% program administration and 50% graduate-level teaching, reporting to the Dean, College of Health Professions. As Director, this individual provides strategic, academic, administrative, and operational leadership for the graduate nursing programs, ensuring program quality, regulatory compliance, student success, faculty development, curriculum oversight, accreditation readiness, and achievement of institutional goals. As teaching faculty, this individual carries a significant graduate teaching load, maintaining direct, sustained engagement with students across didactic, clinical, and laboratory/simulation instruction. The Director collaborates with faculty, university leadership, healthcare partners, and community stakeholders to advance excellence in nursing education and support the mission and values of the institution.
The Graduate Director fosters an environment of academic excellence, innovation, scholarship, service, and continuous improvement while ensuring compliance with accreditation standards, state regulations, and professional nursing requirements.
This is a twelve-month position based at the Saint Leo University campus in St. Leo, Florida. Appointment may be made at the assistant or associate professor level, Track TBD.
Teaching load: consistent with the position's blended structure, the Director carries a reduced teaching assignment relative to a standard full-time faculty line — illustratively, roughly 7–8 credit hours per semester, approximately half of the standard 15-credit full-time teaching load described in Saint Leo's general graduate nursing faculty job description — combining didactic, clinical, and laboratory/simulation instruction across on-ground, online, and hybrid modalities, with the balance of the appointment devoted to administrative and program-leadership duties.
Program context: this position is being created to lead two new graduate nursing programs — the Direct Entry MSN (DEMSN), launching January 2027, and the MSN–Family Nurse Practitioner (MSN-FNP), launching August 2027 — and is needed in place well before both launch dates. Beyond current master's-level operations, the Director also holds strategic responsibility for planning and preparing the College's future expansion into doctoral-level nursing education, including the eventual development, accreditation readiness, and operational oversight of a future doctoral nursing program, as the College's graduate portfolio continues to grow.
The following duties, responsibilities, and required knowledge, skills, and abilities are specific to the Graduate Nursing Program Director role and supplement the general Department Chair/Director Responsibilities applicable to all chairs and directors at Saint Leo University.
Job Description
Administrative Leadership and Program Management
Academic Leadership
● Monitor student learning outcomes and program effectiveness measures.
● Promote innovative teaching methodologies, simulation, technology-enhanced learning, and evidence-based educational practices.
● Ensure compliance with State Board of Nursing requirements and accreditation standards.
● Lead program reviews, self-studies, and accreditation activities.
Faculty Leadership and Development
● Foster faculty engagement in teaching excellence, scholarship, professional development, and service.
● Support faculty orientation and onboarding activities.
● Promote a collaborative and inclusive academic culture.
Student Success and Program Oversight
● Monitor student retention, progression, graduation, and licensure outcomes.
● Review and enforce nursing program policies and procedures.
● Support development of student leadership and professional engagement opportunities.
Accreditation, Compliance, and Assessment
● Maintain compliance with nursing accreditation standards and state regulatory requirements.
● Coordinate data collection, analysis, and reporting for accreditation and assessment purposes.
● Monitor key performance indicators including NCLEX pass rates, retention rates, graduation rates, and employment outcomes.
● Ensure documentation and reporting requirements are completed accurately and timely.
● Develop and implement action plans to address identified areas for improvement.
Clinical and Community Partnerships
● Establish and maintain effective relationships with healthcare organizations and clinical partners.
● Collaborate with healthcare agencies to secure and maintain clinical placement opportunities.
● Represent the nursing program in professional, educational, and community organizations.
● Promote partnerships that enhance experiential learning opportunities for students.
Administrative and Budgetary Responsibilities
● Support graduate nursing education principles and best practices.
● Implement Nursing curriculum design, assessment, and program evaluation at the program level.
● Comply with Nursing accreditation standards and regulatory requirements.
● Comply with State Board of Nursing regulations and nursing licensure requirements.
● Address contemporary healthcare trends and workforce needs.
● Represent the nursing program professionally to internal and external stakeholders.
● Manage program budgets and personnel as assigned.
Scholarship and Service
● Maintain an active record of scholarly and professional activities.
● Engage in professional nursing organizations and community service activities.
● Support faculty and student scholarship initiatives.
Teaching Responsibilities
Approximately 50% of this position is devoted to graduate-level teaching, structured as follows:
● Provide graduate-level classroom (didactic) instruction in assigned MSN, DEMSN, and/or MSN-FNP courses, delivered on-ground, online, and in hybrid modalities as appropriate.
● Provide clinical supervision and oversight of graduate nursing students in assigned clinical experiences, ensuring safe, competent practice consistent with program requirements and Board of Nursing standards.
● Provide laboratory and simulation instruction, including the use of nursing simulation software and equipment, to support hands-on clinical skill development.
● Advise and mentor graduate nursing students, supporting their academic progression, professional development, and engagement with the program.
● Participate in curriculum development and assessment for courses taught, including ongoing review and revision of course content, learning outcomes, and instructional methods.
● Participate in accreditation, program evaluation, and student success initiative