What does an assistant dean do?
An assistant dean is responsible for overseeing the specific departmental operations of an educational institution, developing projects and activities for the department's growth, and ensuring that the students receive a high-quality education. Assistant deans work closely with the faculty members to identify opportunities that would enhance the students' performance and progression. They handle the budget for activities, allocating adequate resources to support operations, and performing complex administrative tasks. An assistant dean attends educational forums and seminars, reviews curriculum requirements, and conducts counseling with the students as needed.
Assistant dean responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real assistant dean resumes:
- Oversee student activities by providing leadership and oversight to student lead organizations.
- Provide oversight and ensure risks and contractual obligations are managed for student programs.
- Produce, manage and evaluate all budgetary and programmatic aspects of a comprehensive career service program for students and alumni.
- Implement new strategies for discipline, including restorative justice, PBIS and RtI models, and progressive discipline.
- Obtain many certificates for trainings, including CPR and CPI.
- Plan and instruct intervention groups for reading and mathematics for 4thgrade.
- Assist the faculty in making the OBE-type of the course syllabus.
- State of Indiana certify nursing assistant since 2008 and CPR certification since 2008.
- Supervise and review staffs filing of payroll taxes for both federal and state.
- Coach social studies, ELA, special education, and physical education instructors.
- Plan and prepare school wide assemblies, events and positive behavior incentives (PBIS).
- Mentore and coach teachers for the purpose of building capacity to teach and improving mathematics instruction.
- Prepare payroll and monthly accounting for various corporations; also prepare monthly and quarterly payroll taxes.
- Develop and implement vertically align ELA curriculum.
- Develop and maintain relationships with corporate clients and community colleges.
Assistant dean skills and personality traits
We calculated that 10% of Assistant Deans are proficient in Oversight, Alumni, and Professional Development. They’re also known for soft skills such as Computer skills, Organizational skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Assistant Deans that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Oversight, 10%
Provided general oversight of College's Office of Student Support Services.
- Alumni, 7%
Cultivated relationships and solicited leadership from alumni, especially in admissions and career services.
- Professional Development, 7%
Provided educational leadership to the GME community through creation of professional development activities for program directors, faculty, and residents.
- Academic Affairs, 5%
Serve as a liaison between student affairs and academic affairs by participating in university and college-wide committees and meetings.
- Human Resources, 4%
Participated in various university-wide committees, developing human resources policies and practices.
- Colleges, 4%
Directed academic quality within Colleges of Business and Management and of Engineering and Information Sciences at undergraduate and graduate level.
"oversight," "alumni," and "professional development" are among the most common skills that assistant deans use at work. You can find even more assistant dean responsibilities below, including:
Computer skills. The most essential soft skill for an assistant 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 assistant dean resume shows how their duties depend on computer skills: "maintained timely and accurate paper and computer records for students and alumni. "
Organizational skills. Another essential skill to perform assistant dean duties is organizational skills. Assistant deans responsibilities require that "administrators need to be organized so they can manage records, prioritize tasks, and coordinate activities with their staff." Assistant deans also use organizational skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "supported organizational goals and vision in order to ensure the successful delivery of quality academic programs. "
Problem-solving skills. assistant deans are also known for problem-solving skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to assistant dean responsibilities, because "administrators need to react calmly when a difficult situation arises and develop creative solutions." An assistant dean resume example shows how problem-solving skills is used in the workplace: "provided crisis intervention, long-term problem-solving, conflict resolution and emotional support for at-risk youth. "
The three companies that hire the most assistant deans are:
- Harvard University6 assistant deans jobs
- Johns Hopkins University5 assistant deans jobs
- University of Virginia5 assistant deans jobs
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Compare different assistant deans
Assistant 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.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between assistant deans and new member educator. For instance, assistant dean responsibilities require skills such as "oversight," "excellent interpersonal," "academic affairs," and "human resources." Whereas a new member educator is skilled in "customer service," "phone calls," "role model," and "cash handling." This is part of what separates the two careers.
New member educators really shine in the education industry with an average salary of $47,301. Comparatively, assistant deans tend to make the most money in the education industry with an average salary of $72,325.new member educators tend to reach lower levels of education than assistant deans. In fact, new member educators are 15.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 7.8% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Assistant 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.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, assistant dean responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "oversight," "excellent interpersonal," "academic affairs," and "human resources." Meanwhile, a co-chair has duties that require skills in areas such as "community outreach," "plan events," "facebook," and "social events." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Co-chairs earn lower levels of education than assistant deans in general. They're 10.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 7.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Assistant dean vs. Committee chairperson
A committee chairperson or chair is a presiding officer in an organization who is responsible for leading committee meetings and establishing agendas for the committee members to tackle. Committee chairpersons must provide strong leadership to the organization while reminding committee members about their purpose, mission, and strategic direction. In terms of confidentiality, committee chairpersons must keep business meetings confidential and they must be willing to address committee members who fail to protect confidentiality. They must also report the committee's findings to the organization's board of directors.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, an assistant dean is likely to be skilled in "oversight," "excellent interpersonal," "academic affairs," and "human resources," while a typical committee chairperson is skilled in "committee chair," "financial statements," "community outreach," and "fraternity."
Most committee chairpeople achieve a lower degree level compared to assistant deans. For example, they're 9.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 6.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Assistant dean vs. Vice chairperson
Types of assistant dean
Updated January 8, 2025
