Academic affairs director vs dean

The differences between academic affairs directors and deans can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both an academic affairs director and a dean. Additionally, an academic affairs director has an average salary of $112,527, which is higher than the $86,318 average annual salary of a dean.

The top three skills for an academic affairs director include financial aid, colleges and academic programs. The most important skills for a dean are curriculum development, oversight, and scholarship.

Academic affairs director vs dean overview

	Academic Affairs Director	Dean
Yearly salary	$112,527	$86,318
Hourly rate	$54.10	$41.50
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	11,420	1,183
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	6	6

Academic affairs director vs dean salary

Academic affairs directors and deans have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Academic Affairs Director	Dean
Average salary	$112,527	$86,318
Salary range	Between $70,000 And $180,000	Between $49,000 And $150,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Los Altos, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	University of Maryland, Baltimore	Palmer College of Chiropractic
Best paying industry	Professional	Education

Differences between academic affairs director and dean education

There are a few differences between an academic affairs director and a dean in terms of educational background:

	Academic Affairs Director	Dean
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Academic affairs director vs dean demographics

Here are the differences between academic affairs directors' and deans' demographics:

	Academic Affairs Director	Dean
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 48.0% Female, 52.0%	Male, 53.8% Female, 46.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 13.8% Asian, 4.3% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 4.3% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between academic affairs director and dean duties and responsibilities

Academic affairs director example responsibilities.

Manage and track individual sorority members monthly study hour requirements.
Experience in the support of transition and retention strategies for multicultural student populations to address differentials in attrition and retention.
Deliver training seminars to faculty, administrators and staff providing services to veterans.

Dean example responsibilities.

Produce, manage and evaluate all budgetary and programmatic aspects of a comprehensive career service program for students and alumni.
Develop funding split or co-fund project collaborations across colleges.
Deliver oversight and management of student behavior and attendance compliance.
Build partnerships with community colleges and universities for student opportunities.
Provide leadership for instructional programming and oversight for the operations of the agriculture, energy and sustainability areas.
Work cooperatively with other offices and student groups in the implementation of various campus-wide multicultural activities and other major events.

Academic affairs director vs dean skills

Common academic affairs director skills

Financial Aid, 10%
Colleges, 10%
Academic Programs, 7%
Student Services, 7%
Curriculum Development, 7%
Educational Programs, 6%

Common dean skills

Curriculum Development, 8%
Oversight, 8%
Scholarship, 7%
Human Resources, 6%
Strategic Plan, 5%
Colleges, 5%