Student affairs dean vs student services director

The differences between student affairs deans and student services directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a student affairs dean and a student services director. Additionally, a student services director has an average salary of $68,307, which is higher than the $61,428 average annual salary of a student affairs dean.

The top three skills for a student affairs dean include student affairs, student life and student conduct. The most important skills for a student services director are professional development, financial aid, and support services.

Student affairs dean vs student services director overview

	Student Affairs Dean	Student Services Director
Yearly salary	$61,428	$68,307
Hourly rate	$29.53	$32.84
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	13,641	69,818
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	6	6

Student affairs dean vs student services director salary

Student affairs deans and student services directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Student Affairs Dean	Student Services Director
Average salary	$61,428	$68,307
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $125,000	Between $43,000 And $106,000
Highest paying City	-	Berkeley, CA
Highest paying state	-	New Jersey
Best paying company	-	Los Alamos National Laboratory
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between student affairs dean and student services director education

There are a few differences between a student affairs dean and a student services director in terms of educational background:

	Student Affairs Dean	Student Services Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Student affairs dean vs student services director demographics

Here are the differences between student affairs deans' and student services directors' demographics:

	Student Affairs Dean	Student Services Director
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 57.0% Female, 43.0%	Male, 37.4% Female, 62.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 13.6% Asian, 4.2% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 4.3% White, 66.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between student affairs dean and student services director duties and responsibilities

Student affairs dean example responsibilities.

Experience in the support of transition and retention strategies for multicultural student populations to address differentials in attrition and retention.
Participate in AQIP activities, committees and action learning projects.

Student services director example responsibilities.

Support and oversee students from colleges across the country as they organize and lead interfaith service programming on their own campuses.
Source employers through market research, LinkedIn and cold calls.
Explore and find additional sources to supplement scholarship funds for minorities.
Review and edit resumes while providing direction for content in LinkedIn and e-portfolio profiles.
Attend and contribute to impartial hearings or legally-binding mediation meetings where students' needs are discuss.
Design and maintain a participation tracking system that will accurately document student participation in the SSS program.

Student affairs dean vs student services director skills

Common student affairs dean skills

Student Affairs, 13%
Student Life, 8%
Student Conduct, 6%
Title IX, 5%
Student Services, 5%
Student Learning, 4%

Common student services director skills

Professional Development, 8%
Financial Aid, 7%
Support Services, 6%
Social Work, 5%
Alumni, 4%
Student Life, 4%

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Student Affairs Dean
Student Affairs Dean vs Student Services Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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