Nicole Biever

I've been in higher education for more than 20 years. I began my career teaching English and spent just over 16 years at South Dakota State University, most of those years in the English department as an instructor. During my time there, I also spent time in the Wakini Initiative, which was a Native American Student Success Program. I've also served in development roles with nonprofits, including as Chief Development Officer for the Boys and Girls Club of the Northern Plains. I then transitioned into higher education accreditation, and I've been at my current organization for 4 years and in my current position for 2 years. Communications is my strongest area of expertise, but I oversee many areas in my current role, including strategic communications, our events team, our human resources department, our partnerships with state and system representatives, and our development work, including any fundraising, grants, and sponsorships. Every day looks different at the Commission. There's lots of pieces related to communications and the development of strategic communications, planning a variety of different kinds of events that can vary from our premier event, which is our annual conference that takes place every December, to planning for our webinars, or engaging with partners from a variety of different areas. Our commission is a leader amongst institutional creditors that are recognized by the United States Department of Education, and I take great pride in ensuring that our organization is a thought leader across higher education. We encourage our institutions to engage in continuous improvement and really provide the best of services for students, which is really at the center of all the work that we do.