OTHER JOB TITLES
- Staff counselor
- Career counselor
- Human development counselor
- Dean of students
- Vice-president for student affairs
- Vice-chancellor for academic affairs
- Director of student housing
- Director of alumni affairs
- Director of student counseling and placement
- Director of residence life
- Residence hall counselor
- Student union director
- Foreign student advisor
- Veterans coordinator
- Student health services director
- Student organization advisor
- Advisor to fraternities and sororities organizations
- Recreation specialist
- Athletic director
- Financial aid administrator
- Director of admissions
- Registrar
GOALS AND DUTIES
Post-secondary education administrators assist students in identifying and reaching their academic, personal, and vocational goals. As the list on the previous page shows, post secondary schools often use specialized titles and have separate departments for each of the services provided.
The following services frequently come under the heading of student affairs:
- Academic counseling
- Financial aid counseling and administration
- Health services administration and counseling
- Coordination of student activities, including athletics
- Facilities management
- Vocational/career assessment and counseling
- Placement services
- Psychological counseling
Each service involves a constellation of activities. For example, workers in a career planning and placement center may schedule interviews, distribute employment information, maintain a career and employer library, administer aptitude tests, run workshops on job-finding skills, cultivate contacts with potential employers, and in addition to providing career counseling, perform academic counseling.
People in administrative positions often have additional duties involving counseling; for example, almost all of the career planning and placement directors who responded to a College Placement Council survey said that they performed personal counseling in addition to their career planning and placement activities. In fact, many postsecondary positions do require organizational and administrative skills as well as counseling skills.
Surveys of counselors in particular (rather than student affairs workers) have found that they spend the majority of their time on educational counseling and advisement. Other activities included conferring with students on probation, developing informative material on counseling-related topics, and planning orientation programs for new students. Providing services for students who intend to transfer was a significant activity for counselors in community colleges. Counselors were assigned to veterans offices, handicapped programs, women's centers, career counseling centers, and financial aid offices where they might be responsible for the placement of students in work study programs as well as in the administration of loans and scholarships.
EMPLOYMENT AND OUTLOOK
The job outlook for post-secondary administrators is fairly decent. It is projected to grow 10% from 2016 to 2026 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, US). This growth is expected, as student enrollment continues to increase in colleges and universities. The demand for admission officers and student affair workers will certainly increase. However, provost and academic dean positions are slightly more limited since each institution usually has a set number of these positions.
Although enrollment is expected to increase, the employment growth in public institutions will depend solely on the budgets of the state and local governments; if there are budget cuts, that may lead to employee lay offs, however if there is a budget surplus, this will allow the hiring of more employees.
At any rate, there will be numerous openings in order to replace workers who leave these occupations.
SALARY, BENEFITS, WORKING CONDITIONS
Depending on the exact positions, salaries do vary. The median salary was $92,360 in 2017—with the lowest ten percent earning less than $52,960, and the highest ten percent earning more than $182,150.
Here are the median salaries according to top industries:
- Colleges/Universities/Professional schools (state, local, private)- $94,320
- Junior colleges (state, local, private)- $87,520
*taken from Bureau of Labor Statistics, US.
The size of the school and whether it is privately run or publicly supported generally affects salaries a good deal—but not always.
Student affairs workers enjoy the usual fringe benefits of college and university employees, including health insurance and pension programs. In many cases, they also pay reduced tuition rates and have the use of school recreational facilities. The cost of attending workshops, meetings, or conventions, is also paid by the school, in many cases.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS AND CAREER LADDER
Educational requirements vary from position to position, but post-secondary education administrators generally require a master's degree. Smaller colleges and community colleges may even hold a bachelor’s degree sufficient. Degrees vary from social work, accounting, to marketing.
Provosts and deans often require a Ph.D. Some initially start their careers as professors and therefore have doctorates in the field in which they taught. Others have a doctorate in higher education or something similar.
Employers typically prefer candidates who have several years of experience in a college administrative setting, in addition to the required education. It is not uncommon for postsecondary education counselors and administrators to work in the registrar’s office or as a resident assistant while attending college.
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