Education Administrators, Postsecondary
Plan, direct, or coordinate student instruction, administration, and services, as well as other research and educational activities, at postsecondary institutions, including universities, colleges, and junior and community colleges.
- Median annual earnings
- $104,169
- Projected change
- +6%
- Typical education
- Master's or Professional degree
- Employment
- 237.83K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
47.9% of the workforce
Growing to 252.15K by 2035
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Build the skills
ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
The work
What education administrators, postsecondary do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Design or use assessments to monitor student learning outcomes.
- Recruit, hire, train, and terminate departmental personnel.
- Direct, coordinate, and evaluate the activities of personnel, including support staff engaged in administering academic institutions, departments, or alumni organizations.
- Advise students on issues such as course selection, progress toward graduation, and career decisions.
- Plan, administer, and control budgets, maintain financial records, and produce financial reports.
- Provide assistance to faculty and staff in duties such as teaching classes, conducting orientation programs, issuing transcripts, and scheduling events.
- Establish operational policies and procedures and make any necessary modifications, based on analysis of operations, demographics, and other research information.
- Formulate strategic plans for the institution.
- Prepare reports on academic or institutional data.
- Represent institutions at community and campus events, in meetings with other institution personnel, and during accreditation processes.
- Promote the university by participating in community, state, and national events or meetings, and by developing partnerships with industry and secondary education institutions.
- Participate in faculty and college committee activities.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $64,131
- 25th percentile
- $80,442
- 50th percentile
- $104,169
- 75th percentile
- $144,023
- 90th percentile
- $215,542
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $104,169 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
14,323 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Master's or Professional degree
- 47.9%
- Doctoral degree or more
- 44.4%
- Bachelor's degree
- 7.6%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Directors of Admissions2,514 postings
- 02Deans of Students1,579 postings
- 03Directors of Financial Aid770 postings
- 04Admissions Representatives659 postings
- 05Admissions Assistants513 postings
- 06Program Directors437 postings
- 07Directors of Alumni Engagement370 postings
- 08Registrars362 postings
- 09Admissions Advisors323 postings
- 10Admissions Coordinators321 postings
- 11Athletic Directors303 postings
- 12Academic Deans298 postings
- 13Campus Directors282 postings
- 14Admissions Associates278 postings
- 15Major Gifts Officers276 postings
- 16Directors of Student Engagement248 postings
- 17Academic Mentors229 postings
- 18Deans of Arts and Sciences229 postings
- 19Deans of Middle School226 postings
- 20Education Coordinators216 postings
Top employers
- 01Herc799 postings
- 02City Year228 postings
- 03Aya Healthcare223 postings
- 04Edjoin.Org202 postings
- 05Indiana University-Bloomington182 postings
- 06University of Chicago169 postings
- 07Pennsylvania State University159 postings
- 08University of Minnesota157 postings
- 09California State University-Chancellors Office154 postings
- 10University of Arkansas149 postings
- 11Ancora Education142 postings
- 12Action Behavior Centers140 postings
- 13Columbia University139 postings
- 14University of Florida137 postings
- 15New York University129 postings
- 16University of North Carolina129 postings
- 17Johns Hopkins University121 postings
- 18Southern New Hampshire University121 postings
- 19University of Tennessee119 postings
- 20Brevard Public Schools118 postings
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