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College administrator skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

1 min read

Quoted experts

Greg Kessler Ph.D.,

Eileen Cyr Ed.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical college administrator skills. We ranked the top skills for college administrators based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 43.8% of college administrator resumes contained financial aid as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a college administrator needs to be successful in the workplace.

4 college administrator skills for your resume and career

1. Financial Aid

Financial aid refers to cash released to an educational institution to help a student pay the school fee. The issuance of financial aid, whether scholarships, grants, or loans, aims to make access to education affordable to all students irrespective of their backgrounds.

Here's how college administrators use financial aid:

Assisted financial aid and registrar offices
Worked with students on college applications, financial aid and scholarship applications.

2. Alumni

Alumni is a term used for graduate students of a school, college, university, or any other educational institution. The term is also used for employees of a company or a previous member of a group or an organization that has been retired. Alumni represent the institutions or organizations that they were previously associated with.

Here's how college administrators use alumni:

Tracked Alumni funds and fundraising efforts for the executive staff.
Direct and participate in institutional fundraising activities, and encourage alumni participation in such activities.

3. Human Resources

Human resources is a set of people in a business or a corporation that are designated to locate, interview, and recruit new employees into the company. They are also responsible to maintain the integrity of the employees and help them sort their problems out. They try to introduce and manage employee-benefit programs.

Here's how college administrators use human resources:

Trained and used NovusHR human resources management system.
Supervised business office, maintenance, environmental services, food services, utilization review/quality assurance, medical records and human resources.

4. Academic Programs

Here's how college administrators use academic programs:

Key Achievements: Directed academic programs in 7 departments, continuing education, and workforce training resulting in program expansion.
Created instructional resources and academic programs and supervised career counseling.

What skills help College Administrators find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on college administrator resumes?

Greg Kessler Ph.D.

Professor, Ohio University

I am not sure that there are any particular skills that stand out on resumes, but familiarity with instructional design principles should be considered to be very valuable. I also think that knowledge of multimedia principles, social media, and various forms of virtual and immersive experiences. Also, knowledge of AI and the other things I referred to in the trends above.

What college administrator skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Eileen Cyr Ed.D.

Professor, Springfield College

The pandemic, the polarization of the election, and the Black Lives Matter movement have reinforced today's educators' need to understand how to create a safe learning environment and build a school community. I would encourage students in a gap year to educate themselves on Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and Family and Community Engagement (FACE). This can be accomplished via independent research, participation in MOOCs, and service projects.

What type of skills will young college administrators need?

Veronica Cochran

CEO, International Association of Administrative Professionals

Those entering the administrative profession in the upcoming years will find it beneficial to understand what it means to be a strategic partner to their direct manager/supervisor, department, and organization at-large. As strategic partners, their role will extend beyond being a support person. It will involve strategically aligning oneself to fulfilling the organization's mission and vision while achieving business outcomes and success. The following skills will optimize both professional and organizational effectiveness:

1. Time management and organization
2. High EQ and interpersonal communication
3. Leadership effectiveness and accountability
4. Relationship management - (high inclusion capacity and high collaboration)
5. Problem-solving and innovation
6. Strategic planning and adaptability

Do you want to know more?

List of college administrator skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a college administrator resume and required skills for a college administrator to have include:

Financial Aid
Alumni

Human Resources
Academic Programs

Updated January 8, 2025

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.

Updated January 8, 2025

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