What does a college dean do?
College deans lead the faculty to achieve their goals in areas like teaching, scholarship, and service. They are the representatives of the colleges they oversee both internally and externally. Deans are in charge of reviewing curricular requests and instruction proposals and denying or approving them to ensure they meet the state and accreditation standards. Their job is to ensure that all records kept in their offices are accurate to make it easier to respond to academic concerns and seek resolution with the faculty.
College dean responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real college dean resumes:
- Produce, manage and evaluate all budgetary and programmatic aspects of a comprehensive career service program for students and alumni.
- Design new illustrations for children's literature using a Wacom tablet.
- Authore ICT faculty handbooks and train faculty in effective implementation.
- Work cooperatively with other offices and student groups in the implementation of various campus-wide multicultural activities and other major events.
- Authore ICT faculty handbooks and train faculty in effective implementation.
College dean skills and personality traits
We calculated that 23% of College Deans are proficient in Colleges, Scholarship, and Strategic Plan. They’re also known for soft skills such as Computer skills, Organizational skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of College Deans that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Colleges, 23%
Administer the academic budget within the framework of the overall college Corinthian Colleges, Santa Ana, CA
- Scholarship, 18%
Generated over $100k of new scholarships with a media-only campaign for Cougar license plates.
- Strategic Plan, 13%
Developed institution-wide strategic planning process at East Stroudsburg University.
- Professional Development, 12%
Developed and facilitated professional development activities.
- Graduate Programs, 8%
Collaborate with Division Chairs for undergraduate program offerings and teaching assignments.
- Accreditation Standards, 5%
Delegated and supervised development of curriculum for the medical program assuring compliance with the accreditation standards.
Common skills that a college dean uses to do their job include "colleges," "scholarship," and "strategic plan." You can find details on the most important college dean responsibilities below.
Computer skills. One of the key soft skills for a college dean to have is computer skills. You can see how this relates to what college deans do because "postsecondary education administrators need to be comfortable working with computers so they can use software to manage student and school records." Additionally, a college dean resume shows how college deans use computer skills: "provided tutorial services to students in computer systems, cost and financial accounting. "
Organizational skills. Many college dean duties rely on organizational skills. "administrators need to be organized so they can manage records, prioritize tasks, and coordinate activities with their staff.," so a college dean will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways college dean responsibilities rely on organizational skills: "developed and implement appropriate training and professional development opportunities to meet individual and organizational needs. "
Problem-solving skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of college deans is problem-solving skills. This skill is critical to many everyday college dean 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: "served as student services director for graduate programs, facilitating resolution of academic issues. "
The three companies that hire the most college deans are:
- University of Alaska4 college deans jobs
- M.C. Dean2 college deans jobs
- TriHealth2 college deans jobs
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College 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.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a college dean are more likely to require skills like "colleges," "strategic plan," "graduate programs," and "accreditation standards." On the other hand, a job as a new member educator requires skills like "customer service," "phone calls," "role model," and "cash handling." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
New member educators earn the highest salaries when working in the education industry, with an average yearly salary of $47,301. On the other hand, college deans are paid more in the education industry with an average salary of $75,522.The education levels that new member educators earn slightly differ from college deans. In particular, new member educators are 3.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a college dean. Additionally, they're 9.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.College dean vs. Admissions officer
An admissions officer is responsible for recruiting new students from various venues and channels. You will connect with students and answer their questions about the college or university, and conduct interviews to better understand the students' objectives and background. As an admissions officer, it is your duty to evaluate potential applicants, and advise and guide students about the admission procedure, programs offered, costs, and eligibility. Other duties include reviewing and evaluating student applications, arranging orientation programs for new students, and developing innovative recruitment and communication strategies.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, college dean responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "colleges," "scholarship," "strategic plan," and "professional development." Meanwhile, an admissions officer has duties that require skills in areas such as "admissions process," "recruitment efforts," "student recruitment," and "career fairs." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Admissions officers earn a lower average salary than college deans. But admissions officers earn the highest pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $43,309. Additionally, college deans earn the highest salaries in the education with average pay of $75,522 annually.admissions officers earn similar levels of education than college deans in general. They're 4.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 9.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.College dean vs. Director of admissions
The admissions director is responsible for evaluating admission applications in an educational institution setting. Admissions directors monitor the admission process, develop admission procedures and reasonable criteria, and recruit potential students by determining their eligibility and educational objectives. They also assist with handling marketing and promotional campaigns about academic programs, conduct career seminars through school visits, and managing registration paperwork, such as scholarship grants, financial aid applications, and other admission requirements. The admissions director must have excellent communication and leadership skills, responding to the students' inquiries and concerns, as well as overseeing the admissions staff's operations.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from college dean resumes include skills like "colleges," "scholarship," "graduate programs," and "accreditation standards," whereas a director of admissions is more likely to list skills in "patients," "customer service," "admissions process," and "facility tours. "
Directors of admissions earn the best pay in the education industry, where they command an average salary of $57,091. College deans earn the highest pay from the education industry, with an average salary of $75,522.When it comes to education, directors of admissions tend to earn similar degree levels compared to college deans. In fact, they're 3.6% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 10.7% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.College dean vs. Assistant director of admissions
An assistant director of admissions is responsible for monitoring and managing the admission process of an educational institution and recruit students on different programs according to their skills and interests. Assistant directors of admissions check the marketing and promotional materials of the institution to different platforms, respond to the students' inquiries and concerns, and processing the successful students with their documents. They also analyze application letters, join meetings and conventions, and review the admission criteria regularly.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between college deans and assistant directors of admissions, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a college dean might have more use for skills like "colleges," "strategic plan," "professional development," and "accreditation standards." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of assistant directors of admissions require skills like "customer service," "crm," "admissions process," and "financial aid. "
In general, assistant directors of admissions earn the most working in the education industry, with an average salary of $51,825. The highest-paying industry for a college dean is the education industry.assistant directors of admissions reach similar levels of education compared to college deans, in general. The difference is that they're 3.5% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 11.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of college dean
Updated January 8, 2025











