How to hire an academic support center director

How to hire an academic support center director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step academic support center director hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an academic support center director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new academic support center director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring an academic support center director, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   An academic support center director's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, academic support center directors from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of academic support center director salaries for various roles:

   Type of Academic Support Center Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Academic Support Center Director	Postsecondary teachers instruct students in a wide variety of academic and career and technical subjects beyond the high school level. They also conduct research and publish scholarly papers and books.	$23-50
   English Language Teacher	An English language teacher specializes in facilitating discussions and teaching the basic skills in reading and writing. Their responsibilities include developing lesson plans and coursework assessments, preparing learning activities, grading the students' homework and examinations, encouraging critical thinking, and monitoring their progress, assisting them in complicated areas as needed... Show more	$19-39
   English Professor	An English Professor is responsible for helping students understand and speak English, as well as be able to write and read it. They are also responsible for preparation of course work and planning of classes.	$12-56

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Academic Support
   • Student Support
   • Program Development
   • HR
   • ASC

   Responsibilities:

   • Devise process improvements that lead increased operational efficiency and persistence.
   • Train all associates on safety policies and operational procedures through PowerPoint presentations, work instructions and computer-base training.
   • Issue management, legislative analysis and assessment of EU telecommunications and electronic commerce policy on Verizon's business operations in Europe.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your academic support center director job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. An academic support center director salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, academic support center directors' average salary in idaho is 54% less than in new york.
   • Seniority. Entry-level academic support center directors earn 54% less than senior-level academic support center directors.
   • Certifications. An academic support center director with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in an academic support center director's salary.

   Average academic support center director salary

   $72,242yearly

   $34.73 hourly rate

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   Entry-level academic support center director salary

   $49,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 31, 2025

4. Writing an academic support center director job description

   An academic support center director job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of an academic support center director job description:

   Academic support center director job description example

   Baltimore City Community College is currently seeking a dynamic learning specialist to serve as Director of the Academic Success Center. The Director reports to the AVP of Academic Affairs and provides, leadership over the academic success coaches, retention specialist and tutoring staff. In addition, the Director will work directly with students, faculty, and staff to develop and manage the academic support system that provides tutoring services, academic advising, guidance for at-risk students, retention activities and learning support opportunities for students. The Director will collaborate with faculty and staff to ensure academic support services are grounded in relevant student development and learning theory to provide student support services and retention actives to increase student success at BCCC. The qualified applicant will have a proven track record of successful cross-campus collaboration, theory-based professional best practice applications, and helping at-risk students succeed academically.
   Responsibilities/Duties
   
   Develop, oversee, and Student success programs, workshops, and other retention efforts within the Center for Academic Success (CAS)
   
   Lead and supervise the Center for Academic Success staff
   
   Oversee hiring, professional development, and training of CAS staff.
   
   Set goals, establish, and sustain programs, and expand opportunities for students who need higher levels of academic support.
   
   Implement ongoing systems of collaboration with the Academic Divisions, student Affairs and Workforce Development.
   
   Collect data and prepare assessment reports on CAS program effectiveness.
   
   Develop, recommend, and implement an Early Alert.
   
   Develop, recommend, and implement programs and services that counsel "At-Risk" students to ensure they understand the academic policies associated with poor academic performance.
   
   Use multiple channels of communication to connect with "Early Alert" and "At-Risk" students, including students on improvement plans for academic probation or suspension.
   
   Monitor and evaluate placement activities on a regular basis to ensure the integrity and effectiveness of advising recommendations.
   
   Work with the AVPAA to direct and facilitate the BCCC student tutoring program and College Success Workshops.
   
   The Academic Success Director works collaboratively with the Director of E-Learning to also ensure that resources are readily available for online learners as well.
   
   Work with the Coordinator of Disabilities Support Services to assure that the college programs, services, and activities are accessible to students with disabilities.
   
   Assist with the administration of new student orientation programs, to include placement testing and academic advising for first time students.
   
   Provide supplemental advising for transfer students and support faculty advisors in the development of programs to help students navigate the transfer to other 2 and 4-year schools.
   
   Assist in planning, and implementing transfer activities such as Transfer Day, visits from university representatives, workshops associated with the university admissions process, visits/field trips to four-year institutions and/or other events associated with the transfer process.
   
   Required Qualifications
   
   Please provide 7 professional references, uploaded in an additional document.
   
   Master's degree or above in an appropriate field
   
   Full-time experience overseeing and leading academic tutoring programs/services in higher education, as well as relevant experience directly tutoring students.
   
   Knowledge and understanding of academic tutoring, supplemental instruction, and student development approaches in a higher education context.
   
   Demonstrated experience developing retention and student success initiatives
   
   Progressively responsible experience in a college/university setting.
   
   Demonstrated ability to work productively and collaboratively with faculty, students, staff, and external agencies.
   
   Demonstrated supervisory experience.
   
   Preferred Qualifications
   
   Five (5) or more years of full-time experience directing or overseeing academic tutoring programs/services in higher education.
   
   Proven ability to develop and maintain strong working relationships with tutors, staff, and others, including academic deans, faculty, and other college/university units.
   
   Experience collaborating with institutional research units on collecting data and assessing results.
   
   Experience leading or participating in a supplemental instruction program.

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5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right academic support center director for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   To find academic support center director candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as k12jobspot, learn4good, serious teachers, teachingjobs.com.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit academic support center directors, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new academic support center director

   Once you've selected the best academic support center director candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new academic support center director. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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