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What does an academic dean do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read

Academic deans take a vital role in the development and advancement of education in a college or university. The dean may have different functions depending on the university, but mostly, academic deans focus on creating new strategies in providing education for students. It is the responsibility of the academic dean to ensure that the faculty conducts all educational practices. The academic dean also manages all faculty members' activities and works with drafting the university's curriculum.

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Academic dean responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real academic dean resumes:

  • Produce, manage and evaluate all budgetary and programmatic aspects of a comprehensive career service program for students and alumni.
  • Work cooperatively with other offices and student groups in the implementation of various campus-wide multicultural activities and other major events.
  • Create individualized educational plans for students desiring to study in English speaking countries.
  • Coordinate several courses which involve development of the departmental syllabus and managing development of the departmental final.

Academic dean skills and personality traits

We calculated that 10% of Academic Deans are proficient in Curriculum Development, Professional Development, and Student Services. They’re also known for soft skills such as Computer skills, Organizational skills, and Problem-solving skills.

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

  • Curriculum Development, 10%

    Assist in curriculum development by monitoring, recommending, and preparing necessary documents.

  • Professional Development, 7%

    Developed and facilitated professional development activities.

  • Student Services, 5%

    Maintained fiscal responsibility for all Student Services operational areas.

  • Student Learning, 5%

    Administered and coordinated operational matters related to student learning and instruction curriculum.

  • Academic Affairs, 5%

    Specialized in online operations, online learning and academic affairs.

  • Program Directors, 4%

    Recruited, oriented, assigned, managed, and evaluated ~100 faculty members including leadership team of four Program Directors.

Most academic deans use their skills in "curriculum development," "professional development," and "student services" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential academic dean responsibilities here:

Computer skills. The most essential soft skill for an academic dean 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 dean resume shows how their duties depend on computer skills: "develop and revise curriculum for accounting, management, psychology, computer application and professional development courses. "

Organizational skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling academic dean duties is organizational skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "administrators need to be organized so they can manage records, prioritize tasks, and coordinate activities with their staff." According to an academic dean resume, here's how academic deans can utilize organizational skills in their job responsibilities: "focused on organizational goals for retention, regional accreditation, and new student enrollment. "

Problem-solving skills. This is an important skill for academic deans to perform their duties. For an example of how academic dean responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "administrators need to react calmly when a difficult situation arises and develop creative solutions." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of an academic dean: "advised campus presidents and deans on resolving sensitive and often complicated student issues to ensure ethical and compliant solutions. ".

See the full list of academic dean skills

The three companies that hire the most academic deans are:

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Compare different academic deans

Academic dean 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.

The annual salary of registrars is $53,421 lower than the average salary of academic deans.Even though academic deans and registrars are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require class schedules, student enrollment, and student attendance in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, academic dean responsibilities require skills like "curriculum development," "professional development," "student services," and "student learning." Meanwhile a typical registrar has skills in areas such as "patients," "customer service," "medical terminology," and "patient registration." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Registrars earn the highest salaries when working in the health care industry, with an average yearly salary of $36,641. On the other hand, academic deans are paid more in the education industry with an average salary of $71,228.The education levels that registrars earn slightly differ from academic deans. In particular, registrars are 22.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an academic dean. Additionally, they're 9.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Academic dean 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.

On average, new member educators earn a $59,866 lower salary than academic deans a year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Academic deans and new member educators both require similar skills like "professional development," "mathematics," and "retention rate" to carry out their responsibilities.

Each career also uses different skills, according to real academic dean resumes. While academic dean responsibilities can utilize skills like "curriculum development," "student services," "student learning," and "academic affairs," new member educators use skills like "customer service," "phone calls," "role model," and "cash handling."

On average, new member educators earn a lower salary than academic deans. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, new member educators earn the most pay in the education industry with an average salary of $47,301. Whereas academic deans have higher pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $71,228.new member educators earn lower levels of education than academic deans in general. They're 21.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 9.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Academic dean 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, co-chairs earn lower salaries than academic deans, with a $4,679 difference per year.By looking over several academic deans and co-chairs resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "professional development," "student body," and "powerpoint." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from academic dean resumes include skills like "curriculum development," "student services," "student learning," and "academic affairs," whereas a co-chair is more likely to list skills in "community outreach," "alumni," "plan events," and "facebook. "

When it comes to education, co-chairs tend to earn lower degree levels compared to academic deans. In fact, they're 16.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 5.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Academic dean vs. Director of student affairs

A director of student affairs will oversee student clubs, manage student activities and budgetary information, and work with students to provide referrals for counseling and community services. Your duties typically include planning and arranging recreational, cultural, and social activities of different student groups, evaluating programs and providing recommendations for improvements, and scheduling events. As the student affairs director, it is your responsibility to organize and conduct an orientation program for new students and coordinate the publication of the student affairs calendar.

Directors of student affairs typically earn lower pay than academic deans. On average, directors of student affairs earn a $19,249 lower salary per year.While both academic deans and directors of student affairs complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like curriculum development, professional development, and student services, the two careers vary in some skills.

Even though a few skill sets overlap between academic deans and directors of student affairs, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an academic dean might have more use for skills like "student learning," "academic affairs," "program directors," and "faculty development." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of directors of student affairs require skills like "student affairs," "alumni," "student organizations," and "student life. "

Directors of student affairs enjoy the best pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $56,401. For comparison, academic deans earn the highest salary in the education industry.In general, directors of student affairs hold lower degree levels compared to academic deans. Directors of student affairs are 9.3% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 6.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of academic dean

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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