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What does an academic affairs director do?

Updated January 8, 2025
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Academic affairs director responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real academic affairs director resumes:

  • 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.

Academic affairs director skills and personality traits

We calculated that 10% of Academic Affairs Directors are proficient in Financial Aid, Colleges, and Academic Programs. They’re also known for soft skills such as Computer skills, Interpersonal skills, and Organizational skills.

We break down the percentage of Academic Affairs Directors that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Financial Aid, 10%

    Advised students on educational programs and financial aid opportunities.

  • Colleges, 10%

    Maintain the System's Master Academic Inventory and provides assistance to the System colleges on accreditation and faculty credentialing issues.

  • Academic Programs, 7%

    Key Results: * Administered all academic programs to provide quality education with overall consistency to meet the needs of stakeholders.

  • Student Services, 7%

    Spearheaded a team to provide campus, academic, and student services specific to Fab5 campuses.

  • Curriculum Development, 7%

    Assisted with curriculum development and facilitated faculty classroom observations.

  • Educational Programs, 6%

    Coordinate innovative and educational programs and activities to assist with campus diversity.

"financial aid," "colleges," and "academic programs" are among the most common skills that academic affairs directors use at work. You can find even more academic affairs director responsibilities below, including:

Computer skills. The most essential soft skill for an academic affairs director to carry out their responsibilities is computer skills. This skill is important for the role because "postsecondary education administrators need to be comfortable working with computers so they can use software to manage student and school records." Additionally, an academic affairs director resume shows how their duties depend on computer skills: "created esl (intermediate and advanced) and computer applications curriculum for proprietary school"

Interpersonal skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling academic affairs director duties is interpersonal skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "postsecondary education administrators need to build good relationships with colleagues, students, and parents." According to an academic affairs director resume, here's how academic affairs directors can utilize interpersonal skills in their job responsibilities: "conducted freshman leadership seminars in time management and interpersonal relationship. "

Organizational skills. This is an important skill for academic affairs directors to perform their duties. For an example of how academic affairs director responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "administrators need to be organized so they can manage records, prioritize tasks, and coordinate activities with their staff." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of an academic affairs director: "focused on organizational goals for retention, regional accreditation, and new student enrollment. ".

Problem-solving skills. academic affairs director responsibilities often require "problem-solving skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "administrators need to react calmly when a difficult situation arises and develop creative solutions." This resume example shows what academic affairs directors do with problem-solving skills on a typical day: "review written communications of assistant directors of student affairs, to ensure well-written and fair resolutions. "

Most common academic affairs director skills

The three companies that hire the most academic affairs directors are:

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Compare different academic affairs directors

Academic affairs director vs. Dean

A dean is responsible for overseeing the educational operations of the assigned department, enforcing school policies, and monitoring the students' progress by coordinating with the teachers and setting up procedures to improve teaching methods. Deans administer educational training and programs for the students, as well as extra-curricular activities to develop the students' social behavior, maximize their potentials, and increase their self-confidence. They also handle the department's budget, accurately allocating resources and funds to different activities and educational materials.

The annual salary of deans is $26,209 lower than the average salary of academic affairs directors.Even though academic affairs directors and deans are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require financial aid, colleges, and academic programs in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, academic affairs director responsibilities require skills like "educational programs," "alumni," "academic support," and "persistence." Meanwhile a typical dean has skills in areas such as "scholarship," "human resources," "student learning," and "faculty development." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Deans really shine in the education industry with an average salary of $78,533. Comparatively, academic affairs directors tend to make the most money in the professional industry with an average salary of $116,987.On average, deans reach lower levels of education than academic affairs directors. Deans are 8.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 4.9% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Academic affairs director vs. Registrar

A registrar's role is to process and maintain accurate records within an institution or establishment. They are the main point of communication to obtain various kinds of information. In schools, a registrar is in charge of keeping a student or educator's academic, personal, and financial records. They also have the task of arranging a student's course and class schedules. Furthermore, a registrar may also have other administrative tasks such as responding to calls and other forms of correspondence, producing reports, and process requirements.

On average, registrars earn a $71,895 lower salary than academic affairs directors a year.

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, academic affairs director responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "financial aid," "colleges," "academic programs," and "student services." Meanwhile, a registrar has duties that require skills in areas such as "patients," "customer service," "medical terminology," and "patient registration." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

On average, registrars earn a lower salary than academic affairs directors. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, registrars earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $36,641. Whereas academic affairs directors have higher pay in the professional industry, with an average salary of $116,987.In general, registrars achieve lower levels of education than academic affairs directors. They're 16.5% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 4.9% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Academic affairs director vs. Co-chair

A co-chair is responsible for supporting the duties and responsibilities under the supervision of a chair. Co-chairs help with the implementation of effective plans and programs that would benefit the organization. They handle fundraising events, marketing campaigns for promotional programs, audit reports, and evaluating the committee's suggestions and recommendations for its success. A co-chair must have excellent communication and leadership skills and critical-thinking on developing strategies to supervise meetings and events alongside the chair.

On average scale, co-chairs bring in lower salaries than academic affairs directors. In fact, they earn a $23,153 lower salary per year.academic affairs directors and co-chairs both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "alumni," "professional development," and "student organizations," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, an academic affairs director is likely to be skilled in "financial aid," "colleges," "academic programs," and "student services," while a typical co-chair is skilled in "community outreach," "plan events," "facebook," and "social events."

Co-chairs typically earn lower educational levels compared to academic affairs directors. Specifically, they're 9.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 8.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Academic affairs director vs. New member educator

A New Member Educator is a person who prepares new members to uphold the standards and ideals of a fraternity and sorority and continually strives to improve it especially found in colleges and universities. These positions are; educating initiated and active members on how to support and mentor the younger members to become successful within an organization, recruit new members whose ideals match those of the organization, assist new members to navigate campus, and make use of campus resources.

New member educators average a lower salary than the annual salary of academic affairs directors. The difference is about $78,340 per year.While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "financial aid," "colleges," "academic programs," and "student services" are skills that commonly show up on academic affairs director resumes. On the other hand, new member educators use skills like customer service, phone calls, role model, and cash handling on their resumes.In general, new member educators earn the most working in the education industry, with an average salary of $47,301. The highest-paying industry for an academic affairs director is the professional industry.The average resume of new member educators showed that they earn lower levels of education compared to academic affairs directors. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 15.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 10.2%.

Types of academic affairs director

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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