What You'll Do

  • Recruit, hire, train, and terminate departmental personnel.
  • Plan, administer, and control budgets, maintain financial records, and produce financial reports.
  • Represent institutions at community and campus events, in meetings with other institution personnel, and during accreditation processes.
  • Participate in faculty and college committee activities.
  • Provide assistance to faculty and staff in duties such as teaching classes, conducting orientation programs, issuing transcripts, and scheduling events.
  • Establish operational policies and procedures and make any necessary modifications, based on analysis of operations, demographics, and other research information.
  • Confer with other academic staff to explain and formulate admission requirements and course credit policies.
  • Appoint individuals to faculty positions, and evaluate their performance.
  • Direct activities of administrative departments, such as admissions, registration, and career services.
  • Develop curricula, and recommend curricula revisions and additions.

Essential Skills

Reading Comprehension 4.12/5
Critical Thinking 4.12/5
Active Listening 4.0/5
Writing 4.0/5
Speaking 4.0/5
Monitoring 4.0/5
Instructing 4.0/5
Time Management 4.0/5
Active Learning 3.88/5
Complex Problem Solving 3.88/5
Judgment and Decision Making 3.88/5
Learning Strategies 3.75/5

Career Fit Overview

Use this summary to understand the kind of profile this role rewards. It helps you judge whether this career looks like a stronger match than your current role, a nearby move worth exploring, or a broader path to compare more seriously.

Top passions

  • Helper: Supporting people and making a difference matters to you.
  • Leader: Taking charge and moving ideas forward motivates you.
  • Organizer: Bringing order to data and processes satisfies you.

Common styles

Leadership Orientation, Dependability, Integrity, Social Orientation, Cooperation

Want a personal read on fit? Take the free assessment and compare this career to your current role, nearby alternatives, and broader stronger-fit options.

Key Abilities

This career demands strong capabilities in the following areas:

Written Comprehension 4.12/5
Oral Expression 4.12/5
Written Expression 4.12/5
Problem Sensitivity 4.12/5
Oral Comprehension 4.0/5
Inductive Reasoning 4.0/5
Speech Recognition 4.0/5
Speech Clarity 4.0/5

Technologies & Tools

Adobe Dreamweaver Blackbaud The Raiser's Edge Blackboard software CollegeNET Schedule 25 Common Curriculum Database software Ellucian Colleague Ellucian Degree Works Enterprise resource planning ERP system Facebook FileMaker Pro Fund accounting software Google Classroom Google Docs Google Drive Google Meet Google Sites GroupMe Human resource management software HRMS Hypertext markup language HTML

Work Environment & Strengths

Common Strengths for This Career

  • Leadership Orientation (High importance: 4.91/5)
  • Dependability (High importance: 4.77/5)
  • Integrity (High importance: 4.62/5)
  • Social Orientation (High importance: 4.55/5)
  • Cooperation (High importance: 4.53/5)

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How to Become One

This career requires extensive preparation, typically including a graduate degree (Master's or Doctoral) and several years of experience. Most professionals in this field have invested significant time in education and training.

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Also Known As

This career is known by many different job titles across industries. Here are all the variations:

Academic Affairs Dean Academic Affairs Director Academic Affairs Vice President (Academic Affairs VP) Academic Coordinator Academic Dean Academic Vice President (Academic VP) Administration Dean Admissions Coordinator Admissions Dean Admissions Director Adult Basic Education Manager Arts and Sciences Dean Business Dean Campus Coordinator Campus Dean Campus Director Chancellor College Administrator College Dean College President College Registrar Commandant Continuing Education Dean Continuing Education Director Dean Division Director Education College Dean Education Dean Education Director Enrollment Coordinator Enrollment Management Vice President (Enrollment Management VP) Enrollment Services Dean Enrollment Services Vice President (Enrollment Services VP) Extension Division Director Extension Work Director Faculty Dean Financial Aid Director Graduate School Dean Graduate Studies Dean Health Sciences Dean Higher Education Administrator Institutional Research Director Instruction Dean Instruction Vice President (Instruction VP) Nursing School Director Physical Education Director Provost Registrar Registration Specialist Research Director Student Activities Director Student Affairs Dean Student Affairs Director Student Affairs Vice President (Student Affairs VP) Student Dean Student Development Dean Student Financial Aid Director Student Life Dean Student Services Dean Student Services Director Student Services Vice President (Student Services VP) Students Dean Summer Sessions Director Testing Director University Administrator University Dean University Department Chair University President University Registrar

Career Fit FAQs

Is this career a good fit for me

This page shows the role itself. To see personal fit, use the assessment to compare your interests, motivations, and strengths against this career and against the role you are in now.

Can this help if I want to stay in my field

Yes. Many people use career pages like this to compare nearby roles in the same field and see whether they need a full switch or a better-fit version of the work they already know.

What should I compare first

Start with the daily tasks, the preparation level, and the work-style signals on this page. Then use the assessment to see whether this role looks like a stronger fit than your current role or just a different title.