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What does an academic director do?

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read

The academic director is the person that leads the school or university in an active stance in education. The vitality of the level of education rests on the shoulders of the director. The academic director is also responsible for hiring faculty staff, working with teachers and professors to create and develop the school curriculum, work with the school administrator regarding student affairs and help in the administrative duties in line with the educational institution. Also included in the academic director's task is assessing incoming students, processing grades, and attending to students' needs and welfare.

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Academic director responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real academic director resumes:

  • Manage and track individual sorority members monthly study hour requirements.
  • Devise process improvements that lead increased operational efficiency and persistence.
  • Lead project management team in development/execution of conferences and enduring CME -accredite programs.
  • Help in various fund raising activities for PTA
  • Develop and teach public lands policy seminar.
  • Provide advocacy services in attendance at local IEP meetings.
  • E-mail members a variety of scholarship and internship applications.
  • Redevelop all of the curriculum being utilize at the campuses.
  • Implement business development and marketing plan and HIPPA compliance program.
  • Advise student athletes to insure compliance with the NCAA academic requirements.
  • Create a one-credit course to help students prepare for the bar exam.
  • Communicate between alumni and active members.
  • Develop clear operational outcomes that support the campuses through faculty scheduling, academic integrity and learning services.
  • Cultivate and maintain relationships with colleges and universities across the global through print, electronic and person-to-person communications.
  • Write grant proposals to support international studies and provide oversight for international education exchanges for students and faculty.

Academic director skills and personality traits

We calculated that 13% of Academic Directors are proficient in Professional Development, Curriculum Development, and Student Performance. They’re also known for soft skills such as Computer skills, Organizational skills, and Problem-solving skills.

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

  • Professional Development, 13%

    Designed and coordinated the first ever semester orientation programs and professional development training series for adjunct instructors.

  • Curriculum Development, 9%

    Manage curriculum alignment, curriculum development, academic performance, learning strategies and technologies, and academic vision.

  • Student Performance, 7%

    Counseled students and monitored student performance to help reduce the failure rate.

  • Academic Programs, 7%

    Managed academic programs in regard to curriculum, faculty assignment and supervision, and student retention.

  • Staff Development, 6%

    Provided administrative oversight for all professional/staff development and training needs for over 600+ employees.

  • Academic Support, 5%

    Coordinate operation of Campus activities with Director of Academic Support and Assistant Director of Academic Support.

"professional development," "curriculum development," and "student performance" are among the most common skills that academic directors use at work. You can find even more academic director responsibilities below, including:

Computer skills. The most essential soft skill for an academic 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 director resume shows how their duties depend on computer skills: "enhance the student work study load to assist student while utilizing the library computers and copier. "

Organizational skills. Many academic director duties rely on organizational skills. "administrators need to be organized so they can manage records, prioritize tasks, and coordinate activities with their staff.," so an academic director will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways academic director responsibilities rely on organizational skills: "utilized organizational and creative skills to effectively implement a viable esl program. "

Problem-solving skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of academic directors is problem-solving skills. This skill is critical to many everyday academic director duties, as "administrators need to react calmly when a difficult situation arises and develop creative solutions." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "assisted students with academic issues and implemented processes that resolved grievances and disputes between students and university. "

All academic director skills

The three companies that hire the most academic directors are:

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Compare different academic directors

Academic 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 $36,351 lower than the average salary of academic directors.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both academic director and dean positions are skilled in curriculum development, academic programs, and colleges.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between academic directors and dean. For instance, academic director responsibilities require skills such as "professional development," "student performance," "staff development," and "academic support." Whereas a dean is skilled in "oversight," "scholarship," "human resources," and "student learning." This is part of what separates the two careers.

Deans earn the highest salaries when working in the education industry, with an average yearly salary of $78,533. On the other hand, academic directors are paid more in the transportation industry with an average salary of $131,264.On average, deans reach lower levels of education than academic directors. Deans are 13.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 1.7% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Academic 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.

A career as a registrar brings a lower average salary when compared to the average annual salary of an academic director. In fact, registrars salary is $82,037 lower than the salary of academic directors per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Academic directors and registrars both require similar skills like "student data," "student enrollment," and "class schedules" to carry out their responsibilities.

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that academic director responsibilities requires skills like "professional development," "curriculum development," "student performance," and "academic programs." But a registrar might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "patients," "customer service," "medical terminology," and "patient registration."

On average, registrars earn a lower salary than academic 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 directors have higher pay in the transportation industry, with an average salary of $131,264.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Registrars tend to reach lower levels of education than academic directors. In fact, they're 22.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Academic 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 directors. In fact, they earn a $33,295 lower salary per year.academic directors and co-chairs both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "professional development," "student body," and "guest speakers," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, academic directors are more likely to have skills like "curriculum development," "student performance," "academic programs," and "staff development." But a co-chair is more likely to have skills like "alumni," "plan events," "facebook," and "student organizations."

Co-chairs typically earn lower educational levels compared to academic directors. Specifically, they're 15.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Academic 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 tend to earn a lower pay than academic directors by an average of $88,482 per year.While both academic directors and new member educators complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like professional development, mathematics, and gpa, the two careers vary in some skills.While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "curriculum development," "student performance," "academic programs," and "staff development" are skills that commonly show up on academic director resumes. On the other hand, new member educators use skills like customer service, phone calls, role model, and cash handling on their resumes.The education industry tends to pay the highest salaries for new member educators, with average annual pay of $47,301. Comparatively, the highest academic director annual salary comes from the transportation industry.In general, new member educators hold lower degree levels compared to academic directors. New member educators are 20.5% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 3.6% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of academic 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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