Academic adviser vs student representative

The differences between academic advisers and student representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an academic adviser has an average salary of $46,729, which is higher than the $40,373 average annual salary of a student representative.

The top three skills for an academic adviser include customer service, student services and financial aid. The most important skills for a student representative are financial aid, student body, and legal research.

Academic adviser vs student representative overview

	Academic Adviser	Student Representative
Yearly salary	$46,729	$40,373
Hourly rate	$22.47	$19.41
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	23,208	10,038
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

What does an academic adviser do?

An academic adviser is responsible for managing the students' educational goals and future career aspirations by encouraging them to join scholastic activities, conducting one-on-one discussions to identify their challenges and areas of improvement, and developing educational plans to address possible difficulties. Academic advisers also monitor the students' interests and abilities for a career setting, track the students' progress, and create engaging activities to observe the students' personal and social behavior. An academic adviser must have excellent communication skills and extensive knowledge of teaching principles and disciplines to handle different personalities.

What does a student representative do?

A student representative takes the role of listening, collating, and communicating student's views. Student representatives attend meetings and escalate matters which affect the students. They demonstrate honesty and integrity in academics. They take part in labs, seminars, and classes as well as assign work on time. These students need to develop responsible behaviors, including honesty, respect, compassion, courage, accountability, and fairness. Also, they should have the ability to lead and manage a group of students.

Academic adviser vs student representative salary

Academic advisers and student representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Academic Adviser	Student Representative
Average salary	$46,729	$40,373
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $62,000	Between $28,000 And $56,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	-
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	-
Best paying company	New York Film Academy	-
Best paying industry	Government	-

Differences between academic adviser and student representative education

There are a few differences between an academic adviser and a student representative in terms of educational background:

	Academic Adviser	Student Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Most common major	Psychology	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Academic adviser vs student representative demographics

Here are the differences between academic advisers' and student representatives' demographics:

	Academic Adviser	Student Representative
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 35.3% Female, 64.7%	Male, 40.9% Female, 59.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 3.7% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 3.7% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between academic adviser and student representative duties and responsibilities

Academic adviser example responsibilities.

Coach and mentore students in determining optimal course of study to achieve specific career performance goals and certifications.
Interpret student records such as transcripts and IEP's.
Collect and analyze data for behaviors and IEP objectives.
Direct a team of four ESL teachers, implement school policies, teaching schedules, and activities clubs.
Organize all freshman and parent oreintation programs, assist in the freshman experience class, advise all undeclare students.
Create PowerPoint presentations used for curriculum development.

Student representative example responsibilities.

Manage UAFS's F-1/J-1 student visa SEVIS compliance as DSO/ARO, ensuring all documentation is in order prior to students arriving.
Conduct interviews and research on other liberal arts colleges' due processes.
Create a PowerPoint presentation to present the steps require for implementation of the project.
Communicate personally with alumni and friends of the university to update them on various colleges.
Assist Lindenwood athletes and struggling students to improve studying habits, writing skills, and overall GPA
Coordinate bi-weekly study sessions, service opportunities and enrichment activities for participating students.

Academic adviser vs student representative skills

Common academic adviser skills

Customer Service, 9%
Student Services, 8%
Financial Aid, 7%
Professional Development, 6%
Support Services, 5%
Excellent Interpersonal, 5%

Common student representative skills

Financial Aid, 17%
Student Body, 14%
Legal Research, 13%
Westlaw, 8%
Student Issues, 5%
Student Organizations, 4%

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Academic Adviser vs Student Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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