POSITION IDENTIFICATION
TITLE Director, Testing Center
CLASSIFICATION NUMBER 1131
GRADE 46
CLASSIFICATION Exempt
IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR Dean of Library Services
GENERAL FUNCTION
The Director, Testing Center is responsible for the daily operation, strategic leadership, and overall management of Missouri State University’s Testing Center. This position oversees a broader organizational unit that includes the Testing Center team (three full-time staff and up to twenty student employees), delivering efficient, compliant, and high-quality testing services. The Director ensures effective and efficient operations across staffing, scheduling, systems maintenance, facilities, and test security, while also leading strategic planning, campus policy development, and institutional-level decision-making in partnership with the Disability Resource Center (DRC), the Provost, General Counsel, academic Deans, and the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning (FCTL). This position serves as the primary liaison and negotiator with external testing organizations and vendors (e.g., Educational Testing Service, College Board, and other providers of high-stakes examinations), ensuring strict compliance with their policies, procedures, and contractual obligations and securing a balanced portfolio of academically aligned and revenue-generating tests.
MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE QUALIFICATIONS
Education: Bachelor’s degree required, Master’s degree preferred (e.g., higher education administration, public administration, business administration, or related field). An equivalent combination of years of experience and education may be considered for substitution of educational requirements.
Experience: Five or more years of progressively responsible leadership experience in a higher education or testing services environment, including staff supervision, operations management, and policy implementation. Demonstrated experience with ADA-accommodated testing and collaboration with disability services offices preferred. Experience developing and managing budgets, setting strategic goals, and leading organizational changes to improve service and financial sustainability preferred along with administrative and/or teaching experience and NCTA standards familiarity.
Skills: Strong interpersonal, customer service, and organizational abilities. Effective written and verbal communication, with the ability to influence and enforce deadlines and policies across academic units. Strong problem-solving skills, adaptability in a fast-paced environment, and ability to work effectively with constituencies possessing a wide range of technical knowledge. Ability to maintain confidentiality regarding information processed, stored, or accessed by systems and strict adherence to test security protocols.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Leads strategic planning and operations for the Testing Center, integrating daily management (scheduling, registration, availability, facilities, technology, and test security) with long-term vision, policy development, and institutional decision-making.2. Supervises and develops personnel (full-time, part-time, and student employees), including hiring, training, performance evaluation, and workforce planning to ensure professionalism, accuracy, compliance, and excellent customer service.
3. Sets and monitors strategic goals for service quality, compliance, capacity, and revenue generation, building a financially sustainable model that reduces reliance on Library operations support.
4. Develops, implements, and enforces campus policies for ADA-accommodated testing, major field tests, make-up tests, placement exams, and revenue-generating certification/standardized tests; ensure alignment with accreditation and institutional priorities.
5. Collaborates with senior leadership and campus stakeholders (Provost, General Counsel, DRC, AULs, academic Deans, FCTL, Office of Assessment, Computer Services, departmental IT, and faculty) to establish process standards, deadlines, and accountability.
6. Represents the University in high-level partnerships and negotiations with major testing organizations and vendors (e.g., ETS, College Board), securing agreements that balance academic needs and financial sustainability, and ensuring strict compliance with contractual obligations.
7. Upholds testing security, integrity, and compliance by maintaining current knowledge of national testing and academic integrity trends, sustaining NCTA membership, and ensuring adherence to NCTA standards and vendor policies.
8. Coordinates and scales ADA-accommodated testing in close partnership with the DRC Director, ensuring timely scheduling, policy adherence by faculty, accessibility technology readiness, proctoring capacity, and legally compliant delivery.
9. Oversees the physical testing environment to ensure it is accessible, appropriately equipped, and optimized for testing modalities, volume, and accommodation needs.
10. Maintains systems and technology in partnership with Computer Services and departmental IT, ensuring accessibility software, remote proctoring platforms, scheduling systems, and testing applications are deployed, secured, maintained, and compliant with exam requirements.
11. Administers specialized exams (e.g., major field tests, certification/licensure, placement, and make-up exams) in collaboration with the Office of Assessment, academic departments, and external testing agencies.
12. Manages remote and alternate test administration with robust protocols for virtual proctoring, video platforms, identity verification, test security, and coordination of alternate testing locations.
13. Builds faculty and department accountability by communicating and enforcing testing policies, submission deadlines, and accommodation requirements; escalates persistent non-compliance through appropriate academic channels.
14. Develops and manage budgets for the Testing Center, forecasts demand, allocate resources across programs, and identifies opportunities for revenue growth, cost efficiencies, grants, and fee structures aligned to market and mission.
15. Monitors compliance and institutional risk (ADA, accreditation, vendor requirements) and implement corrective action plans, contingency planning, and continuous improvement initiatives to prevent service disruptions or accreditation exposure.
16. Analyzes data and produces reporting on capacity, volumes, service levels, revenue, expenses, and compliance metrics; informs decision-making for stakeholders and guides operational and strategic adjustments.
17. Leads change management to reimagine, redesign, and modernize the Testing Center, including process redesign, technology upgrades, facilities enhancements, and stakeholder engagement.
18. Promotes best practices and professional development by engaging in self-directed professional reading, maintaining professional contacts, and attending training and courses required by the direct supervisor.
19. Contributes to the overall success of Missouri State University and the reporting department by performing other duties as assigned.
SUPERVISION
Directly supervises full-time, part-time, and student Testing Center personnel.
OFFICE OF HUMAN RESOURCES
REVISED DECEMBER 2025
